Abstract
This paper defines and discusses the concept of information overload. It analyzes what constitutes information overload and looks at how individuals display information seeking behavior. The paper then analyses the impact that information overload exerts on information seeking behavior. Finally, the paper discusses how this impact affects the role of the librarian or information professional.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Research Questions
Information Challenges
With the Beginning of the Human Race...
Review of Information
Securing Information
Excerpts from a Barrage of Information
Information Seeking Stages
Information Overload: Fact of Life
Counters to Information Overload Challenges
Frustration Fallout
Ten Stress-Relief Tips
Questions to Counter Information Overload
Personal Perspectives
Conclusion
Harvesting Positive Results
Constant Threats of Information Overload
No Easy Answers to Information Overload
Making the Best Choices

From the Paper
"Making the best choices regarding which jobs to complete concurrently, when one has to work on securing information for more than one project, proffers one answer to better managing information overload. Also, as Lewis (2007) notes, when an information seeker chooses to eliminate distractions (email; phone; visitors, that he/she does not have to immediately deal with, helps him/her better manage information.
"In the end, considering the source of information, as Behreandt (2005, p. 27) recommends, also constitutes a primary key to helping ensure information overload on information seeking behavior and the impact it exerts on the librarian/information professional proves to be more positive than negative. After all, information in and of itself does not have any value, as Nelson (2004) notes. Instead, the communication and sharing of information and its meaning gives it value."

Tags:resources, knowledge, research

Abstract
The paper relates that testing in education is an issue viewed with some ambivalence, although it is recognized that testing is necessary in order to gather information to make decisions about placement, knowledge level, performance, and so on. The paper discusses how there is a constant barrage of criticisms of the system because it places so much reliance on standardized testing in order to shape the educational career of every student, with the major concern being the idea that standardized tests can never be reasonable or fair to all population groups and may not be applicable to all the uses to which scores are put. Specifically, the paper explores how relevant standardized testing may be for vocational assessment and for testing different cultural and ethnic groups.

From the Paper
"Testing in education is an issue viewed with some ambivalence. On the one hand, it is recognized that testing is necessary in order to gather information to make decisions about placement, knowledge level, performance, and so on. On the other hand, there is a constant barrage of criticisms of the system because it places so much reliance on standardized testing in order to shape the educational career of every student, with the major concern being the idea that standardized tests can never be reasonable or fair to all population groups and may not be applicable to all the uses to which scores are put. Specifically, the issue is how relevant standardized testing may be for vocational..."

Tags:standardized, teting, education

Abstract
This paper looks at George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four", considered as a masterpiece of political satire. It explains how the main protagonist, Winston Smith, experiences a number of bizarre and self-fulfilling events connected with his struggles while living under the watchful eye of "Big Brother," a metaphorical symbol used by Orwell to describe the totalitarian government that controls and sees all. In this society, privacy and freedom do not exist, and citizens are constantly monitored by futuristic telescreens and subjected to an unending barrage of governmental propaganda.

From the Paper
"Winston Smith, a Party functionary, is humbly employed in one of the government agencies, and his job is quite simple--he must rewrite the past so that the Party, being "Big Brother," appears to be without flaw and the master of its domain. But Smith greatly despises
the Party and what it stands for, and keeps his feelings about "Big Brother" to himself. One of the turning points in the novel occurs when Smith begins a heated love affair with Julia, a rebellious young girl who works in his agency and shares his dislike for the Party and its beliefs."

Tags:big, brother, citizen, fascist, government

Abstract
The paper examines the "16 Jackies" by Andy Warhol, which was created after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The paper explains that this series of pictures of Jackie Kennedy was manipulated by Warhol to demonstrate how the mass media acts as an agent that empties a person of emotion due to the constant barrage of images that deplete the ability to feel emptiness and apathy.

From the Paper
"The aim of this art study will be to examine the classic 16 Jackies (1964) of Andy Warhol. This series of pictures taken from Life magazine have been manipulated to exhibit the emotional detachment of society through the mass media. In regards to Jackie's four different poses within Warhol's 16 image use of photographic repetition, Warhol believed that the emotional 'droning' influence of the mass media would make Kennedy's assassination far less impacting on the underpinning reality. In essence, mass media acts as an agent that empties a person of emotion due to the constant barrage of images that deplete the human experience to feel emptiness and apathy in the art of Andy Warhol."

Tags:emotion, apathy, Kennedy, assassination, images, poses

Abstract
The writer of this paper details the symptoms as well as the media's contribution to body dysmorphic disorder, also known as distorted body image. Body dysmorphic disorder has become a tremendous problem in today's society due to the barrage of negative messages sent to women by the media. This paper discusses the effect of the media, in all its forms - television, radio, print advertising, internet, etc., which has an enormous influence on what people deem as attractive in today's society. The unnecessary emphasis the media places on appearance tends to adversely affect the mental and physical health of those it comes in contact with. Body dysmorphic disorder can lead to damaged self-esteem, depression, and eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. This paper details the manner in which advertisers place heavy emphasis on physical appearance as a means of selling products. Too often in doing so, unnecessary pressure is placed on women to conform to unrealistic and oftentimes, unhealthy standards of beauty.

From the Paper
"Women want someone they can relate to. The Body Shop, a supplier of natural beauty products, offered a much-needed change from the typical message provided by advertisers; "There are three billion women who don't look like supermodels, and only eight who do. The Australian magazine New Woman included a picture of a heavy-set model on its cover recently. This action produced a lot of positive comments from the magazine's female readers. Despite this fact, advertisers threatened to pull their sponsorship. This shows that advertisers know what they are doing when they include a woman whose body is unattainable to society at large."

Tags:body, disorder, dysmorphic, image, media, women, anorexia, marketing, advertising, media, bulimia

Abstract
This paper discusses the literary works of Keats, Tennyson, Carlyle and Ruskin, focusing on the medieval element in their works. The paper analyzes how John Keats and Alfred Tennyson captured the essence of the medieval in their work, returning to a time that was simpler but just as exotic. The paper presents Thomas Carlyle and John Ruskin, who also refer to medieval aspects of society to enhance and emphasize their messages about society. The paper contends that these writers build on themes that are familiar to us, explaining that their references allow us to make connections that might otherwise be lost in the barrage of descriptions.

From the Paper
"The notion of the medieval romance has inspired literature for generations. The magic of the Arthurian romance can be traced to Celtic origins, which adds to it appeal when we look at it through the prism of post-medieval literature. The revival of the medieval romance can be viewed as an opposition against modern and intellectual movement that became vogue in modern Europe. These romances often emphasized the human emotions rather than the human intellect and a return to more classical traditions. Poets and writers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries did not want to feel the oppression from the constraints of their time. Instead, they looked beyond the intellectual to a more mystical and emotional realm. They wanted to achieve another level in their writing--one that allowed them to stretch their imaginations and their knowledge. The medieval aspects that we find in literature from this era accentuates a different type of thinking and writing that desired to be different yet familiar."

Tags:arthurian, madeline, shallot, celtic

Abstract
The writer of this paper examines the recent growth in various alternative media sources which are grabbing more and more viewers away from the usual televised and print media into more locally controlled information sources. This paper details how various activist websites have utilized the world wide web to further their respective causes in innovative ways. For example: MoveOn.org organized a "Virtual March on Washington" where over 400,000 people signed up to flood the offices of the White House and Congress with a barrage of telephone calls and e-mails with support for a peaceful resolution to the war in Iraq. The writer contends that mainstream media tends to frame issues narrowly and in simplistic terms to avoid any real popular momentum whereas on various websites there are virtually no limits as to what can or can not be stated. With its lack of governmental oversight and unlimited bandwidth, cyberspace is finding itself, more often the first choice of those who want fast, reliable information.

From the Paper
"The true power, however, of this young medium was displayed in all its might on February 16, 2003, when "people with an astonishing variety of backgrounds and viewpoints" came out to "the biggest anti-war demonstrations ever held... worldwide." Religious organizations, race rights groups, environmentalists, anti-globalists, and others came together like a collective of Venn diagrams, independent but connecting in parts to move toward a common cause. The set up was fascinating because there was no "leader", no single set of beliefs holding these protestors together. From an organizing standpoint this type of setup has some positives and negatives. Since there is no central leadership it becomes a beast with many heads, very difficult to kill. Also, since it's arranged on the local level, the individual groups can spend time gathering up just their core constitutes by focusing on their specific agenda."

Tags:media, technology, communication, internet, information

From the Paper
"Tidal energy has been used by humans for hundreds of years. In the modern era, the power is utilized for the production of electricity. The technologies involved are both proven and effective. However, with the exception of a tidal power plant at La Rance, France, the energy resource remains largely undeveloped. This may be in part because of the relatively high cost of the electricity produced. Only in appropriate circumstances will tidal power ever utilize its potential as both a dependable and enduring power source.

Tidal surges are caused by complex interactions between the gravitational fields of the sun and the moon. These phenomena occur in cycles of varying length. For the most part, the earth's oceans bulge along an axis which is approximately in line ... "

Abstract
In this article, the writer provides an opening statement in defense of the actions of African-American Dr. Ossian Sweet. The writer explains that Dr. Sweet, a law-abiding citizen, was faced with open hostility from members of racist organizations like the Klu Klux Klan, who barraged the Sweet family with threats almost as soon as the family arrived in Detroit. The writer describes how throngs of hostile Whites mobbed his house one night, throwing stones. The writer raises the issue of self defense and notes that we live in a divided world, in a divided city where many people fear losing their jobs and thus perhaps are more apt to fear people who are different. The writer concludes by asking the jury to honor their duties to the law and to simple humanity, and to imagine themselves in Dr. Sweet's shoes.

From the Paper
"Sweet was the grandson of lawbreakers--yes, run-away slaves, people for whom it was criminal to be free, people to whom this land should bow down and apologize for deferring the dream of freedom for yet another generation. Like his parents, Ossian Sweet believed that if only he worked hard, the American dream of success might be his, and that he might live free and proud, safe and secure in his own home. What more could any father want?"
"Sweet left the hated South, a Florida of lynchings and Jim Crow, and fled northward, as so many African-American have done, in search of greater opportunities. He dreamed and achieved the ultimate American dream of home ownership. But cruelly, in the Promised Land of the North, right here, in Detroit, he found only violence. Members of racist organizations like the Klu Klux Klan barraged the Sweet family with threats almost as soon as the family arrived."

Tags:black, white, racist, violence

Abstract
This paper discusses social interactions in the form of civil inattention and the way in which they affect the manner in which individuals begin to think about themselves. Through non verbal cues that are passed innocently among individuals many people begin to have a lower opinion of themselves without a single word having been spoken. This paper further discusses teenage females that have a low opinion of their physical presence as a result of constant barraging of television and magazine ads displaying pencil thin female figures considered to be the accepted norm.

Tags:social, class, weight