Course Code: MLII-104

MLII-104: Information Communication Technologies – Applications

Assignment Code: AST/TMA/ Jul.2025-Jan.2026

Q.1 Define the term ‘Knowledge’? Discuss its types and characteristic.

Answer: Knowledge can be defined as the understanding, awareness, or familiarity gained through experience, learning, observation, or reasoning. It goes beyond raw data and information by involving interpretation, context, and insight. Knowledge enables individuals and organizations to make judgments, solve problems, and take informed actions.

Types of Knowledge

1. Explicit Knowledge: This type of knowledge can be easily articulated, documented, stored, and shared.

Examples: books, manuals, reports, databases, procedures, and formulas.

2. Tacit Knowledge: Tacit knowledge is personal, experiential, and difficult to formalize or communicate. It resides in the minds of individuals.

Examples: skills, intuition, expertise, craftsmanship, and know-how.

3. Implicit Knowledge: Knowledge that is not yet documented but can be made explicit if required.
   Example: undocumented work practices.
4. Declarative Knowledge (Know-what): Knowledge about facts and concepts.

Example: knowing that water boils at 100°C.

5. Procedural Knowledge (Know-how): Knowledge about processes and methods.
   Example: knowing how to conduct a literature search.

Characteristics of Knowledge

• Context-specific: Knowledge gains meaning within a particular context.
• Dynamic: It evolves through learning and experience.
• Cumulative: Builds upon existing knowledge.
• Human-centered: Closely linked to human cognition and experience.

Q.2 What do you mean by Search engine? How do they different from Meta search engines.

Answer

1. Search Engine

A search engine is a software system designed to search and retrieve information from the internet or a database based on user queries. It uses web crawlers (bots), indexing, and ranking algorithms to identify relevant web pages and display results in order of relevance.

Examples: Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo.

Functions of a Search Engine:

• Crawling: Scanning and collecting web pages.
• Indexing: Organizing content for quick retrieval.
• Query Processing: Matching user input with indexed content.
• Ranking: Ordering results based on relevance, popularity, and authority.

2. Meta Search Engine

A meta search engine does not maintain its own database. Instead, it queries multiple search engines simultaneously, aggregates results, removes duplicates, and presents a combined list to the user.

Examples: Dogpile, MetaCrawler, DuckDuckGo (in some modes).

Functions of a Meta Search Engine:

• Sends user query to several search engines.
• Collects and merges results from different sources.
• Provides a broader view of available information.

Q.3 Discuss the impact of ICT on various sectors of the society.

Answer: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) refers to technologies used for processing, storing, and communicating information, including computers, the internet, mobile technologies, and digital networks. ICT has transformed the way societies function, influencing multiple sectors in profound ways.

1. Education

• Facilitates e-learning, online courses, and virtual classrooms.
• Provides access to digital libraries, research databases, and learning resources.
• Promotes interactive and personalized learning through multimedia tools.
• Example: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) like Coursera or SWAYAM in India.

2. Healthcare

• Enables telemedicine, electronic health records (EHRs), and remote diagnostics.
• Supports health monitoring devices, medical imaging, and AI-based decision support.
• Example: Teleconsultation platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

3. Governance and Administration

• Supports e-governance initiatives for transparent and efficient public service delivery.
• Facilitates online tax filing, digital identity systems (like Aadhaar), and citizen portals.

4. Business and Industry

• Drives e-commerce, digital marketing, supply chain management, and online banking.
• Supports automation, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and data analytics for decision-making.
• Expands global market access and reduces operational costs.
• Example: Amazon, Flipkart, and fintech platforms like Paytm.

5. Communication and Media

• Revolutionizes information dissemination through social media, blogs, and news portals.
• Enables instant global communication via email, messaging apps, and video conferencing.
• Supports citizen journalism and participatory media.

Q.4 Discuss the impact of information society on information profession.

Answer: An information society is one in which the creation, distribution, and use of information play a central role in social, economic, and cultural activities.

1. Changing Roles and Responsibilities

• Information professionals are no longer limited to traditional librarianship or record-keeping.
• They now act as information managers, knowledge managers, data curators, digital librarians, and information analysts.
• Example: Managing institutional repositories or corporate knowledge bases.
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2. Skills and Competencies

• The information society demands new skills such as ICT literacy, database management, digital archiving, data analytics, and information security.
• Professionals must also have expertise in metadata standards, controlled vocabularies, indexing, and retrieval systems.

3. Adoption of Technology

• Professionals must be proficient in digital libraries, online databases, content management systems, and search engines.
• Use of artificial intelligence, semantic web, and cloud-based services is becoming essential.

4. Ethical and Legal Responsibilities

• The information society introduces challenges related to copyright, privacy, intellectual property, and digital rights management.
• Information professionals must guide users on ethical use of information and ensure compliance with laws.

5. Collaboration and Networking

• Professionals engage in networked information services, interlibrary loans, consortia, and global digital repositories.
• Collaboration across disciplines enhances knowledge sharing and access to specialized information.

Q.5 Write short notes on any two of the following:

a) Home networks

b) Text mining

c) Digital information

d) Digital divide

Answer: (a) Home Networks

A home network is a local network set up within a residence to connect multiple devices such as computers, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, printers, and IoT devices.

Key Features:

• Can be wired (Ethernet) or wireless (Wi-Fi).
• Supports file sharing, internet access, and media streaming.

Example: A Wi-Fi network at home connecting a laptop, smartphone, smart speaker, and smart TV for internet access and file sharing.

Benefits:

• Centralized internet and device management.
• Enables online work, gaming, streaming, and smart home automation.

 (b) Text Mining

Text mining (also called text data mining or text analytics) is the process of extracting useful information, patterns, or knowledge from unstructured textual data.

Key Steps in Text Mining:

1. Text preprocessing – cleaning, tokenization, stop-word removal, and stemming.
2. Information extraction – identifying entities, keywords, relationships, or events.

Applications:

• Analyzing customer reviews for sentiment and trends.
• Detecting spam or fraudulent messages in emails.

Example: Analyzing social media posts to determine public sentiment about a new product launch.

Benefits:

• Converts unstructured text into actionable insights.
• Helps in decision-making, business intelligence, and research.
• Saves time and resources in analyzing large volumes of text.