Team+4

= **HOW LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES CAN BE BENEFICIAL** **FOR SOMEONE DEVELOPING A CAREER IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS**  =



=Art/Art History and its Benefits to Information Systems = = media type="youtube" key="KA3OtOvb0ls" height="364" width="665"=

**What is the field?**

 Art and Art History

**What areas might one study?**

Areas of Study at The Art Institutes include Design (such as Graphic Design, Interior Design, Industrial Design, or Advertising); Fashion (such as Fashion Design or Fashion Management); and Media Arts (such as Web Design & Interactive Media, Audio, Video or Film Production, Animation & Special Effects, Photography, or Game Design & Programming). In contrast, Areas of Study at the University of Massachusetts Lowell include a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Design or Fine Arts, and includes an emphasis in animation, painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, graphic design, web design, and interactive-media. UML offers a multitude of courses, including ‘Aesthetics and Critical Studies’ of various topics, drawing, 2D and 3D animation, Typography, Ceramics and Art Concepts.

**In what fields might one find jobs?**

For those who want to create in the traditional styles, they can strive to be a fine artist. A mixture of talent, luck, and commitment are needed to be successful as an artist. Artists may also find positions as art teachers (Lafler). For those who specialize in the study of art, positions are available as an art appraiser, in art acquisitions, or applying special techniques in art restoration. In line with the ever increasing focus on technology, knowledge of graphic design and digital media is increasingly desirable. Combining art knowledge and creativity with information technology knowledge can yield a career in animation (which is generally computer generated rather than hand-drawn these days), in advertising, in film or even web-site development (Lafler).

**What is interesting about the field?**

 Art and art history are so interesting because it connects the present with the past. It gives a window into the lives of generations before us – what their world looked like; how they saw that world; how they imagined the past and the future – and allows the present generation to leave a message to future generations while expressing themselves in their own individual way to their own generation.


 * What relationship might the field have to information systems (the responses to this might include ways the field has contributed to information systems, ways the field uses information systems, ways the field helps develop value skills)? **

The art field has yielded the creation of its own special software. ArtSystems.com provides a look at their own software suite designed specifically for use in art and antiques galleries. Their particular software automates the tracking of inventory, updates applicable records with changes, and creates invoices and accounting paperwork. For museums, the ability to track their collections, particularly items on loan, using any type of database system is a major use of information technology. They may also use new technologies to provide more information on a piece with a multimedia presentation near the artwork.

As an entrepreneur in the use of information technology to research art and architecture, Maurizio Seracini is the epitome of ability to utilize information technology to uncover the secrets hidden in art’s history. “He is a pioneer in the use of multispectral imaging and other diagnostic tools as well as analytical technologies as applied to works of art and structures. He has studied more than 2,500 works of art and historic buildings.”(NationalGeographic.com) He has been featured on the Smithsonian Channel for his work in the search for Leonardo Da Vinci’s lost mural, ‘The Battle of Anghiari’ and his use of infrared cameras and technology to find the original drawing and vision for Da Vinci’s commissioned work, ‘Adoration of the Magi’.(SmithsonianChannel.com)


 * How might studying the field benefit an information systems student (the responses to this question might range from direct application of learning to no application of learning but be a broadening experience)? **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> In addition to enlightening the student on various forms of visual expression over the years, studying art may help an information systems student by giving them additional knowledge that would make them desirable applicants to create new systems or utilize existing systems for galleries or museums.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Works Cited

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">“Areas of Study.” Artinstitutes.edu. The Art Institutes, n.d. Web. 1 Apr 2011. <http://www.artinstitutes.edu/areas-of-study.aspx>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Art Gallery Software. ArtSystems. ArtSystems.com, n.d. Web. 1 Apr 2011. <http://artsystems.com/index.htm>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">“The Da Vinci Detective.” SmithsonianChannel.com. Smithsonian Channel, n.d. Web. 1 Apr 2011. <http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/site/sn/show.do?series=651#video>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Lafler, Steve. “List of Different Art Careers.” An Artist’s Community: Art Projects, Inspiration & Creative Ideas. Web. 1 Apr 2011. <http://www.theaccidentalartist.com/content/art-careers/list-of-different-art-careers>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">“Maurizio Seracini, Cultural Heritage Engineer.” NationalGraphic.com. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 1 Apr 2011. <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/field/explorers/seracini-08/>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">“UML Art Department: Areas of Study.” UML.edu. University of Massachusetts Lowell, n.d. Web. 1 Apr 2011. <http://www.uml.edu/Dept/Art/areas-of-study.htm>.

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**The Importance of Math Skills in Education and on the Job** =



<span style="display: block; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;"><span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Exploring the Disciplines – Information Technology

<span style="display: block; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;"><span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">The Importance of Math Skills in Education and on the Job

<span style="display: block; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;"><span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Alisa M. Oldacre

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Although many students feel that math skills learned in high school will never be useful in their everyday lives or future careers, there has been much research done to prove otherwise. Good math skills are needed to get into most colleges and universities, and even most trade schools require some math courses or pretesting.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> There are many different types of careers in the field of mathematics, including math education, mathematicians, and mathematical scientists, along with many other careers in fields such as engineering or architecture, for example, that require a great deal of advanced math skills (diplomaguide.com). An architect could not design the blueprints for a new home if he or she did not possess the necessary math skills needed to measure or compute geometric formulas, nor could an engineer design an alternative fuel car engine if he or she did not have the math skills needed to add and subtract decimals or read a micrometer. Even in less skilled or entry level professions such as a store cashier, you need to have good basic math skills to make proper change for a customer in the event that your register screen stops working.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> As our labor force here in the United States makes the transition from being an “industrial” nation to a “technology” nation, having some formal education in math is becoming even more important. The days of finding good paying factory jobs that require mostly “physical labor” rather than “mental labor” are becoming quite scarce. As manufacturing operations continue to be outsourced to countries such as China and Taiwan, the need for continued education after high school has increased (bls.gov). Also, as our infrastructure ages in the United States, the need for structural and architectural engineers has increased. These are good paying jobs with solid futures, and they require both math and information technology skills. Math formulas are used to design structures and calculate their structural strength and integrity, and computer software programs help to put the engineer’s ideas into a visual model that can be tweaked and improved upon as the project progresses (Anderson, 2010).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> In the field of information technology, math skills are essential as well, and, the two fields have made important contributions to the advancement of the other. Modern scientific calculators are, in a sense, tiny computers that can quickly perform equations which would take too long to compute manually. There are many programs that you can now purchase to use on your home computer to help you learn everything from basic algebra to calculus. Also, even our computers need mathematical skills to adjust your screen resolution as you navigate from one site to another, and they also rely on math and numbers for the simplest of tasks such as setting page margins or line spacing (Trapp, 1996). Information technology professionals rely on math equations when creating software for interior designing or developing graphics animation programs, and, most companies even use a combination of information technology and math when forecasting sales goals and analyzing inventory (Kouba, n.d.).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Even if your chosen career is not directly linked to the use of fine tuned math skills, math education is proven to help develop the brain’s ability to solve problems and analyze data. Plus, students who take advanced level math courses in high school have about an 80% chance of getting into college, regardless of other determining factors such as income or race (diplomaguide.com). So, in conclusion, when someone says that having strong abilities in math isn’t useful in real life, they are terribly mistaken.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Resources:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">http://diplomaguide.com/articles/Why_Math_is_So_Important.html

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> Anderson, V. (2010). //Graduating engineer//. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> Trapp, T. (1996, April). //Real world applications//. Retrieved from http://mathforum.org/mathed/nctm96/technology/

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Kouba, D. (n.d.). //Why choose a mathematics related profession//. Retrieved from http://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~kouba/MathJobs.html

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Team 4's Task Assignments:**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Posting Task list to Team home page - Matt R.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Research on math topic - Alisa
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Research on art/art history topic - Matt R. and Matt W.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Initial Draft composition - Matt W.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Making sure all posited questions are addressed for both subjects - Alisa
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Proofread - Matt R.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Final presentation compilation - Matt W.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Posting final presentation to wiki - Matt W.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Word Document: Art Research by Matt R. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> RTF Document: Math Research by Alisa <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">