J8052: Case Studies in the Digital Globe

Winter 2006

Instructor: Dr. Wayne Wanta
Office: 181B Gannett
Phone: 884-9689; e-mail: wantaw@missouri.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1-2 p.m., Wednesdays 9-11 a.m., and by appointment

Course Description

Case Studies in the Digital Globe: 3 credits.

This inter-departmental course will discuss the impact of technological change and globalization from the perspective of business, law and journalism. This course is the final course necessary toward fulfilling the requirements for the interdisciplinary university-wide certificate offered by the Center for the Digital Globe. Students will examine electronic commerce, digitization and globalization to prepare them to respond to the challenges of the digital globe. Students will acquire a working understanding of how digital technologies function, effective Internet communication strategies, and legal aspects of the Internet.

The course is design to further develop the levels of understanding and skills obtained in the introductory class “Exploring the Digital Globe.” In this class, students will achieve a better understanding of how new media are different from print or broadcast media and the consequences of those differences. Students will be introduced to the principles, opportunities, and ethical use of electronic commerce. Students will critically analyze issues raised by technological change, including globalization, political boundaries, access, ownership and uses of information, marketing, etc.

As with the introductory class, this course will be taught by faculty from a variety of departments. Visiting speakers, including speakers presenting programs for the Center for the Digital Globe, will meet with the class to share their research and experience.

Course Objectives

This course seeks to broaden students’ perspective about how digital technology affects the world around us. In your studies, you are already focusing on a specific area of study. At institutes of higher learning, the material covered in – especially – graduate courses tends to go in-depth into very specific topics. As a result, students may end up knowing a lot about a specialized area of limited scope, but not so much about how this all relates to the world at large. This can be an advantage, but also a disadvantage.

Students’ main responsibility in this course will be to work their way through a case study as a team, each bringing to the team the perspectives of their various disciplines. These case studies will require students to work together and to demonstrate their achievement of the specified competencies. Often, it is beneficial to get a “different” perspective on things. You may find it surprising how differently people from different academic disciplines view one and the same issue.

Upon completion of the CDiG Certificate program, students will have developed a clear understanding and appreciation of various alternative digital technology-related viewpoints, perspectives and value systems. The certificate program will also prepare students for their future career – since graduates undoubtedly will encounter and will work with colleagues with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise.

Course Materials

Most of readings in this course will be made available online in the form of pdf files, Word documents or hyperlinks on Web CT and, consistent with the nature of this course, you will do much of your background research on the web.

Most reading materials provided by the guest lecturers and the instructor will be posted on Web CT (usually under Course documents; occasionally in the Discussion Board) at least one week prior to the presentation.

Throughout the semester, you will share materials and links on Blackboard (via discussion board).

The instructor may make a hard copy of readings available in class.

There is also one required text:

“Internet Research Methods: A Practical Guide for the Social and Behavioral Sciences,” by Hewson, Yule, Laurent and Vogel.

Expectations

Students are expected to attend each class session and will be graded on class participation. Assignments must be turned in on time. One full letter grade will be deducted for each day an assignment is late. Your written work should be of professional quality; spelling, grammar, and punctuation count. Please make sure that all work is your own and that the sources of information are accurately quoted and represented.

Any act of academic dishonesty as defined in the Missouri catalogue or the M Book will result in a failing grade on the assignment. In addition, the student will be reported to the university for official action.

The following statement for academic dishonesty comes from the Provost's Office: Academic honesty is fundamental to the activities and principles of a university. All members of the academic community must be confident that each person' s work has been responsibly and honestly acquired, developed, and presented. Any effort to gain an advantage not given to all students is dishonest whether or not the effort is successful. The academic community regards academic dishonesty as an extremely serious matter, with serious consequences that range from probation to expulsion.

Academic misconduct includes some of the following: extensive use of materials from another author without citation/attribution, extensive use of verbatim materials from another author with citation/attribution, extensive use of materials from past assignments, extensive use of materials from assignments in other, current classes. For in-class exams, academic misconduct includes conferring with classmates, copying/reading someone else's test and using notes and materials without prior permission.

Classroom misconduct includes forgery, obstruction or disruption of teaching, physical abuse or safety threats, theft, property damage, disruptive, lewd or obscene conduct, abuse of computer time, repeated failure to attend class when attendance is required and repeated failure to participate or respond in class when class participation is required.

If a student has difficulty understanding what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, please feel free to talk with the instructor about it. The following websites provide excellent examples of appropriate and inappropriate attribution and citation:

www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets.shtml

web.missouri.edu/~writmdp/plag.html

Religious Holidays:

Students are excused for religious holidays. Students should notify the instructor in advance if they plan to observe a religious holiday.

Special Needs:

If you have special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and you need assistance, please notify the MU Access Office or the course instructor immediately. Reasonable effort will be made to accommodate your special needs.

Final tips on getting good grades:

Come to class on time. Contact me before class if you cannot attend. Come to class prepared to discuss topics by completing all of the assigned readings ahead of time. Do NOT bring cell phones to class. Laugh at my jokes.

Requirements

Final papers: Students will produce a research paper that will be of sufficient quality for submission to an academic conference or journal. The paper will be written in sections. The due dates for individual sections are listed on the tentative schedule. The paper can deal with any area that we will discuss this term and involve any appropriate methodology. Final papers will be presented during the last two weeks of the term.

Midterm group projects: Students will work in groups of two to four, with no group having more than one student from the same department. The project will consist of a detailed case study description and analysis involving a major organization’s presence on the Internet. The case study will analyze the business application, communication effectiveness, and legal aspects of the web presence and will include criticism and recommendations. The purpose of this project is for groups to demonstrate a collaborative working arrangement between students representing different backgrounds and interests. Students from different departments will work together, applying their respective skills and educational emphases to the analysis and solution of their case study. The team will be evaluated both collectively and individually. Details of the final project will be distributed in class.

Presentations: Each week from week 3 through week 14, 2 or 3 students will discuss current research on the topic of the week. Students will be responsible for finding articles pertinent to the assigned topics and clear the articles with the instructor. The number of presentations that each student will be responsible for will depend upon the size of the class. A sign-up sheet will be brought to class next Monday. Topics will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. Students will also write a two to three page paper discussing the article. This paper will be turned in along with a Xeroxed copy of the article under discussion.

General participation: Students will be graded on both their in class and out of class participation. In class participation will be graded based on students’ discussion of class topics and their questions and comments as related to guest speakers. Out of class participation will be graded based on students’ activities on the class discussion board. Students will be required to post at least one comment a week – either an original relevant posting or a relevant reply to someone else’s posting. Quality of postings will be more important than quantity of postings.

Weekly reaction papers: Students will be required to write a one to two page paper dealing with the topic that will be discussed during the week. Students will need to post their papers on the discussion board by noon Monday of each week. The paper should be comments in reaction to course readings.

Grading:

Final papers 50%
Midterm group project 20%
General participation 10%
In-class presentations 10%
Weekly reaction papers 10%

Tentative schedule:

Week 1: Introduction
Wednesday, January 18: Introduction

Week 2: Research
Monday, January 23: Hewson text
Wednesday, January 25: Hewson text

Week 3: Internet in Society I: Politics
Monday, January 30: Hewson text
Wednesday, February 1; speaker: Jim Scott

Week 4: Internet in Society II: Sports
Monday, February 6; speaker: Allen Brokken
Wednesday, February 8: Student presentations

Week 5: Internet in Society III: Education
Monday, February 13; speaker: Deborah Finfgeld Connett
Wednesday, February 15: Student presentations

Introductions to final papers due

Week 6: Internet in Society IV: Health
Monday, February 20; speaker:
Wednesday, February 22: Student presentations

Week 7: Internet in Society V: Business
Monday, February 27: speaker: So-Yeon Yoon
Wednesday, March 1: speaker:

Introduction and literature review sections due

Week 8: Midterm presentations
Monday, March 6: Student Website presentations
Wednesday, March 8: Student Website presentations

Midterm projects and presentations due

Week 9: Internet as a Research Tool
Monday, March 13: Student Website presentations
Wednesday, March 15: Speaker:

Introduction, literature review and methodology sections due

Week 10, Internet and Technology Uses
Monday, March 20: speaker:
Wednesday, March 22: student presentations

Week 11, No Classes, Spring Break
Monday, March 27
Wednesday, March 29

Week 12: Internet and technology uses, student presentations
Monday, April 3: speaker
Wednesday, April 5: student presentations

Week 13: Internet effects on society
Monday, April 10; speaker
Wednesday, April 12:

Introduction, literature review, methodology and results sections due

Week 14: Internet effects on individuals
Monday, April 17; speaker
Wednesday, April 19: student presentations

Week 15: Student Final Paper Presentations
Monday, April 24:
Wednesday, April 26

Week 16: Student Final Paper Presentations
Monday, May 1
Wednesday, May 3

Complete final papers due