Syllabus for Informatics 161: Social Analysis of Computerization Spring 2008

This course will introduce you to the social analysis of computerization. You will learn how to think about computerization as a social phenomenon. This course will familiarize you with various social analytical approaches to the study of computerization. You will become acquainted with social analysis at various levels: from small groups to society.

Meeting Information

Location: Engineering Tower 204
Lecture Time: Tuesday and Thursday, 12:30pm - 1:50pm

There will be no discussion sections.

Instructor Information

Charlotte P. Lee
cplee@ics.uci.edu
Office: Donald Bren Hall 5074
Office Hours: Thursday 2:30pm to 4:30pm

Satyajit Das, Reader
satyajid@uci.edu
Office Hours: Thursday 10:30am to 12noon, DBH 5099

Yong Ming Kow, Reader
mail@kowym.com
Office Hours: Tuesday 2pm to 3:30pm, DBH 5099
 

Schedule

Assignments

Assignment 1: Analyzing Images (2 to 3 pages)

The purpose of this assignment is to get you to look closely at some ways in which technology is portrayed.

Find two images of computer/information technology.  One should be utopian, one dystopian.  These images can be from advertising, magazines, newspapers, articles, billboards, TV, movies, or even music.  For each of these images:

1) Indicate EXACTLY where you found it (in other words, which source, the date it was published, the name of the TV show or movie, channel, date, you get the idea).

2) Describe the technology presented and indicate if it is current, future, science fictional.

3) How is the technology presented?  What kind of people are affected by it and are presented as using it?  Who is the target audience (children, computer professionals, individuals, families, etc?).  What is the technology supposed to do to or for them?

4) What is the "real message" being presented?  Is it to get you to buy something, believe something, protest something, fear something?

5) How did you react to this image and did you believe what is being presented?  Why or why not?

Your write-up should NOT be in the Question and Answer format presented here, but should be written as a narrative.  Use these questions as a guide.

Email your assignment by Monday, April 14, 5pm to: 161spring2008@gmail.com

Assignment 2: Organizational Culture (2 pages)

The purpose of this assignment is to get give you experience in selecting and analyzing academic research articles.

Using Google Scholar, find an academic paper on organizational culture that you personally finding interesting or provocative.

1) Summarize the article, emphasizing the main points.

2) What is your reaction to the message of the article? Examples of things to write about include: How reading this article would change your behavior as an employee or manager; Three reasons why you don't believe the article and why; Three questions that this articles raises and how you might go about answering them. 

3) Pick two organizations (student, professional, academic, hobby) to which you currently belong or to which you previously belonged and compare their organizational cultures in terms of: a) how are new members recruited, b) how do new members learn how to participate and what the rules are, c) how is the organization managed, d) what behaviors are acceptable or unacceptable, e) how are members corrected if they engage in unacceptable behavior, f) who sits with whom during breaks and does organizational status (e.g. rank or function) play a role in the groupings?

Your write-up should NOT be in the Question and Answer format presented here, but should be written as a narrative.  Use these questions as a guide.

Email your assignment by 5pm to: 161spring2008@gmail.com

Assignment 3: Prospectus for Final Paper (2 to 3 pages)

The purpose of this assignment is to get you started on your final paper.

Write a 2 to 3 page prospectus that provides answers to the following:

• Choose a contemporary topic on the social aspects of computerization that interests you
• Find at least 3 academic journal articles or books on your chosen topic.
• Based on what you have read, write a thesis statement and an introductory paragraph stating what your topic is and why it is of interest to society.
  
• Summarize each article or book in your own words and describe how the articles relate to your thesis statement.
• Conclude with a discussion of 3 questions that you are interested in answering more fully in your final paper after reading these articles.
• At the end of your prospectus provide full citations. Choose a citation format in which to list all your papers. Common citation formats include MLA or APA or Chicago Style.

Final Paper

You will write a final paper in this class. The topic is open for either paper, but they should cover issues which clearly relate to the readings or lectures in the course. You should have already chosen your topic when you did Assignment 3. 

You are expected to relate your papers to the course readings and to include a reference list. A good tactic would be to compare and contrast the arguments or themes found in your readings. What is similar and what is different? Can you explain why there are differences? Conclude with a paragraph stating what you think is the future of your topic based on what you have read.

Excellent papers will cite at least 4 sources.

The paper will be at least 2600 words.

Email your assignment byJune 6 at 5pm to: 161spring2008@gmail.com

Grading

Class Participation: 5%

Assignment 1: 10%

Assignment 2: 10%

Assignment 3: 10%

Assignment 4: 10%

Quiz: 10%

Midterm Exam: 20%

Final Paper: 25%

Late assignments will be downgraded 1/3 of a letter grade per day.

Grades that fall on or near the border (e.g. A-/B+) will be decided at the instructor's discretion.

Bibliography

Ackerman, M. (2000). The intellectual challenge of CSCW: The gap between social requirements and technical feasibility. Human-Computer Interaction, 15(2/3), 179. [PDF]

Carroll, J. M. & Rosson, M. B. (2003). A trajectory for community networks. The Information Society, 19(5), 381. [PDF]

Dourish, P. (2004). Where the action is: The foundations of embodied interaction [PDF]

Dourish, P. In press. collective information practice: Exploring privacy and security as social and cultural phenomena Springer Berlin / Heidelberg. [PDF]

Ducheneaut, N., Yee, N., Nickell, E., & Moore, R. J. (2006). "Alone Together?": Exploring the Social Dynamics of Massively Multiplayer Online Games. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: ACM Press. [PDF]

Electronic Frontier Foundation. RIAA vs. the people: Two years later.

Grinter, R. E., & Palen, L. (2002). Instant messaging in teen life. CSCW '02: Proceedings of the 2002 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. 21-30. [PDF]

Grudin, J. (1989). Why groupware applications fail: Problems in design and evaluation. Information Technology People, 4(3), 245. [PDF]

Grudin, J., & Palen, L. Why groupware succeeds: Discretion or mandate? ACM Conf. Computer-Supported Cooperative Work ECSCW'95, Stockholm, Sweden. [PDF]

Howcroft, D., & Fitzgerald, B. "from Utopia to Dystopia: The Twin Faces of the Internet" [PDF]

Huff, C. (2002). Gender, software design, and occupational equity. SIGCSE Bulletin, 34(2), 112. [PDF]

Hughes, J., Randall, D., & Shapiro, D. (1993). From ethnographic record to system design: Some experiences from the field. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 1(3), 123. [PDF]

Johnson, D. G., & Miller, K. W. (2006). A dialogue on responsibility, moral agency, and IT systems. SAC '06: Proceedings of the 2006 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, Dijon, France. 272-276. [PDF]

Kensing, F., & Bloomberg, J. (1998). Participatory design: Issues and concerns. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 7(3/4), 167. [PDF]

Kling, R. (1999). What is social informatics and why does it matter. D-Lib Magazine, 5(1), 1.

Lievrouw. (2003). Information and equity. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 37(1), 499. [PDF]

Mackay, & et al. (2000). Reconfiguring the user: Using rapid application development. Social Studies of Science, 30(5), 737. [PDF]

Malhotra, A., Gosain, S., & Hars, A. (1997). Evolution of a virtual community: Understanding design issues through a longitudinal study. ICIS '97: Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Conference on Information Systems, Atlanta, Georgia, United States. 59-74. [PDF]

Nardi, B. A., Schiano, D. J., Gumbrecht, Michelle, Swartz, & Luke. (2004). Why we blog. Communications of the ACM, 47(12), 41. [PDF]

Resnick, P., Bikson, T., Mynatt, E., Puttnam, R., Sproull, L., & Wellman, B. (2000). Beyond bowling together: SocioTechnical capital. CSCW '00: Proceedings of the 2000 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. 363. [PDF]

Voida, A., Grinter, R. E., Ducheneaut, N., Edwards, W. K., & Newman, M. W. (2005). Listening in: Practices surrounding iTunes music sharing. CHI '05: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Portland, Oregon, USA. 191-200. [PDF]

Optional Readings

Agre, P. E. (1997). Toward a critical technical practice: Lessons learned in trying to reform AI. In G. Bowker, L. Gasser, L. Star & B. Turner (Eds.), Bridging the great divide: Social science, technical systems, and cooperative work ()Erlbaum.

Asaro, P. M. (2000). Transforming society by transforming technology: The science and politics of participatory design. Accounting, Management, and Information Technologies, 10(4), 257.

Button, G., & Dourish, P. (1996). Technomethodology: Paradoxes and possibilities. CHI '96: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 19-26. from http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/238386.238394

Fisher, D. R., & Wright, L. M. (2001). On utopias and dystopias: Toward an understanding of the discourse surrounding the internet. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 6(2)

Mackay, H., & Gillespie, G. Extending the social shaping of technology approach: Ideology and appropriation

Wellman, B., & Hogan, B. (2004). The internet in everyday life. In W. S. Bainbridge (Ed.), Berkshire encyclopedia of human-computer interaction (pp. 389-389-397). Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing.

Policies

The instructor reserves the right to change the syllabus at any time.

Add/drop: The last day to drop this course is the end of the second week of classes. 

Respect: This class involves significant in-class discussion of topics on which you and your classmates may have differences in opinion. Please be respectful of others at all times.

Academic honesty: Please familiarize yourself with the latest UCI academic honesty policy: http://www.editor.uci.edu/catalogue/appx/appx.2.htm. The consequences of academic dishonesty are not worth the risks.

Technology in class: Please turn off all cell phones/pagers/etc. before the beginning of each class. 

Correspondence: We will send course announcements by email to the official course mailing list, so you should check your email regularly. Note that this mailing list goes to the email address that the registrar has for you (your UCInet ID). If you prefer to read your Email on another account, you should set your UCInet account to forward your Email to your preferred account (you can do this on the web at http://phwww.cwis.uci.edu/cgi-bin/phupdate).

Assignments: All written assignments should use standard formatting – Times style font size 12 or Arial/Tahoma style font size 10, 8.5x11in paper, 1" margins, double spaced. Paper copies of each assignment should be turned in at the end of class on the day listed on the course outline below.

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