Registry

Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2012 - 2013
Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title	E Society
Module Code	CM275
School	School of Communications
Online Module Resources
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5
Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

Description

Ever since Daniel Bell first coined the term post-industrial society, computer technology has come to play an increasingly important role in contemporary society. On the continuum of technological development over the last thirty years, the Internet, in particular the World Wide Web, has emerged as the killer-application in terms of its global impact. As a result we now live in what can be termed the E-Society as the Internet affects all areas of our lives from communications and media to politics, commerce, health education and contemporary culture, but to name a few.The overall aim of this module is to examine the affects of contemporary Web-based culture and the impact of the Internet on aspects of everyday life. It will provide students with a theoretical understanding of key academic discourse and research in this area.

Learning Outcomes

1. Critically assess the impact of the Internet on society
2. Analyse the effect of communication technologies upon the behaviour and liberites of individuals with regard to issues such as regulation and privacy
3. Assess the ideological and psychological impact of computer mediated communication with reference to the relevant theoretical material
4. Engage with key discourse on this topical area using an appropriate academic framework in the delivery of both oral written material
5. Explain how the communication technologies such as the internet can enable social control, political participation and greater social inequalities such as the digital divide
6. Describe the unique characteristics of ICT enabled communications with regard to face to face communications.
7. Empower students to identify and use a range of information sources'
8. Devise a plan for gathering primary data in the filed through interview and observation

Workload	Full-time hours per semester
*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Lecture	24	Theory, case studies and assignment briefing
Assignment	24	Research and writing of second assignment
Seminars	12	Class presentations, feedback and disscussions
Directed learning	15	Capturing primary data for presentations
Directed learning	10	Planning for primary data for presentations and data collection methods
Independent learning	40	Reading the literacture
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Identity - Online.
The socially constructed nature of identity, Early research on CMC and Identity, Identity production & self presentation, A Space for the Reflexive Construction of Identity..

Anonymity.
Anonymity: positive and negative effects, Three key issues of online identity, Playing with Identity, online identity versus off-line identity.

Surveillance + Social Control.
Modern Identity, Information Security and the Dilemma of Privacy, Protecting privacy in a digital age, Surveillance Technologies, Contexts of surveillance, Surveillance Society.

Virtual Communities and Social Software.
Competing ideas on Virtual Communities, Definitions of Community, Virtual Utopia, Behaviour in Virtual Community and Social Software.

Impact of new Technologies.
Impact of new Technologies on local communities & communities of interest, Social Capital, social Networks.

The effects of ICT use on Social Capital.
Defining Social Capital, Bonding Bridging & Linking Social Capital, Community networks and ego-centred networks, Trust, Tolerance, Connectedness and Reciprocation.

DIgital Divide.
What is the Digital Divide?, eInclusion, Factors of the Digital Dived - (ICT and AgeingE-AccessibilityGeographic Digital DivideDigital Literacy and CompetencesInclusive Public Services)Issues with The Digital Divide.

Information / Network / Knowledge Society.
History of ideas and Theories, Characteristics of the information society, Occupational Change - Space - Economy.The value of theoretical information.

eParticipation and eDemocracy.
Definitions of democracy, Civic Engagement and/or Active Citizenship, Information- Consultation - Participation.Case Studies of eDemocracy projects.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	100%	Examination Weight	0%

Course Work Breakdown
Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Group presentation	Class presentation based on primary research ( interview / observation) of social use of ICT	40%	Week 6
Essay	2500 word essay on topics covered weeks 7-12	60%	Week 12

Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; 1 = A resit is available for all components of the module 2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module 3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
This module is category 1

Indicative Reading List

Elliott, Anthony: 2010, Mobile lives: self, excess and nature, Routledge, New York, NY :,
Brown J. & Duguid P: 2002, The Social Life of Information:, Harvard Business School Press,
Keen, Andrew.: 2007, The cult of the amateur : how today's internet is killing our culture and assaulting our economy, Nicholas Brealey, London,
Katz J, & Rice R: 2002, Social Consequences of Internet Use, MIT Press,
Lister M. et al: 2003, New Media: A critical Introduction,
Negroponte N: 1996, Being Digita, Hodder & Stoughton, London,
Wellman, Barry: 2002, The Internet in everyday life,
Webster, Frank: 2004, The information society reader, MIT Press,
Hargittai, E.: 2003, The digital divide and what to do about it, New economy handbook,
Komito, L: 2004, The Information Revolution & Ireland., UCD Press,
RheinGold H: 2000, The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier - Revised Edition,
Turkle, S: 1995, Life on the Screen -Identity in the Age of the Internet,
Castells, M: 2000, The Rise of the Network Society, 2nd ed, Blackwell Publisher,
Lessig, Lawrence: 2001, The future of ideas : the fate of the commons in a connected world, Random House, New York,
Lessig, Lawrence: 2001, Free culture : how big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture and control creativity,
Baym, Nancy K: 2000, Tune in, log on : soaps, fandom, and online community, Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publications, London,
Castells, Manuel: 2001, The Internet Galaxy,
Warschauer, Mark: 2003, Technology and social inclusion: rethinking the digital divide:,

Other Resources

3554, Website, Marx, Gary, 2007, Personal Information, Borders, and the New Surveillance Studies, http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/anrev.html, 3555, Website, Lyon, David, 2002, Editorial, Surveillance Studies: Understanding visibility, mobility and the phenetic fix, Surveillance & Society, 1 (1): 1-7., http://www.surveillance-and-society.org/articles1/editorial.pd, 3556, Website, Marx, Gary, 2005, Surveillance and Society, http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/surandsoc.html,

Array

Programme or List of Programmes

BSSAO

Study Abroad (DCU Business School)

HMSA

Study Abroad (Humanities & Soc Science)

HMSAO

Study Abroad (Humanities & Soc Science)

MMA

BSc in Multimedia

Timetable this semester: Timetable for CM275

Date of Last Revision