PLEASE NOTE: All CMIT modules have now been withdrawn,
and are unavailable for the 2010/11 academic year
These web pages and lecture notes are left as reference for those students
requiring CMIT modules to complete their programme only, and are not an
indication of modules currently offered.
MIT3107/3207 Conceptual Issues in Cyberspace
Essay Assignment
You are required to write two web essays for this module (or three if taking MIT3207/MITM207A).
One of your web essays may be optionally submitted (as a plan, first-draft or complete essay) for written feedback on or before 4 March 2010 , by 12 noon. This may be submitted by email (to cmit-submissions@exeter.ac.uk) or by the usual method below.
For final submission, all web essays (including those submitted as drafts) should be handed in by 6 May 2010 , again by 12 noon.
You should hand in a paper copy of the essay, and place your essay in your personal web space (available through the student portal or via your favourite FTP client).
File conversion and uploading hints - updated for Office 2007!
I've added a few hints on getting your work online if you're writing with MS Word - these can be used to create a first-draft from your Word document. However, please note the warnings about style and design before submitting your final copy. The 'presentation' component for these essays is 10 marks out of a total of 100 for each essay.
You should aim for approx. 2,000 (or 3,000 for MITM207A) words for each essay (excluding bibliography, appendices, etc.), choosing your question for each from the list below. You must choose each question from a different section of the list. If you prefer, you may phrase your own question on any topic covered by the module, but you must confirm it with Gary before you begin researching and writing.
Each essay should be presented in XHTML format, and placed in your people.ex.ac.uk webspace, in a folder called 'mit3107'. Once uploaded, please email the URLs of each essay to cmit-submissions@exeter.ac.uk. The web essays will be backed up from these addresses, so be sure to double-check their accuracy.
You should also submit a hardcopy version (which will only be used in the marking process if we cannot access the online version), printed in black and white from the browser screen (ie not showing the XHTML tags), and you should ensure that the URL of the work is included on this printout.
All work must be handed in to the CMIT Office (i.e. not to Gary personally). You should ensure that the work is signed in correctly. State clearly your URL and your student card number on your work; do not include your name.
Be careful particularly how you cite books and online references; check this extended bibliography for some examples. Whilst we recommend the use of the Harvard system, if you are familiar with a particular set of style guidelines (such as MHRA or MLA) then you may cite according to their rules.
If you need help in writing XHTML, there are a number of worksheets available as part of the Internet module, which will guide you through the learning process. For these assignments, you are permitted to use web design tools such as Dreamweaver to create your web pages.
Questions:
Do not choose more than one question from any section.
Education
- The academic publishing industry is reluctantly accepting online journals. How is it adapting to this change (and what does it mean for researchers)?
- As digital versions of artefacts from our culture and history are created and made more widely available, what impact will this have on museums, galleries and libraries?
E-commerce
- The Internet grew as an open, co-operative network, designed for sharing information openly and freely. Can e-commerce really work in this environment?
- What does eBay tell us about the nature of business online, and the nature of trust in retailing generally?
Social Effects
- Does the Internet increase or decrease the gap between rich and poor in the Third World?
- Should broadband access be a fundamental human right?
- Is Google's change of position on censorship in China a moral decision, or purely business motivated?
Legal Issues
- How can authors/artists maintain their rights to their intellectual property in the digital world?
- Should companies have an automatic right to 'their' domain name? If so, how could we reconcile the current domain name system to UK company laws?
Cryptography and Privacy
- Does the internet help criminals to hide communication, or help law enforcers to discover and track criminal activity?
- "I don't need cryptography, I've got nothing to hide." Can this position be justified in today's connected world?
Cyberculture
- How has Science Fiction influenced the development of internet technologies? Will it continue to do so?