Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor Qin Guo qin.guo@mq.edu.au Contact via qin.guo@mq.edu.au Monday 9 am - 5 pm
Credit points	Credit points 3
Prerequisites	Prerequisites 39cp
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This unit discusses the commodification of knowledge in information societies focusing on how information and communication technologies are used by international actors such as states, corporations and non-government organisations. Lectures and readings link discipline-based skills and knowledge to career paths. Through team exercises students are asked to consider themselves as knowledge workers and to discover inter-disciplinary approaches to finding solutions in an economy which is global, networked and informational. Students are encouraged to engage in innovation learning through individual project design informed by leaders in the field.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of disciplinary theories and concepts and how these impact upon present day workforce.
Integrate and synthesise prior knowledge and learning across diverse topic areas in the discipline of communication.
Apply synthesised knowledge and skills to an initially unstructured authentic problem.
Engage in innovative learning through class participation and individual project design.
Translate discipline-based skills and knowledge to career pathways informed by updated knowledge of the field.
Apply inter-disciplinary approaches to finding solutions in an economy which is global, networked and informational.

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Due
Participation	10%	from Week 1 to Week 13
Weekly Seminar	20%	Week 3 to Week 7
Group Project	40%	Week 11 Friday
Written Paper	30%	Week 7 Friday

Participation

Due: from Week 1 to Week 13
Weighting: 10%

Students are expected to attend and engage actively in all learning and teaching activities of ICOM301. This includes:

Attendance: attending weekly tutorial punctually and signing the attendance register
Participation: actively participating in all tutorial activities, including discussions and presentations.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Engage in innovative learning through class participation and individual project design.

Weekly Seminar

Due: Week 3 to Week 7
Weighting: 20%

This is a group (in teams of 4) activity which requires students to research, plan and organise a seminar style discussion around the week’s topic. Students are encouraged to role-play based on one’s own career trajectory (e.g. journalist, PR officer, policy adviser, diplomat, or aid worker) and make the presentation in the guise of the figure. It is expected that in addition to the assigned weekly readings, students will read, watch and listen to a variety of texts including news reports, which are connected to the week’s topic, and identify connecting themes. A key element of this assessment is to ascertain how well students can relate the readings to an issue in the real world and bring insights from within their chosen professional role. The discussion must endeavour to engage the whole class. The discussion can be presented in a variety of interesting formats (e.g. panel discussion, round table, focus group, press conference, etc.).

On successful completion you will be able to:

Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of disciplinary theories and concepts and how these impact upon present day workforce.
Engage in innovative learning through class participation and individual project design.
Translate discipline-based skills and knowledge to career pathways informed by updated knowledge of the field.

Group Project

Due: Week 11 Friday
Weighting: 40%

This is a group project. Choose an issue (e.g. education, environment, equity poverty etc.) and write a briefing paper on the issue for the relevant Federal (National) Minister of a selected country, and make an oral presentation to the officials of the Ministry. The paper (2000 words) and presentation (15 minutes) are required to cover the following:

Statement of the issue of concern;
Background of the issue;
Analysis of the issue (significant aspects of the issue, prospective problems/consequences/opportunities, identification and discussion of the options of solution, and recommendations to address the issue).
References

You are encouraged to integrate key concepts from this unit and other units of international communication discipline in your project report.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of disciplinary theories and concepts and how these impact upon present day workforce.
Integrate and synthesise prior knowledge and learning across diverse topic areas in the discipline of communication.
Apply synthesised knowledge and skills to an initially unstructured authentic problem.
Translate discipline-based skills and knowledge to career pathways informed by updated knowledge of the field.
Apply inter-disciplinary approaches to finding solutions in an economy which is global, networked and informational.

Written Paper

Due: Week 7 Friday
Weighting: 30%

This is an individual writing assignment. Students are required to write a 1200-word critical summary based on a biography/autobiography of a high profile person or an organisation. The critical summary will articulate the interrelations between the growth path of the selected person/organisation and the globalisation context. Students are encouraged to choose cases which are related to their proposed career path.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of disciplinary theories and concepts and how these impact upon present day workforce.
Integrate and synthesise prior knowledge and learning across diverse topic areas in the discipline of communication.
Apply synthesised knowledge and skills to an initially unstructured authentic problem.
Translate discipline-based skills and knowledge to career pathways informed by updated knowledge of the field.
Apply inter-disciplinary approaches to finding solutions in an economy which is global, networked and informational.

Delivery and Resources

In addtion to the ICOM301 Reader which is available for purchase at the Co-op Bookshop on the campus, the following additional readings are available at the reserve section of the MQ library.

Leah A. Lievrouw and Sonia M. Livingstone (eds.) (2002). The Handbook of New Media: Social Shaping and Consequences of ICTs, London: Sage Publications

Castells, Manuel (1996). The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, 2^nd Edition, Volumes 1-3, Oxford: Blackwell

iLearn http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/ is the major communication platform for this unit. Important announcement and additional L&T material will be uploaded on iLearn during the semester. Students are expected to visit iLearn regularly.

Unit Schedule

Week 1

Unit Overview and Introduction

The global knowledge society reflects an innovative way of organising societies, economies, culture and politics by utilising theory, science, technology and communications. It offers a means to overcome the legacy of underdevelopment and address persistent and emerging problems like inequality, depletion of resources and political oppression through education, communication and application of advanced theoretical insight. It is a model for change in advanced and developing societies.

Reading:

Unit Outline

Selected Biography/autobiography for the written paper

Activities: L&T content outline and objectives, expectations and assessments, contact details.

Week 2

What is the Information Society?

The concepts of the Information Society, post-industrialisation and the knowledge society are drawn from visions about how technology and social organisation would interact to drive new opportunities for democracy, wealth creation, peace and security. They were also a deeply ideological project.

Reading

Webster, Frank (2005). Making Sense of the Information Age

In Information, Communication & Society. Vol. 8, No4 December 2005, pp439-458

McDowell, Stephen D. (2001), ‘Theory and Research in International Communication: A Historical and Institutional Account,’ in William Gudykunst and Bella Mody (eds.), Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication (Second Edition) Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Tutorial questions: What constitutes a post-industrial society? Has technology been used to improve well-being and security? What are the values behind the information society? Are there alternatives or deficiencies?

Week 3

The Promise of the Knowledge Society

The knowledge society reflects an idealistic proposition on the development of science, technology, information and communication to benefit whole communities. It reflects a model for development that is applicable to both advanced and emerging economies.

Reading

UNESCO (2005). ‘Introduction’ in Towards Knowledge Societies (UNESCO World Report)

Stehr, Nico (2007). ‘Modern Societies as Knowledge Societies’ in Sales, A. & Fournier, M. (Eds) Knowledge, Communication & Creativity. London: Sage.

Tutorial questions: What is the premise of the knowledge society? Does it hold any value for improving life? What social, cultural and political factors inhibit its application? Why is theory useful for development and policy formation?

Week 4

Educating the Knowledge Worker

The knowledge economy reflects the structuring of production and society in ways that encourage the commodification of information and knowledge. This approach reflects the values of individual financial gain and private enterprise. It has become the favoured approach of national governments and international policy organisations.

Reading:

Delanty, Gerard. (2001). ‘The University in the Knowledge Society’, in Organization 8(2).

Reich, Robert B. (1992). ‘The Education of the Symbolic Analyst (I)’ in The work of nations: Preparing ourselves for 21^st century capitalism, New York: Vintage Books.

Tutorial questions: What are the values of the Knowledge Economy? How might these values and practices work against social interests? Who is likely to find knowledge economy a positive approach? Why is knowledge important for innovation?

Week 5

Working in the Knowledge Economy

Establishment of a global market linked through communication technologies has changed the nature of work in many industries associated with the information age. Knowledge is central to catching the opportunities of the global economy and universities play a key role in training the workers.

Reading

Kessels, Joseph. (2001).’Learning in organizations: a corporate curriculum for the knowledge economy”

Drucker, P. (1998). ‘The Discipline of Innovation’ Harvard Business Review, November-December.

Tutorial questions: Why has knowledge become so important to work in the global economy? What are the skills necessary to succeed in the information society? Why has advanced knowledge education become an important policy issue for governments? If advanced knowledge is so important for national economies success, why have many governments introduced university fees? Should government, business or the individual support the cost of education?

Week 6

Media and the Global Public Sphere

Media and communications argued to be the safeguard of democratic rights and citizenship yet these institutions seem to be playing a diminishing role in reflecting the public interest.

Reading

Calhoun, C. (2007). ‘Information Technology and the International Public Sphere’ in Sales, A. & Fournier, M. (Eds) Knowledge, Communication & Creativity. London: Sage.

Gandy, Oscar. H. (2002). The Real digital divide: Citizens versus consumers, in Leah A. Lievrouw and Sonia M. Livingstone (eds.), The Handbook of New Media: Social Shaping and Consequences of ICTs, London: Sage Publications.

Tutorial questions: Does the media or new communications offer the best way to raise issues and explore the promise of the knowledge society? How many public spheres exist in each society and internationally? Do these public spheres offer places to debate alternative or controversial views that make up society? Which voices seem to be strongest in the public sphere? Is Wikileaks important for democracy? Why are democratic governments against it?

Week 7

Managing Information

Public relations sector has enjoyed a phenomenal growth and plays an important role in knowledge management in all sectors – private, public and civil society organization. An important aspect of strategic communication is to promote dialogue with different publics. We’ll discuss the trends and challenges in strategic communication which may include crises communication, public affairs, press relations, marketing communication, etc.

Reading

Patching, R. and Pearson, M. (2009). ‘Censorship Through Spin’ in Banerjee, I. & Muppidi, S. (Eds) Changing Media, Changing Societies, Singapore: AMIC.

Frith, K. & Chen, J. (2006). ‘Insights On The Education Needs Of Aspiring Advertising Professionals’ in Media Asia 33 (1 & 2).

Tutorial questions: Should government spend public money on spin? What are the dangers and advantages of managing information in this way? Is truth a casualty? Who benefits from Public Relations? How does it impact on the news media? What are the skills and knowledge required to work in this area?

Week 8

Deeper Divides or Greater Equity?

International comparisons often show the great gulf between societies in terms of access to technology, education and income. These divides seem to be persistent and leading to inequalities between people within and between societies.

Reading

McMichael, P. (2008) ‘The Globalization Project in Practice’ in Development and Social Change, Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.

Hywel, W. (2009) In Our Time: The Speeches that shaped the Modern World (Anita Roddick), London: Quercus.

Tutorial questions: What are the characteristics of the digital divide? What are the other types of divides which reduce peoples’ ability to participate in the knowledge society? How could these divides be tackled? Is it important to tackle the divides or should we accept that inequality is a part of human life? Does the adoption of technologies change local cultures and societies? Why would some people find these conceptions to be alien? How could these ideas be improved?

Week 9

Owning Knowledge Intellectual Property

Ownership of knowledge has become a crucial issue all over the world as international regimes gradually increase the range of property rights that can be expressed over information and knowledge. Indigenous knowledge has been marginalised or appropriated by modern capital. What are the interests that lie behind corporatisation of knowledge ownership?

Reading Drahos, Peter with Braithwaite, John (2002). ‘The Knowledge Game’ in Information Feudalism. Who owns the knowledge economy, London: Earthscan Publications Ltd.

Laughlin, Robert (2009). Standing to reason, Sydney Morning Herald, January 17-18, p.6.

Tutorial questions: Have you ever copied a CD or computer game? Is it right for people to steal intellectual property? Should companies be allowed to exclusively own knowledge and be able to control its use? Does this help or hinder the progress of human life and society?

Week 10

Individual research

Students may use this week to prepare their poster presentations. Make an appointment to see the tutor if you have any specific questions relating to your presentation.

Reading

Castells, Manuel (2000) ‘Conclusion’ in The Rise of Network Society, 2^nd Edition, Oxford:Blackwell Publishers.

Himanen, Pekka (2004) Challenges of the Global Information

Society at http://web.eduskunta.fi/dman/Document.phx?documentId=br11307103930385&cmd=download

Week 11

Group project and presentation

Week 12

Group project and presentation

Week 13

Group project and presentation

Learning and Teaching Activities

Lectures

Lectures from staff and guest lecturers

Tutorials

tutorials from staff

Seminar and Discussion

seminar and discussions led by group of students in charge of the week and participated by the whole class.

Group Presentations

Presentations of the group project

Personal Readings

Weekly reading assignments and additional relevant readings

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html

Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html

Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.