Class Number 10441D; Semester 981 Spring 1998
Tuesday evenings, 6:45-10pm, Room 205
Course Objectives
This course surveys a wide range of emerging information and communication
technologies (ICTs), from superwatches to the Internet and World Wide Web. Students
will address such questions as:
What are the emerging ICTs?
What social, technical, and policy factors shape their design and development?
Who are some of the major individuals and companies driving emergent ICTs?
Who will adopt these technologies? How will they diffuse?
Will they fail or succeed?
What impacts could result from their implementation?
Requirements
The course will be based on lectures, guest speakers, videotapes of various
technologies, and seminar discussion. Students are encouraged to get an e-mail
account at USC and are required to complete and present short (1,000 word) essays
on three emerging ICTs' and contribute these essays to a joint overview of Emerging
Communication Technologies', which the class will compile and edit.
Grades will be based on the following:
Essay one 20 %
Essay two 20
Essay three 20
Joint Overview 20
Discussion 20
TOTAL 100 %
Texts for this Course
Required Texts available at the USC Bookstore
Baldwin, T. F., McVoy, D. S., and Steinfield, C. (1996), Convergence: Integrating
Media, Information & Communication (Thousand Oaks and London: Sage
Publications).
Dutton, W. H. (1996) (ed.), Information and Communication Technologies Visions
and Realities (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press).
Dyson, E. (1997), Release 2.0: A Design for Living in the Digital Age (New York:
Broadway Books).
Recommended for Further Reading and Reference:
Gates, B. (1995), The Road Ahead (New York and London: Viking), with CD-ROM.
Gilder, G. (1994, orig. 1990), Life After Television, Revised Edition (New York: W. W.
Norton).
Negroponte, N. (1995), Being Digital (New York and London: Hodder & Stoughton).
Noll, M. (1997), Highway of Dreams: A Critical View Along the Information
Superhighway (Mahway, NJ: LEA).
Pierce, J. R., and Noll, A. M. (1990), Signals: The Science of Telecommunications (New
York: Scientific American Library).
Topics and Schedule
I will be scheduling guest speakers and possible site visits and have therefore not
indicated the date that each topic will be discussed. However, the following topics will
discussed in the order indicated:
1. The Social and Cultural Shaping of ICTs, and Knowledge About ICTs
Read: V&R: Ch 3 by Williams and Edge, Ch 5 by Woolgar; try Ch 6 by MacKenzie
2. ICT Trends (IMIC: Ch 1-6)
Convergence (IMIC: 1), also read: V&R: Ch 6 by Garnham
Telephone (IMIC: Ch 2 and 3), also read V&R: Ch 1 by Freeman
Cable and Satellite TV (IMIC: Ch 2 and 4), also read V&R: Ch 13 by Collins
Cable-Telco Competiton and Convergence (IMIC: Ch 2 and 5)
TV-Computer Competition and Convergence (IMIC: Ch 2 and 6), also read
V&R: Ch 22 by Dutton et al.
3. Changing Business and Management Paradigms (IMIC: Ch 7-10)
New ICT Management Paradigms (IMIC: Ch 7), also read V&R: Ch 7 by
Freeman
Changing Conceptions and Responses of Consumers (IMIC: Ch 8)
Forecasting and Realizing a Market (IMIC: Ch 9), review V&R: Ch 6 by Garnham
Competitive Strategies (IMIC: Ch 10)
4. Driving Forces and Constraints
The Economic Payoffs of Production and Use, read V&R: Ch 18 by Kraemer and
Dedrick, Ch 19 by Gillespie and Cornford
Uncertainties of Communication Policy and Regulation (IMIC: Ch 11), also read
V&R: Ch 20 by Baer
International and Global Competition and Policy (IMIC: Ch 12), and
V&R: Ch 21 by Mansell
Impacts on Consumers (IMIC: Ch 13), and V&R: Ch 10 by Peltu et al.
5. Perspectives on the Information Society (focus on Dyson's book)
The Information Society (V&R: Ch 1 by Freeman, Ch 2 by Miles)
Read Esther Dyson, or Nick Negroponte, or George Gilder and prepare to
present and critique their perspective on the future of communications.
6. ICTs in Social and Institutional Contexts of Adoption and Use
The Firm (V&R: Ch 9 by Coombs and Hull, 11 by Goddard and Richardson)
The Office (V&R: Ch 8 by Webster)
The Household (V&R: Ch 12 by Silverstone and Haddon)
Educational Settings (V&R: Ch 14 by Gill and Cochrane)
Government Service Delivery (V&R: Ch 15 by Taylor et al.)
Politics and Elections (V&R: Ch 16 by Raab et al.)
7. Summary and Conclusions
Read V&R: Ch 17 by Melody