Introduction & Assessment

Introduction & Assessment IACT 918 Autumn 2005 Gene Awyzio & Glenn Bewsell SITACS University of Wollongong

Overview • The structure of IACT 918 • The assessment schedule • Overview of tutorial tasks • Some ground rules • Essay/Report writing hints

WebCT • Please note that the WebCT URL is: • http://www.uow.edu.au/student/lol/

Contacting Gene • Preferred Method: • via webCT forum • Most questions are best posted to the WebCT discussion board, so that everyone can benefit from the answer! • Specific IACT 918 enquiries are to be directed to me (gene) • Room: 3.107 • Phone: 4221 4090 • Email: gene@uow.edu.au • Avoiding the junk filter • Use your UoW account • Made subject relevant • Eg IACT918 essay assignment question • Provide a heading

Contacting Glenn • Preferred Method: • via webCT forum • Most questions are best posted to the WebCT discussion board, so that everyone can benefit from the answer! • Room: 3.109 • Phone: 4221 5683 • Email: gbewsell@uow.edu.au • Avoiding the junk filter • Use your UoW account • Made subject relevant • Eg IACT418 essay assignment question • Provide a heading

Objectives of IACT418/918 • Explore the uses of telecommunications by businesses • Understand the current status and future directions of telecommunications regulatory environment • Discuss the strategic management issues and the options created by emerging technologies • Develop documentation to support organisational requirements for a telecommunications network

Topics 1. Documenting the network • Requirements capture and specification • Functional specification • Design specification • Documenting the network configuration

Topics 2. Managing the network • Influences on the network • Management architectures and standards • Performance management • Fault management • Disaster management • Managing changes in a network

Topics 3. Corporate and regulatory requirements • Management teams • Operations and support • Standards and protocols

THE SCHEDULE (subject to change)

Attendance • Satisfactory attendance is a requirement of Uni enrolment • Failure to comply can result in a fail grade being recorded • Satisfactory attendance is 80% of the allocated contact hours • * Tutors will take an attendance roll in each class * • Tutorials start in week three (3) and continue until week thirteen (13)

Expected Workload • Course Rule 3.21 • Each credit point in a subject has an imp[lied workload of 28 hours over the duration of the subject. • The expected workload in this subject for an average student therefore is • 168 hours over the session • or approximately 12 hours per week over 14 weeks • This includes lectures/tutorials/labs etc. • If you don’t put in the time, don’t expect a high result.

Expected Workload • This is a Final Year/Masters level subject • YOU are expected & required to conduct independent learning • If there is something you do not know enough about, go to the ‘net or the library and FIND OUT for yourself! • Any information posted to the subject website site is deemed to have been notified to all students • Stay in touch with recent developments.

Subject Materials • Textbook • Leinwand, A. and K. Fang • Network Management: A Practical Perspective. second ed. 1995: • Prentice Hall International • Available in the unicentre bookshop for $54.90

Subject Materials • References • Dawson, R., Living Networks: Leading Your Company, Customers, and Partners in the Hyper-Connected Economy. first ed. 2003: Financial Times; Prentice Hall. (Available online through Safari Tech Books Online http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/0130353337) Available in the unicentre bookshop for $49.95 • McCabe, J.D., Network Analysis, Architecture and Design. second ed. 2003, Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann. Available in the unicentre bookshop for $143.89 • Zeithaml, V,. Parasuraman A,. Berry L, Delivering quality service : balancing customer perceptions and expectations, Collier Macmillan, 1990, Available in the library (call No: 658.812/10 or via electronic reserve) • Zeithaml, V., Bitner M., Services marketing : integrating customer focus across the firm, McGraw-Hill, 2002, Available in the library (call No: 658.8/454 or via electronic reserve) • McClaren, S., Easy Writer: A students Guide to Writing Essays & Reports. first ed., Sydney: Pascal Press. Available in the library (call No: 808.042/158) • Terplan, K. Communications Networks Management(2nd ed.), Prentice Hall, 1992, Available in the library (call No: 004.6068/3) • Rowe, S., Telecommunications for Managers (3rd ed or later.), Prentice Hall, 1995, Available in the library (call No: 651.7/10) • Subramanian, M. Network management : principles and practice, Addison Wesley, 2000, Available in the library (call No: 004.6/164) • Tavani, H, Ethics and technology : ethical issues in an age of information and communication technology, Wiley, 2004, Available in the library (call No: 174.9004/3)

Assessment Tasks

Notes on Assessment • Submission of Assessment Items • All assessment work is to be submitted during your allocated tutorial • If you cannot submit an assessment item during your tutorial then it must be submitted to the subject coordinator as soon as possible • Late submission of assessment item MUST be accompanied by a special consideration item via SOLs • All submissions must be accompanied by an Assignment Cover Sheet. • hard copy from the student enquiry centre in building three • online at http://www.itacs.uow.edu.au/info/current/coversheet.pdf

Notes on Assessment • Return of Assessment Items • All assignments except the major project will be returned to students in tutorials • The major project will be available from the subject coordinator after being marked

Notes on Assessment • Penalties for late submission of Assessment Items • Penalties may apply to all late work, except if • Special consideration is deemed necessary • An extension has been granted by your subject coordinator • Your tutor cannot grant you an extension. • Requests for extensions should be emailed to the lecturer or coordinator, prior to the due date • 10% of available marks will be deducted from work for each day it is overdue • Work more than one week late may be awarded a mark of zero.

Notes on Assessment • Special consideration • Special consideration applications must be submitted via SOLs • Medical certificates or supporting documentation should be shown to the subject coordinator as well as University Administration

Notes on Assessment • Electronic submission of Assessment Items • Electronic submissions, faxes and un-receipted mail submissions will NOT be accepted except via the WebCT submission process.

Notes on Assessment • Participation • Students are required to participate in tutorials • This means not only attending and listening to the tutorial presentations, but contributing insights to the discussion.

Notes on Assessment • Scaling • Final results in this subject may be scaled. • The scaling method that will be used in this subject is as follows • If E is the student exam mark out of 40, and A is the student assignment mark out of 60, the student final mark F will be determined as follows: • Student receives A for assignments and E for exam. • E >= 16: Final mark is E + A • 14 <= E <16: Final mark is MIN (E+A, 49) • 14 > E: Final mark is MIN (E+A, 44) • Notes: • Student with E >=16 can get any grade from F to HD • Student with 14 <= E < 16 can get either grade F (1-44) or PC (45-49) • Student with E < 14 can only get F(1-44) • 918 students CANNOT receive a grade of PC

Essays IACT 918 Autumn 2005 Gene Awyzio SITACS University of Wollongong

What an Essay is NOT • A memory dump • Of everything you know • Presented in jumbled order • Bit of a conclusion somewhere near the end • A random rambling discussion of points vaguely related to the question • A series of repetitions of the same answer expressed in different ways

What an Essay IS • “A sustained argument, developing from, or weighing the evidence about an idea or question and creating a full and satisfying conclusion” • Stephen McClaren, Easy Writer: A Students Guide to writing Essays and Reports

What an Essay IS • “A sustainedargument, developing from, or weighing the evidence about an idea or question and creating a full and satisfying conclusion” • Stephen McClaren, easy writer: A students guide to writing essays and reports

What an Essay IS • An argument is a proposition • The main line of thought, backbone of the essay • When supported by detailed discussion and logic in support this is called an argument

What an Essay IS • Any discussion in an essay must be DIRECTLY related to the argument • Discussion is sustained by reference to • Facts • Examples • Interpretations • Analysis • Critical thinking • Which serve to support your argument • You should periodically sum up showing how the point you are currently discussing relates to your argument

What an Essay IS • Within each paragraph of an argumentative type essay, facts (pertinent data) are not sufficient on their own • Facts used to support your thesis must be specifically linked back to the thesis • The reader should not have to perform 'mental gymnastics' to make the link between your thesis and the point being discussed

What an Essay IS • The information presented must be relevant to the point you are making and it must be convincing • To be relevant the writer has to be ruthless in rejecting any ideas and facts which do not directly help to build the credibility of the thesis • To be convincing, the writer needs to report on research undertaken by reputable experts and which supports the validity of the thesis

What an Essay IS • In an academic essay, the format for sustaining an argument is • State your thesis in the introduction and provide the main reasons for the support of the thesis • In the body of the essay you take each reason in turn, explain the significance of the reason and then show how it supports your thesis • The conclusion is the place for you to provide the reader with the big picture and remind the reader of the significance of your thesis

What an Essay IS • Full Conclusions should go beyond a summary of the main points in the essay • They should look at the implications and significance of the main points in light of your main argument

Abstracts, Summaries or Executive Summaries • Abstracts • Typically, an informative abstract answers these questions in about 100-250 words: • Why did you do this study or project? • What did you do, and how? • What did you find? • What do your findings mean?

Abstracts, Summaries or Executive Summaries • Executive summaries • Provide an overview or preview to an audience who may or may not have time to read the whole report carefully • Explain why you wrote the report • Emphasize your conclusions or recommendation • Include only the essential or most significant information to support those conclusions • Accuracy is essential because decisions will be made based on your summary by people who have not read the original

Introduction • Your introduction serves three (3) main functions • To prepare the way ahead for your essay • To demonstrate that you have understood the question, and what that understanding is • To indicate your argument in response • The introduction covers the following issues: • What was the problem and its context, • Why was it a problem, • How was the problem solved (briefly)

Introduction • There are two stages in an introduction that are essential: • Thesis statement • Summary of main points to be discussed • In addition sometimes the following stages are also required: • Orientation to the topic • Stating the scope of the discussion • Defining your term

Body of an Essay • In a sustained essay the body MUST continue along the lines established in the introduction • Other hints to writing a good body • Use topic sentences • Treat each point in turn (not each source) • Convention: discuss points in the same order you introduced them • Use transition words and phrases between points or topics • Refer to your argument • Give specific proof • Qualify your statements

Conclusions and Recommendations • Your report or essay will typically describe some findings which have been derived from • Observation • Experiment • Calculation • Literature review • From these findings, you should draw some conclusions

Conclusions and Recommendations • The insights that you can extract from your basic findings are a key part of your report or essay • You may also be expected to make some recommendations based on your conclusions • If you have limited the scope in the introduction now you need to show how your argument relates back to the ‘big picture’ and what the implications are

Introduction & Assessment