Introduction and Essays

1. Introduction and Essays IACT 302 Corporate Network Planning

2. 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! • Room: 3.107 • Phone: 4221 4090 • Email: gene@uow.edu.au • Avoiding the junk filter • Use your UoW account • Made subject relevant • Eg IACT302 assignment question • Provide a heading

3. Contacting William • Preferred Method: • via webCT forum • Most questions are best posted to the WebCT discussion board, so that everyone can benefit from the answer! • Room: 3.217 • Phone: 4221 3768 • Email: william_tibben@uow.edu.au • Avoiding the junk filter • Use your UoW account • Made subject relevant • Eg IACT302 assignment question • Provide a heading

4. Tutorials • Enrol in a tutorial via SOLs

5. General Overview of Content • This subject explores telecommunications network planning from a strategic perspective • Topics covered will include: • (1) Fundamental Networking Concepts: standards, protocols, architectures and technologies • (2) Fundamental Data Networking Concepts: network topologies, network devices, wireless networking, security and applications • (3) Fundamental Voice Networking Concepts: history, network classifications, the telephone system and voice communications, architectures, cellular networks • (4) Convergence Of Voice And Data In Telecommunications: frame/cell relay, broadband networks, emerging technologies

6. Objectives • A student who successfully completes this subject should be able to • explain the principles of telecommunications network architecture and standards • debate the current status and future directions of telecommunications networks • evaluate the critical planning issues and the options created by new technology

7. Objectives • A student who successfully completes this subject should be able to • develop a telecommunications network plan • critically analyse the need for a ‘systems approach’ in telecommunications planning • recognise the need to know organisational structure when designing a telecommunications network • understand the considerations for people, process and technology when designing and maintaining a network

8. Lecture Schedule

9. Lecture Schedule

10. Tutorial Attendance • Tutorials will commence in week two (2) and continue until week thirteen (13) • Due to the Public Holiday for Good Friday on March 25th there will be NO lectures or tutorials in week 5.

11. Tutorial Attendance • Satisfactory attendance at lectures, tutorials and seminars is a requirement for the successful completion of this subject. • Failure to comply may result in a fail grade being recorded • Satisfactory attendance is deemed to be attendance at approximately 80% of the allocated contact hours • If you miss a tutorial for legitimate reasons you must apply for special consideration through SOLs and contact the subject coordinator as soon as possible if alternative arrangements are required • If satisfactory attendance is not achieved the final mark awarded will be MIN(E+A,49) as detailed in the section on scaling below.

12. Tutorial Attendance • Signed rolls will be used to ascertain attendance at tutorials • It is YOUR responsibility to sign rolls each week • Attendance rolls may not be signed outside of your allocated tutorial time • Pay particular attention on your seminar week • Students MUST attend their allocated tutorial unless they have the written permission of the subject coordinator

13. Textbook • 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

14. Other Useful References Devaraj, S and Kohli, R, The IT payoff : measuring the business value of information technology investments, 2003: Financial Times; Prentice Hall. (Available online through Safari Tech Books Online http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/0130650749), Available in the library (call No: 658.15/395) Harris, K, Building the New Enterprise – People, Processes and Technology, Sun Microsystems Press, Prentice Hall, 1998, Available in the library (call No: 658.4038/315) Leinwand, A. and K. Fang, Network Management: A Practical Perspective. second ed. 1995: Prentice Hall International. Available in the unicentre bookshop for $54.90 Available in the library (call No: 004.6/61) McCabe, J.D., Network Analysis, Architecture and Design. second ed., Morgan Kaufmann, 2003, Available in the unicentre bookshop for $143.89, Available in the library (call No: 004.65/24)

15. Other Useful References 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) Davidow, W.H., and Malone, S., The Virtual Corporation, Harper Business, 1992, Available in the library (call No: 658.5/161) McClaren, S., Easy Writer: A students Guide to Writing Essays & Reports. first ed., Pascal Press, Available in the library (call No: 808.042/158)

16. Assessment

18. 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

19. 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.

20. Penalties for late submission of Assessment Items • Penalties may apply to all late work • except if special consideration is deemed necessary • or unless 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.

21. Special consideration • Special consideration applications must be submitted via SOLs and medical certificates or supporting documentation shown to the subject coordinator as well as University Administration.

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

23. 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.

24. 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)

25. Special Assessment Requirements: • As part of their tutorial activities, students will be required to complete milestone activities during the tutorial and participate in the specified group projects. • All written work will be graded with the following criteria in mind: • The extent to which the question has been correctly interpreted and answered; • Originality; • Demonstrated understanding of the main concepts of the course; • Awareness of the literature; • Clarity and structure of written work and oral presentations • The level of communications skills demonstrated.

26. Essays IACT 302 Autumn 2005 Gene Awyzio SITACS University of Wollongong

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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)

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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