Background

One of the most valuable commodities in the Information Age is an ability to predict (to SOME degree of accuracy) the future of current and emerging innovations. The value of studying the history of communication technologies is to benefit from hindsight so we can avoid repeating errors as well as sharpen our predictive powers. In what ways can we apply an understanding about older "new" technologies and the diffusion process to help analyze situations and recommend actions regarding a newer or future "new" technology?

My goal for you with this assignment is for you to experience applying your knowledge and insights from

(1) the history of communication technologies and
(2) the theory of innovation diffusion

to real world issues within a specific social arena. This should be a project that you conceivably could include in a job application as an illustration of your research, analytical, and presentational abilities.

Overview

You will assume the role of a freelance consultant on behalf of the prominent think tank "Institute for Technology Past, Present, and Future." The institute is funded by an anonymous benefactor, and thus is independent of industry, technology vendors, or special interest. The institute's goals are to produce unbiased, well-informed reports on various emerging technologies and applications to help anyone interested gain a more accurate understanding of communication technologies and society.

Because you're working for free, your study can focus on a problem, issue, or opportunity that you finds interesting and important. Your task will be to investigate, study, analyze the topic, and then generate predictions, remedies, or strategies for your chosen topic - all informed by your conceptual and theoretical studies. You will produce a report and share the contents in a formal presentation to the institute's board of directors (in this case, your classmates, who will submit peer evaluations).

Topics

Although there is a wide range of possibilities for topics of investigation, I can provide some ideas for you to consider.

Products

- MP3 audio standard
- HDTV television
- Digital television
- "Smart" video recorders
- Internet telephony
- Hand-held internet access
- Pagers
- Cellular telephones
- Videophones
- E-paper

Processes
- Telemedicine (different aspects)
- Telesupport (different aspects)
- Telecommuting
- Virtual organizations
- E-campaigns (political or otherwise)
- E-commerce (different aspects)
- Web broadcasting
- E-gambling
- Virtual universities
- Hypertext narratives

Guidelines

1. Identify your topic. Choose a topic (a newer product or process) that appears to have some prominence and appears worthy of a close analysis. Check popular magazines and newspapers for ideas. In addition to library databases, some useful online sources include:
- New York Times Technology section (www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/tech/index.html)
- LA Times Online (www.latimes.com/business/cutting/)
- Time Digital (www.pathfinder.com/time/digital/)
- Newsweek Online (www.newsweek.com)
- Hotwired (www.wired.com/news)

2. Conduct your literature review. The second task is to identify available information on the product or process. Again, scour popular, specialized, and trade publications for background on the product or process, its characteristics, its intended market, marketing plans and issues, critiques, and other such information. Beware of websites posing as authoritative information sources! If in doubt, check with me. Instead, only rely on reputable, established expertise from online AND offline sources. Your analysis needs to be an informed analysis, and this review will form the basis of your analysis. There are no ironclad rules, but I expect to see at least 10-12 references from substantial sources/articles, perhaps with several minor sources added.

3. Review historical/theoretical course material. From our review of historical foundations of communication technologies, identify cases, perspectives, insights, outcomes relevant to your topic. In essence, you are review readings and discussions on class looking for examples from the past that could illuminate and inform the present and future. Look beyond the obvious and be creative in your search. Compile those insights and examples. From our review of diffusion of innovations theory, identify the key principles relevant to your topic. There are likely multiple concepts relevant, although one or more might be more central. Both team members should contribute roughly equally to this.

4. Outline your analysis. Begin composing your report. Your goal is to inform general readers about how best to understand your topic of choice and to provide informed speculation about possible future developments. In other words, you're not trying to promote (or demote) anything, just to provide a balanced analysis to educate interested readers.

Of course, include:

(1) Introduction providing a quick overview. You might then also include
(2) a section summarizing the basic background of your chosen topic, followed by
(3) a section summarizing relevant historical and theoretical (diffusion) concepts
(4) a section that applies those concepts to your topic
(5) a concluding section that ties it all together.

5. Write Final Report. Final report should be a professional document suitable for formal delivery. Include a cover sheet, table of contents (brief), and executive summary (1 page). Fancy covers are optional and will not hurt your grade if you don't have one. No ironclad rules regarding length, although I expect the best papers to be 12-15 pages of text (double-spaced, 12-pt font, 1-inch margins), plus the cover page, TOC, executive summary, and references. Polish your writing and proofread carefully. This point would be an excellent time to review Strunk and White for common word usage errors, sentence construction problems, and organizational recommendations.

6. Prepare presentation. Report will provide framework for your presentation. Presentation should be of professional quality: orally, visually, and content. Don't try to read your paper - hit the highlights necessary for someone who hasn't read it to understand the issue and your analysis.

• Visuals are essential - you can use overheads, prepared posters, handouts, short video segments, or combinations. They should complement your oral presentation, not substitute. Generally less is more - be selective about content on visuals
  
• Oral presentation should be smooth, clear, and interesting. Clear voice, strong eye contact, calm demeanor all contribute to professionalism.
  
• Limited to 15 minutes, with 5 additional minutes for questions. - Both team members should contribute roughly equally to presentation and Q&A at end.
  
• Classmates will fill out evaluations (constructive!) that will be considered during grading and will be provided to each team to help them improve in future presentations (names omitted).
  
• Presentation times will be scheduled by instructor, and include the time scheduled for the final exam.

Evaluation

Papers will be evaluated according to the following criteria: