Class Notes
Sociology of Communications  Fall 2007

Dec 6

Ray Kurzweil in Wikipedia.  Kurzweil AI.net 

The Technological Singularity - Wikipedia

Second Life Virtual World
Video:  Introduction to Second LIfe. 
Second Nature a locale built by Nature.
Artificial Intelligence Meets the Universe by Ben Goertzel
What the Second Life pet should look like....
XO Laptop
OLPC Web Site
Use of Facebook in college campuses.
Online Nation:  Five Years of Growth in Online Learning 
Use of Facebook in college campuses.
MIT open courseware.
MIT classes online. 

 
-     OLPC Web Site


Dec  4  

Peter Russell in Wikipedia.  Russell's Home Page.
 The Global Brain in Wikipedia. 

Futurist Methods. 

About Wikipedia.  About Google Book Search.  Putting all data in a Web library

College newspapers, web vs paper, control:  Inside Higher Ed. 
Weekly Standard on attacks on Google.






October 25.   In SAKAI:  Moderating Focus Groups.  On the open WEB: Interviewing Guidelines.   Survey Interviewing.  Stages of Group Development.  Focus Groups.  Guidelines for Preparing a Focus Group -

October 23:  We have reports from Scott, James and Antione (if he is able).  Also Rhonda owes us a make-up report.  Three students did not hand in Research Proposals.  Drop date with a W is November 12 according to the Fall 2007 Registrar’s Office Calendar.    Today we will look at the  theories of Marshall McLuhan.  Other readings:  Understanding McLuhan and  Notes on McLuhan.   Chapter Nine from Al Gore, The Assault on Reason.  In Sakai, file GoreWellConnectedCitizenry. 

Today we will


October 9:  Boomerang Generation discovered by Kristy. 

Writing Review:
Writing With Power
    Minimize the Use of the Passive Voice
    Use Action Verbs
    Naming your Agents
    Project Personality
Writing Consisely
    Eliminate clutter ,e.g., "in regards to"
    Eliminate unnecessary words
    Use positive constructions
Write with Emphasis
    But the main ideas in the main clauses of the sentence
    Put key ideas at the beginning or end of the sentence
    Forge Links Between Sentences
    Use parallel structures for parallel ideas
    Use parallelism to creat rhythm in sentences
Finding the Right Words
    Use appropriate formal English for professional writing
    Avoid slang in professional writing
    Be precise and specific.  In reporting on survey results, make the precise meaning of the questions clear.  Percentages or rates or numbers?  Current condition or condition over time, e.g., divorced now or ever divorced.
    Use specific language, avoid words such as situation, sort, thing, aspect, kind...
Use metaphor, synecdoche and metonymy to make the writing more powerful.
Avoid tired cliches

Statistics question.  Consider the following trend data.  Percent saying it is OK for older p eople to share a home with their adult children.

1973  35.2%
1983  50.4%
1993  55.2%
2006  60.4%
Compute a Regression Equation for this data:     Intercept  _______________    Coefficient _________________

Use the Regression Equation to predict a score for the year 2020

To answer this, enter the material in Excel as in this sample file.   Use the tools/data analysis/regression module to compute the regression equation, following the instructions.   

Then use the intercept and coefficient to predict the score for 2020      Predicted =  -1390.398157 +  .724423963 * 2020
          You can do this in Excel by typing the following in a cell  =  -1390.398157 +  .724423963 * 2020   and hitting the Enter key.  It is better not to cut and paste, just type the numbers in a cell.  It will give the result, 72.94914. 

Trend Analysis:  Article from NY Times. 

October 2  Presentation of our powerpoints.

September 27.    The two files I worked on in class are available in SAKAI.  One is Employment Status of Partners 1972 to 2006.doc , the other is PartnerWorks.xls

We will begin working with the GSS 1972 to 2006 data set.  This is a very large data set which can be accessed in three ways:

1.   You can use it at Rutgers with the professional microcase software.  It is currently in the "new stuff" folder and will later be in the "statistics folder".  Open the professional version of microcase, not one for a specific class.  Then open the gs 7206.mc4 data set   which should be in the archive/surveys/us/gss folder.

2.  You can install the software and data file at home.  The software and data are in SAKAI in the resources folder.  The software is called  "microcase2004-self-installing.exe" and the data file is "gss7206.mc4"

To install the software, you will need the following password information which must be typed precisely as given:

Institution:  Rutgers University - Camden Campus

Contact Person:  Robert E. Wood

Expiration Date:  10/01/2008

License Key: ****-****-****  (to find the license key, look in the Announcements function on SAKAI, I can't post it on an open WEB site). 

You then need to download the software file, GSS7206.mc4, and install it somewhere on your computer.  After opening Microcase you need to open the software.

3.  A third option is to use the SDA online data analysis system.  This is on a WEB site and does not require installing anything.  It seems to run pretty well if you have a good internet connection.  It does not download the data, it runs it for you at the University of California, Berkeley.  To do this, go to http://sda.berkeley.edu/archive.htm

Then click on:  GSS Cumulative Datafile 1972-2006 - Includes new search function

Next, choose a dependent variable for study.  This should be a variable which has been asked at least five or six times.  Recode this variable in such a way as to get a percentage for a trend analysis.  Enter it into EXCEL and do a Regression Trend analysis.  Project the Trend until 2020.  This assignment will be demonstrated in class today.  It will be due October 1. 

 

Sept 25  Learning Public Speaking Skills.  These are summarized on the Guidelines for Oral Presentations form which will be used in grading your presentations next week.  We will view some videos by TJ Walker of Media Training Worldwide.  These are available on the Google Video site.   To see them, just go to Google Video and type "Media Training Worldwide" in the Search box.   Two that may be particularly useful to us are learn the art of public speaking, don't overdo your powerpoint presentations"  and "the rule of three".  

King, I have a dream speech.  Kennedy Inauguration.    Churchill Battle of Britain.  
Some more useful links: JFK Inaugural Address - Martin Luther King "I have a Dream" speech-WinstonChurchill's Battle of Britain speech.  (These are availableonline  HistoryChannel or other sites).   Shakespeare:  To Be or Not to Be.  Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.   With luck we might be able to watch streaming video from American Rhetoric or the History Channel or elsewhere.  C-Span "Analyze a Speech" TJ Walker "Don'tOverdo Your Powerpoint Presentation"  Google Video and YouTube are great sources of videos that run quickly online.  See PaulDaniels "Stress Free Guide".  Speakcast:  Nothing is Worse than a Well Written Speech:  
Term Paper Projects.
You have a choice of either a report on an analysis of data from the GSS 1972-2006 data file, or a report on our Rutgers project.  Doing a report on the Rutgers data involves running a focus group with Rutgers Camden students.  Could be held in the basement of the sociology building during the free period on tuesday or thursday.  We could probably provide pizza and drinks.  You would have to recruit participants, run the discussions and write up the results.  This could be done in groups of two or perhaps even three, but you would each write a separate report.  You might supplement the group discussion with some telephone nterviews with students who left Rutgers Camden before graduation.  We should be able to get lists from the administration, but reach them has been difficut.  We would just ask a few short questions.  Where did they go, are they in school elsewhere, etc.  Any suggestions they have for Rutgers Camden.  I doubt that we could get former students to come in for a focus group.
This would be a qualitative paper, although someone could do a quantitative analysis of the survey data Rutgers has already collected.
Even if you do not do the survey analysis for a term paper project, you will still be assigned to do some tables and present the results to class.  For a sample term paper, see the paper called NewspaperReadersLindaAnderson.doc in the Resources folder on SAKAI.

Sept 20:  We will review a paper called Recruitment Study.pdf which will be handed out in class.  This is an example of a formal research paper on our topic.  It is in SAKAI.  It uses a measured called the Student Satisfaction Inventory.   Also in SAKAI are the results of a survey of Rutgers students done by the dean's office.  The file is RutgersSurvey.csv.  You may use material from that.    We will discuss the one-paragraph essays you posted on your most creative idea.  The file with my comments is in the Announcements part of SAKAI and was sent to you by email.

Sept 18  Creativity - 

Here are the ideas we posted on the board during the last class:

Our wish list

  • Personal tutor
  • Free books
  • Free parking
  • Clean classrooms
  • No world masterpieces
  • Online classes
  • Laptop at every seat---each student gets a laptop
  • Shorter classes
  • Smaller classes
  • Lecture on CD-optional
  • Virtual professor- AI
  • Smoker’s lounge—no outdoor smoking
  • Credit for basic classes
  • Credit for work experience
  • Free day care
  • Take debit cards
  • Refunds for A students
  • More money back for selling back books

Excursion

  • Virtual professor
    • Escort service spouse
      • Own private time
      • Customize appearance
    • Virtual world to travel
    • Virtual job training/simulator
    • More agreeable boss
    • Turn the boss on or off whenever you want
    • More than one pace at a time

Forced fit

  • Professors compete for your choice
  • Classroom simulation
  • Crime scene simulation
  • Videos from last year with updates
  • Stock market simulation---case study method

 

The goal is to generate new ideas, new solutions to problems.  We do this by immersing ourselves in a problem, then generating as many different ideas as possible., breaking down the inhibitions that come from feeling that our ideas have to be good or correct.   There are various techniques:  guided imagery, other hand writing, fantasy exercises, dream analysis, free association.  Group creativity may be harder because people are inhibited in groups, and because groups tend to be structured and orderly (e.g., Roberts Rules of Order).  But an ideation group needs to break this down, to permit spontaneous thinking, to encourage freewheeling and spur of the moment thinking.  It is also useful to encourage analogic thinking, "right brain" thinking.   We will discuss two techniques of group ideation:  brainstorming and synectics. 

Brainstorming was originated by Alex Osborn in 1938.  It involves four rules:
1.  Criticism is ruled out
2.  Freewheeling is Welcomed
3.  Quantity is Wanted
4.  Combination and Improvement are Sought
The leader reminds the group of these rules and keeps a record of all the ideas.  Later on the ideas are evaluated, not during the brainstorming phase.

Synectics was started by George Prince and William Gordon in 1960.   It involves the free use of metaphor and analogy in problem solving.  This stresses non-rational processes, unconscious or preconscious thought. 

Leadership is important in any group.  Leadership styles or functions can be classified as:  task  leadership and people or relationship-oriented leadership, along with other kinds.   There can be a formal leader, or two leaders, or leadership functions can be shared within the group. 

We will see a video on Synectics which includes a group session.  We can try classifying the remarks in the group as TASK ORIENTED, RELATIONS ORIENTED, or SELF ORIENTED.  We will then assign students to roles and have them read some transcripts of groups.  If time remains, we will try running a group of our own on Improving Rutgers Camden.

The film shows several distinct stages in the p rocess:
    - enumerating wishes, what the participants would like
     - an "excursion" during which participants were asked to put the topic out of their mind and think of other things
     -  the itemized response, listing results of the excursion.
     -  the "forced fit" treating the ideas that arise in the excursion as analogies or metaphors and forcing them to fit the case at hand, even if awkwardly
     -  evaluation of proposed ideas
     -  next steps, deciding where to begin implementation

The emphasis is on analogic thinking.  Four kinds of analogies can be used:
   -  personal analogies, the individual imagines himself or herself to be part of the problem - what would I do?
   -  direct analogy, knowledge from one area is applied to the new area
   -  symbolic analogy, using objective and impersonal images to describe the problem,
   -  fantasy analogy, how one wishes the world would be.

Sept 13 -  We will focus on writing.  There are many purposes for writing, such as to reflect, to presuade and to inform.  See http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/
for some examples.  Our purpose in the next essay is to inform.   But for any kind of paper, you need to organize your ideas.
See the Powerpoints called Finding your Focus and Organizing Your Argument in SAKAI. 

 One method of organization is the five paragraph essay.  There are many WEB sites on this:   http://www.gc.maricopa.edu/English/essay/    http://depts.gallaudet.edu/EnglishWorks/writing/fiveparagraph.html
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/five_par.htm

Not everyone agrees that this is a good way to organize things, its main merit may be that it is at least one way.
http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/write_cn/fivepara.htm
What if your topic does not reduce down to three points?  What if there are more? 
In any event, a five paragraph essay can be a good exercise.

Outlining can be helpful in organizing a paper, although you often change the outline as you go along.  Powerpoint is a method of organizing and outlining.  it is also controversial:  Powerpoint Logic -  Three Points to Powerpoint - Gettysburg Address in Powerpoint

For our next presentation, I will give you a Powerpoint Template so everyone's will follow the same structure.  This will help us meld them together into a joint report at the end.

Sept 11,  Students presented reports on their analyses of the chat room class.

Sept 6, we did an online chat room class.  The transcript is in SAKAI

Sept 4.  Discussion of syllabus and class schedule.  Use of SAKAI.  We have been invited to participate in a study of Rutgers Camden students focused on recruitment.  We will examine a questionnaire the Office of Student Life used for a Focus Group Survey and the answers they received.  We can improve on or add to this study, first of all by using the students in this class as respondents.  We can also develop some additional questions.  I would like to focus more on your own personal choices.  Did you apply to other colleges in addition to Rutgers Camden?  Which ones?  What appealed to you about each of them?  Why did you eventually come here?

On September 6 we will have an online discussion.  I may or may not be able to join in from Montreal.  If not, just go ahead and conduct it yourself.  I want each of you to have a question in mind and to ask the others to answer it.  Questions might include:  commuting problems, living in a dorm, facilities you were interested in, thoughts about other colleges (Glassboro, Drexel, Rutgers College, Livingston, etc.).  You will then write up a brief report on the answers to present to the class.  Use a five paragraph essay format or do it in Powerpoint.  The instructions are in SAKAI. 

Some more five paragraph essay sites:  http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/.    http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/five_par.htm

You can find more by searching for Five Paragraph Essay on Google.