Please print a copy of this syllabus for handy reference.
Whenever there is a question about what assignments are due, please remember this syllabus is considered to be the ruling document.
COURSE NUMBER: BSDA0I33W6
COURSE TITLE: Mass Communication
COURSE START DATE: 05/26/2009
COURSE END DATE: - 06/29/2009
REQUIRED READING: Students are required to read all materials available at the rEsource site for this course on http://ecampus.phoenix.edu
. Your text:
Rodman, G. (2006). Mass Media in a Changing World: History, Industry,
Controversy. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Dr. Geetika Pathania Jain gpats@email.phoenix.edu
(University of Phoenix) geetikapathania@hotmail.com
(Personal)
(408) 996 2510. (Pacific time zone) You can reach me at home if there is an issue that cannot be resolved by email. (PST)
I am available from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Central Time on most days, but I attempt to reserve Sunday for my family.
Please leave a message if you cannot reach me.
For emergencies, when you are not able to gain access to messages on the
Online Learning System (OLS), please send a message to my personal email address.

See Course Description in the rEsource materials or module for this course.
See Course Objectives in the rEsource materials or module for this course.
Electronic weeks begin on Tuesday and end on Monday.
Day 1
– Tuesday
Day 2 – Wednesday
Day 3 – Thursday
Day 4
– Friday
Day 5 – Saturday
Day 6 – Sunday
Day 7
– Monday
Main: This is the main forum for the class and is where discussion is conducted.
It has read-and-write access for everyone.
Chat-Room: This is a read-and-write access forum. It is designed as a place to discuss issues not related to the course content. This is the forum to which we will send our bios.
Course-Materials: This is a read-only forum, which means you can read messages here but cannot send any. This is where I will post the course syllabus and materials.
Learning-Team-A, B, C, D and E: These five Learning Team forums will be used as workrooms for the learning teams. You will be assigned to one of these learning teams.
Individual Forum: You will see one forum with your name on it. This is a private forum, shared only by you and me, the facilitator. Your classmates won’t have access to this forum. This is where you will post some of your individual assignments, and where I will post your feedback. You can also ask questions here. However, if you have general questions about instructions of assignments, please post those in the Main forum, since other students may benefit by that exchange as well.

Please see the attendance policies included in the first message posted in the
Main forum.
Participation is very important online. You will be expected to participate 4 days a week in several different discussions and to contribute at least two substantive discussion messages on each of those 4 days . This is a required part of your grade. Participation consists of notes you send above and beyond graded assignments. This generally means the messages you send as replies to messages from your classmates and me.
Please note that both quantity and quality are important considerations when it comes to participation. For example, a message which says simply, "I agree," does not constitute participation, because it does not add anything of substance to the discussion.
In order to earn full participation points, you must add something of substance to the discussion 4 out of 7 days per week —this would consist of new ideas, your perspectives, pointed follow-up questions, etc. You will find it is much easier to keep up with an Online class when you are logging in and participating regularly.
Only posts in the Main classroom forum will count towards your class participation score.
Discussion question responses will count towards the class participation requirement.
Weekly summaries will not be required in this course.
Discussion question responses will not be required during the final week of the course. The final week will be dedicated to completing the final assignments listed below.

Discussion question responses should be at least 200-300 words. For discussion question responses in the Main forum, please post responses to the threads provided. To respond, highlight the appropriate thread, click on Reply , type your response, and send. Please do not start a new thread for the weekly discussion questions in the Main forum.
Unlike your formal written assignments, I do not require that your discussion question responses adhere to specific formatting requirements. However, please make sure to proofread carefully. Grammar and spelling errors may impact the grading.
I expect your discussion question responses to reflect critical thought. Whenever possible, please try to relate the course content to real-world applications from your work experience.
Please do not use attachments in the Main forum. Post DQ responses and weekly summaries (if required) in the body of OLS messages. Please post formal assignments in your Individual forum as attachments –Microsoft ®
Word documents or PowerPoint
®
slides.
University of Phoenix students are expected to work effectively in diverse groups and teams to achieve tasks. They must collaborate and function well in team settings as both leaders and followers. They should respect human diversity and behave in a tolerant manner toward colleagues and peers.
By day 5 (Saturday) of the first week, you need to organize yourselves into teams of four. You might want to consider geographical proximity (same time zones) when organizing yourselves into groups. I would like you to form groups in the
<Chat> forum and then post the final group list in the <Main> forum. I am happy to help in case you need assistance.
If you experience difficulties working with your team, you are expected to resolve them within the team if possible. However, please feel free to contact me for guidance if you have concerns in this area.
In order to create structure for your Learning Team, you will complete a Learning
Team Charter during Week 1. The form for this charter is provided in a separate message in the Course-Materials forum.

After each Learning Team project, you will be asked to complete a Peer
Evaluation to assess the contributions of each member of your Learning Team
(including yourself). I will take these Peer Evaluations into account when assessing individual contributions to the Learning Team projects. The Peer
Evaluation form and instructions for posting are included in a separate message in the Course-Materials forum.
Not all members of your Learning Team will earn the same grade for Learning
Team projects. I reserve the right to report different grades for different Learning
Team members if I see a substantial imbalance in individual contribution.
Learning Teams should provide a brief summary of any communication held outside the forum. Therefore, if you hold conference calls, work in a real-time chat room, or get together outside the OLS (Online Learning System) environment in another way, please post a log, transcript, or summary in the
Learning Team forum. Further, do not use any of these supplementary communication tools unless everyone on your Learning Team agrees to the method and to the schedule. If you have any questions, please contact me.
Late assignments will be penalized with a 10% grade deduction for each day late, unless you have made prior arrangements with me. Deadlines will be defined as 11:59 p.m. MST. Assignments submitted more than two days late will not be accepted. If you know you will be offline the day an assignment is due, please make sure to post it early. Anytime you feel that you might be falling behind in the course, it is best to contact me to discuss your situation. As noted in the first message posted in the Main forum, no assignments can be accepted after the final day of class.
If you have an assignment completed by the deadline but are unable to post it in the forum for technical reasons, you can send it to me by email to demonstrate that it was completed on time. However, you must post the assignment in the forum once that becomes available.
By virtue of membership in the University’s academic community, students accept a responsibility to abide by the Student Code of Academic Integrity, which is a part of the Student Code of Conduct. A link to the Code can be found on the
Center for Writing Excellence Web site or by logging into eCampus and then clicking the following URL: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/studentdocuments/uophx/academic_in tegrity.htm

Coursework in this class must uphold the high standards of academic integrity established by the University of Phoenix. Consequently, when you are conducting research for an assignment, the majority of your sources should be peer-reviewed academic journals, such as those you find in the University Library or in the additional readings on the rEsource page for this course.
PLEASE NOTE: Internet searches will often take you to non-academic information resources such as Wikipedia.com, Ask.com, Encarta.msn.com,
Infoplease.com, etc. You may supplement your research with these sources, but keep in mind that the information you find there may not be accurate, since it does not come under a formal oversight or peer-review process.
While you may use and cite non-academic resources such as Wikipedia when working on assignments, you may not rely on them exclusively. The majority of your sources should be peer-reviewed academic journals. Further, remember that you are responsible for the accuracy of any facts you present in your assignments and therefore should confirm the veracity of information you find on non-academic sources through further research.
One of the cornerstones of the University of Phoenix learning model is the practical application of theoretical concepts. You are encouraged to share your personal and professional experiences as a means to integrate knowledge by reflecting on its application. However, it is important to note that we all are bound by confidentiality in this class. To assure that we can have a free and open discussion in which you may elect to discuss your company and its policies and procedures as they apply to the course material, I expect each person to respect the confidentiality of what your classmates are willing to share with us. At the same time, I ask that each of you exercise good judgment in what you choose to share and avoid disclosing non-public or competitively-sensitive information.
It is University of Phoenix policy that students and faculty members must not share present or past employer information that is considered to be proprietary, confidential, company-sensitive, or protected trade secrets. Students are encouraged to examine their organization's limitations on sharing information externally.
Students and faculty members may appropriately choose to illustrate lessons from their experience that might challenge these boundaries, without identifying specific employers or individuals by name.

If you have any questions about any of the information contained in this syllabus, or about any other aspect of this class, please do not hesitate to ask!
Please consider sending your paper to a tutor at the Center for Writing
Excellence to help you with proofreading your paper and avoiding grammatical errors. I do take points off for typos and other stylistic errors, so you are really better off having a tutor identify these before you turn in your paper.
It is a good idea to include your name in the document you are attaching, for instance “Mass Media Workshop – Joe Smith.” This will help identify your paper more easily – there are many student papers in each class, and more than one paper could have the same name.
Each week, I will provide grades or scores and comments on assignments within
6 days of when they were submitted. I will send feedback to your Individual forum. After I send feedback each week, I will post a notification in the Main forum.
Points Grade
95+ A
90-94 A-
87-89 B+
84-86 B
80-83 B-
77-79 C+
74-76 C
70-73 C-
67-69 D+
64-66 D
60-63 D-

<59 F
Partial points will be rounded to the nearest full point; for example, 83.4=83 leads to a grade of B-; and 83.5=84 leads to a grade of B.
ASSIGNMENTS
Individual (70%)
Points
Class Participation (W1-4) 200
Mass Media Worksheet (Week 1)
Print Media Comparison Assignment (Week 2)
Sex and Violence Paper (Week 3)
Advertising/Press Release Assignment (Week 4)
Mass Communication Test (Week 5)
Learning Team (30%)
Web Excursion Assignment on Media Criticism (Week 2) 100
100
100
100
100
100
Final Learning Team Paper Outline and References
(Week 3)
50
Final Learning Team Paper and *Presentation (Week 5) 150
Total 1000
Learning Objectives
See Week 1 objectives listed in the rEsource material or module.
Required Reading

1. Read Chapter 1 in the text, Mass Media in a Changing World: History,
Industry, Controversy.
Assignments
 INDIVIDUAL
1. Mass Media Worksheet (due Week One, day 7)
Complete the University of Phoenix Material “Mass Media Worksheet” located in Week One of the COM340 assignment are included.
page. Instructions and details of the
LEARNING TEAM
1. Review the objectives from Week One and discuss additional insights and questions.
2. Final Learning Team Paper and Presentation (due Week Five)
In preparation for the Final Learning Team Paper and Presentation, begin familiarizing yourself with the University of Phoenix Material
“Final Learning
Team Paper and Presentation” located in Week One of the COM340 page. Instructions and details of the assignment are included.
3. Web Excursion Assignment on Media Criticism (due Week Two)
Select a current media issue that you find noteworthy from one of the following websites devoted to media criticism: www.cursor.org
; www.alternet.org
; www.aim.org
; www.fair.org
In a 1,000 to 2,100- word paper, analyze the current media issue from three perspectives: (1) as an impact, (2) as a legal issue, and (3) as an ethical issue.
You must cite at least two scholarly peer-reviewed scholarly journals per team member in your research for this assignment
All Week : Participation (50 points): Remember to participate in the class discussions 4 out of 7 days during the week.
Summary of Week 1 Deliverables
Assignment Individual or
Learning
Team
Mass Media
Worksheet
Location
Individual <Individual> as a Word doc
Participation Individual <Main>
Points Due
100 Day 7
50 Ongoing

Learning Objectives
See Week 2 objectives listed in the rEsource material or module.
Required Reading
1. Read Chapters 2 - 4 in the text.
Assignments
 INDIVIDUAL
1. Print Media Comparison Assignment (due Week Two, day 7)
Read and cite two articles found in the University of Phoenix Library on the same current event issue. One article should come from a newspaper and the other from a magazine or journal. The key factor is that they come from the
University of Phoenix Library with accurate citations provided for anyone in the class to find the articles.
Write a 700-word analysis of the similarities and differences between the coverage in the two different forms of print media. Include speculations about the reasons for the differences.
LEARNING TEAM
1. Review the objectives from Week Two and discuss additional insights and questions that may have arisen.
2. Final Learning Team Paper Outline and References (due Week Three)
Each learning team will prepare a one to two page formal outline covering the initial preparation for the Final Paper. The outline must have a thesis, major topics, sub-points, key supporting evidence, and conclusions.
Additionally, each learning team will submit an annotated reference list. The reference list shows the work that will be cited in the paper which shall include at least three peer-reviewed scholarly journals per team member in your research for this assignment due Week Three.
A paragraph describing the main points of each reference article and why it is relevant to the paper is also part of this list. The reference list will be formatted in APA style.
All Week : Participation (50 points): Remember to participate in the class discussions 4 out of 7 days during the week.

Summary of Week 2 Deliverables
Assignment Individual or
Learning
Team
Location
Individual <Individual> as a Word doc
Points Due
100 Day 7 Print Media
Comparison
Assignment
Participation
Web Excursion
Assignment on
Media Criticism
Individual
LT
<Main>
<Main>
50
100
Ongoing
Day 6
Learning Objectives
See Week 3 objectives listed in the rEsource material or module.
Required Reading
1. Read Chapters 5 - 9 in the text.
Assignments
 INDIVIDUAL
1. Sex and Violence Paper (due Week Three)
Write a 800 to 1,000-word paper analyzing the impact on young people under the age of 18 of sex and/or violence portrayed in movies, television, or video games. What is your opinion and what do research experts say about the impact on these young people?
You must find and analyze contrasting and opposing conclusions by citing research experts in at least four references from peer-reviewed scholarly journals.
LEARNING TEAM
1. Review the objectives from Week Three, and discuss additional insights and questions that may have arisen.

2. Final Learning Team Paper and Presentation Rough Draft (non-graded)
Continue working on the learning team paper and presentation. Teams should have a completed rough draft of the final paper and presentation.
All Week : Participation (50 points): Remember to participate in the class discussions 4 out of 7 days during the week.
Summary of Week 3 Deliverables
Points Due Assignment
Sex and Violence Paper
Participation
Final Learning Team Paper Outline and References
Individual or
Learning
Team
Location
Individual <Individual> as a
Word doc
Individual <Main>
LT <Main>
100
50
50
Day 7
Ongoing Ongoing
Day 7
Learning Objectives
See Week 4 objectives listed in the rEsource material or module.
Required Reading
1. Read Chapters 10 - 12 in the text
Assignments
3. Advertising/Press Release Assignment (due Week Four) a. Part A:
Locate a recent electronic version of a print advertisement. Write a 700 to
1,050-word analysis which addresses the following questions in your paper.
1) Who was the target audience?
2) What was the intended effect?
3) Was the advertisement misleading or not
—and how? b. Part B:

Locate a recent press release from an organization, business, or corporation. Search the website of the organization, business, or corporation for a recently posted press release. Link titles might include key words like “public relations,” “media relations,” or “news.” Write a 400 to 700-word critique depicting the effectiveness of a press release.
1) Who was the target audience?
2) What was the intended effect?
3) What is the messaging in the press release?
Finally, in a paragraph, synthesize the main differences between advertising and public relations.
Be sure to attach the press release and a copy of the advertisement to your paper.
LEARNING TEAM
1. Review the objectives from Week Four and discuss additional insights and questions that may have arisen.
2. Final Learning Team Paper and Presentation (due Week Five)
Learning teams will deliver the final presentation and submit the final paper in
Week Five.
Use the University of Phoenix Material “Final Learning Team Paper and
Presentation” located in Week One of the COM340 page. Instructions and details of the assignment are included.
All Week : Participation (50 points): Remember to participate in the class discussions 4 out of 7 days during the week.
Summary of Week 4 Deliverables
Assignment
Advertising/ Press
Release Assignment
Participation
Individual or
Learning
Team
Location
Individual <Individual> as a Word doc
Individual <Main>
Points Due
100 Day 7
50 Ongoing

Learning Objectives
See Week 5 objectives listed in the rEsource material or module.
Required Reading
1. Read Chapter 13 in the text.
Assignments
 INDIVIDUAL
1. Mass Communication Test (due Week Five)
Use the University of Phoenix Faculty Material “Mass Communication Test” to be distributed by your instructor.
Summary of Week 5 Deliverables
Assignment Individual or Learning
Team
Location Points Due
Mass Communication Test
Individual <Individual> 100 Day 7
Final Learning Team
Paper and Presentation
LT <Main> 150 Day 7