Introduction and Essays
IACT 302
Corporate Network Planning
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!
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•
•
•
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
2
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
3
Tutorials
• Enrol in a tutorial via SOLs
4
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
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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
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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
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Lecture Schedule
Week
Lecture Topic
Main Topic
Tutorial Activity
1
Introduction, Essay Writing and
Allocation of Essay Topics
Need for Network Planning
2
Strategic
Planning
Frameworks and Processes
No Tutorial
Milestone Activity
One
Evolving
Networks
Business impacts
Emerging Technologies
4
Network
Technology
Network Topologies,
Architectures and Standards
Milestone Activity
Two
No Lecture
No Tutorial
Midsession Break
6
8
Network Protocols
Classifying Networks
Subject
Outline
Crouch
Essay Handout
in Lecture
Seminar discussion
& allocation
3
Network
Technology
Assessment
Subtopic
Administration
Strategic
Planning
5
Reading
Milestone Activity
Three
Chapter
One
Chapter
Two
Essay Due in
Tutorial Class
Lecture Schedule
Week
Lecture Topic
Main Topic
Tutorial Activity
Reading
Subtopic
Evolving
Organisations
Strategic
Planning
Leadership in the New
Organisation &
What's in a Strategic network
Plan
8
Evolving
Organisations
Building Trust in an Electronic
Market &
Distributed Innovation
9
Evolving
Organisations
Network Presence
Seminars 3 & 4
Chapter
Six
10
Evolving
Strategies
Flow Economy
Seminars 5 & 6
Chapter
Seven
11
Evolving
Strategies
Next generation Content
distribution
Seminars 7 & 8
Chapter
Eight
12
Evolving
Strategies
Reframing Digital and
Professional Services
Network Strategy for Free
Agents
13
Future Networks
Evolution of Business, Subject
Review
7
9
Assessment
Milestone Activity
Four
Seminars 1 & 2
Seminars 9 & 10
Seminars 11 & 12
Chapter
Three
Group Project
Handout in
Lecture
Chapter
Four
Chapter
Five
Chapter
Nine
Chapter
Ten
Chapter
Eleven
Group Project
Due
In Tutorial
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.
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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.
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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
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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.safaribook
sonline.com/0130353337
– Available in the unicentre
bookshop for $49.95
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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)
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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)
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Assessment
Assessment Item
16
Weighting Due Date
Formal Exam
40%
Exam Period
1500 Word Essay
10%
Hard copy during week four tutorial class
Seminar
10%
Oral presentation and hard copy of
summary sheet during tutorial classes
weeks 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Milestone activities and
quizzes
20%
Hard copy during tutorials in weeks 3, 4,
6&7
[Note: Milestone three will be a take
home activity that will be available before
the Midsession break]
Group
component
major project
20%
Hard copy during week 12 tutorial class
of
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
21
Electronic submission of
Assessment Items
• Electronic submissions, faxes and unreceipted mail submissions will NOT be
accepted except via the WebCT
submission process.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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Essays
IACT 302 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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