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Module Specifications

Archived Version 2017 - 2018

Module Title New Media & Society
Module Code CM275
School School of Communications

Online Module Resources

Module Co-ordinatorDr. Declan TuiteOffice NumberC177
NFQ level 8 Credit Rating 5
Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Compatibles None
Incompatibles None
Description

Ever since Daniel Bell first coined the term post-industrial society, computer technology has come to play an increasingly important role in contemporary society. On the continuum of technological development over the last thirty years, the Internet, in particular the World Wide Web, has emerged as the killer-application in terms of its global impact. As a result we now live in what can be termed the E-Society as the Internet affects all areas of our lives from communications and media to politics, commerce, health education and contemporary culture, but to name a few. The overall aim of this module is to examine the affects of contemporary Web-based culture and the impact of the Internet on aspects of everyday life. It will provide students with a theoretical understanding of key academic discourse and research in this area.

Learning Outcomes

1. critically assess the impact of the Internet on society
2. analyse the effect of communication technologies upon the behaviour and liberites of individuals with regard to issues such as regulation and privacy
3. assess the ideological and psychological impact of computer mediated communication with reference to the relevant theoretical material
4. engage with key discourse on this topical area using an appropriate academic framework in the delivery of both oral written material
5. explain how the communication technologies such as the internet can enable social control, political participation and greater social inequalities such as the digital divide
6. Describe the unique characteristics of ICT enabled communications with regard to face to face communications.
7. empower students to identify and use a range of information sources'
8. Devise a plan for gathering primary data in the filed through interview and observation



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Lecture24Theory, case studies and assignment briefing
Directed learning34Capturing primary data for assignment
Independent Study35Reading the liturature
Assignment Completion32Research project which includes primary data collection and substantial literature review
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

The effects of ICT use on Social Capital
Defining Social Capital, Bonding Bridging & Linking Social Capital, Community networks and ego-centred networks, Trust, Tolerance, Connectedness and Reciprocation

Mobile Lives
Integration of mobile communications into daily life. Effects of mobile communication devices on relationships - public and semi-public spaces.

Surveillance + Social Control
Modern Identity, Information Security and the Dilemma of Privacy, Protecting privacy in a digital age, Surveillance Technologies, Contexts of surveillance, Surveillance Society

Anonymity
Anonymity: positive and negative effects, Three key issues of online identity, Playing with Identity, online identity versus off-line identity

Impact of new Technologies
Impact of new Technologies on local communities & communities of interest, Social Capital, social Networks

Identity - Online
The socially constructed nature of identity, Early research on CMC and Identity, Identity production & self presentation, A Space for the Reflexive Construction of Identity.

DIgital Divide & eInclusion
What is the Digital Divide?, eInclusion, Factors of the Digital Divide - Case Studies of eInclusion projects

Gathering Primary Data
Assessing and choosing appropriate data collection methods; ethnographic, observation & survery

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment0% Examination Weight100%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
1 = A resit is available for all components of the module
2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module
3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
Unavailable
Indicative Reading List

  • Elliott, Anthony: 2010, Mobile lives: self, excess and nature, Routledge, New York, NY :,
  • Brown J. & Duguid P: 2002, The Social Life of Information:, Harvard Business School Press,
  • Keen, Andrew.: 2007, The cult of the amateur : how today's internet is killing our culture and assaulting our economy, Nicholas Brealey, London,
  • Katz J, & Rice R: 2002, Social Consequences of Internet Use, MIT Press,
  • Lister M. et al: 2003, New Media: A critical Introduction,
  • Negroponte N: 1996, Being Digita, Hodder & Stoughton, London,
  • Wellman, Barry: 2002, The Internet in everyday life,
  • Webster, Frank: 2004, The information society reader, MIT Press,
  • Hargittai, E.: 2003, The digital divide and what to do about it, New economy handbook,
  • Komito, L: 2004, The Information Revolution & Ireland., UCD Press,
  • RheinGold H: 2000, The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier - Revised Edition,
  • Turkle, S: 1995, Life on the Screen -Identity in the Age of the Internet,
  • Castells, M: 2000, The Rise of the Network Society, 2nd ed, Blackwell Publisher,
  • Lessig, Lawrence: 2001, The future of ideas : the fate of the commons in a connected world, Random House, New York,
  • Lessig, Lawrence: 2001, Free culture : how big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture and control creativity,
  • Baym, Nancy K: 2000, Tune in, log on : soaps, fandom, and online community, Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publications, London,
  • Castells, Manuel: 2001, The Internet Galaxy,
  • Warschauer, Mark: 2003, Technology and social inclusion: rethinking the digital divide:,
Other Resources

24315, Website, Marx, Gary, 2007, Personal Information, Borders, and the New Surveillance Studies, http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/anrev.html, 24316, Website, Lyon, David, 2002, Editorial, Surveillance Studies: Understanding visibility, mobility and the phenetic fix, Surveillance & Society, 1 (1): 1-7., http://www.surveillance-and-society.org/articles1/editorial.pd, 24317, Website, Marx, Gary, 2005, Surveillance and Society, http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/surandsoc.html,
Programme or List of Programmes
BSSAOStudy Abroad (DCU Business School)
CCSBA in Contemporary Culture and Society
HMSAStudy Abroad (Humanities & Soc Science)
HMSAOStudy Abroad (Humanities & Soc Science)
MMABSc in Multimedia
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