3 assignments
2 out of class writing assignments 25% per assignment
1 end of semester test/ mix of short answer and essay questions 35%
Class participation counts for 15% of your grade (this includes blog posts, being “on-call,” and general participation).
About writing assignments
Course assignments are designed to improve your analysis and writing skills.
All assignments should be in PDF format and emailed to Deidre (dkm@ischool), Ariel (arielhaney@ischool) and Lizzy (lizzy@ischool).
All assignments are due at noon on the date listed below. Late assignments will be penalized: each day an assignment is late will result in a deduction of half a grade. Recognizing that emergencies arise, exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Assignment #1 (25%)
Due: Sunday, September 25 at 7am
Maximum length 6 pages double-spaced in a normal font.
In response to the recent BART protests and the resulting disruptions to service, the BART Board of Directors has decided to institute a formal policy regarding protests on BART property. The new regulations will prohibit all protests on BART property including: trains, platforms, turnstile entrances, ticketing areas, parking lots, as well as on the public sidewalk and street adjacent to entrances.
The Directors also plan to formalize the conditions under which they provide Internet access to BART customers. They would like to be able to terminate service at will, block social networking sites, and/or filter content related to planned or ongoing protests.
You have been asked to prepare a memo regarding the proposed policy and to provide modifications that will protect it against legal challenges. Please consider the legal and policy implications that BART should consider. Cite specific cases and articles we’ve covered in class to support your arguments.
Assignment #2 (25%)
Due: Saturday, November 19 at noon
Maximum length 8 pages double-spaced in a normal font.
The organizers of the Occupy Oakland movement have built a web site called iOccupy. This site allows protesters and supporters to receive information about Occupy from a centralized location.
iOccupy aggregates information pulled from user-generated content sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Users must give iOccupy permission to scrape their profile page for their content to be aggregated. iOccupy also aggregates news videos from television stations like MSNBC, Fox News, and ABC. iOccupy visitors can get a sense of the news coverage through the short clips displayed. If they click on a news video the full video from the original site is shown but framed by iOccupy. A group of protesters is contributing facts they’ve gleaned from news reports they read early in the morning before the local papers are delivered. They are posting facts culled from the stories on iOccupy. In addition, members of the group Anonymous have hacked into Mayor Quan’s email account and they’ve posted emails between Mayor Quan and the head of the Oakland police force on iOccupy.
Unsurprisingly not everyone is happy with iOccpuy.
YouTube has complained that iOccupy has violated their terms of service since protesters and supporters are accessing content through unauthorized means, as defined under section 4(c): http://www.youtube.com/static?gl=US&template=terms. Furthermore YouTube claims that iOccupy has circumvented security measure that prevents third-party search and aggregation. The Television stations claim that iOccupy is infringing their copyrights and that iOccupy has circumvented technical protection mechanisms in violation of the DMCA. They have sent a DMCA takedown notice to iOccupy and to iOccupy’s ISP, Comcast. The local papers claim that iOccupy is providing information to potential consumers before they can sell their papers undermining their market. A set of pictures scraped by iOccupy from a Facebook user’s profile page contained an image of a protester changing clothes. The protester is threatening to sue iOccupy for invading their Privacy. Lastly, Mayor Quan wants the emails she sent to the Oakland police force removed from iOccupy. The city has filed suit against Anonymous for hacking. Mayor Quan has also contacted Dreamhost (iOccupy’s web hosting site), and Comcast (iOccupy’s ISP) demanding that the emails be removed.
You have been asked to help iOccupy determine how to respond and whether to remove any of the information on the site or to terminate any of the techniques they are using to gather it. Please make sure to address the complaints brought by YouTube, the Network News sources, the local papers, the protester, and Mayor Quan. Remember to use cases and readings we have discussed in class to support your rationale.