6 EC
Semester 2, period 4
5294SCDW6Y
| Owner | Master Information Studies |
| Coordinator | dr. H. Seiied Alavi PhD |
| Part of | Master Information Studies, track Data Science, year 1Master Information Studies, track Information Systems, year 1 |
The main objective of this course is to prepare students in the domain of informatics to deal with the complexity of real-world challenges. Using concrete examples, the course seeks to illustrate how a multifaceted problem can be understood as a whole and how such an understanding is indispensable to designing a solution with high impact.
The focus is particularly on human factors, opening a view to what it means to design for and with humans and what opportunities data-oriented methods can create to investigate complex societal challenges.
The course will begin by presenting an account of the concept of "complex thinking", exemplifying its manifestation in some of the highly impactful projects such as "smart cities". This will be discussed first from a technological perspective. The discussion then will be advanced by bringing "human" into the picture. Next, the course introduces the paradigm of Ubiquitous Computing, as a framework for understanding the embodiment of technology in everyday life. Using this framework, we analyze the relations between human digital experiences and the "situations" within which those experiences unfold. This includes social situations as well as physical and spatial, also considering how humans perceive and act upon those situations through their bodies and cognitive capacities. The course will conclude with a discussion of the responsibility of technology designers in the ubiquitous computing era to ensure that human values such as social justice are advanced and not diminished through the pervasiveness of data-oriented design methods.
on the canvas page
The lectures are dedicated to the theoretical part of the course. During some of the lecture sessions, the students will be asked to present their mini-essays, followed by a discussion.
During the seminars, the students will work in groups on their projects, while the teaching team provides general information and instruction concerning the project or on-demand feedback. In some of the seminar sessions, the students will be asked to present their mini-essays, and in some, the student teams may be asked to present their progress in the group project.
Self-study includes individual contributions to the development of the group project, writing the mini-essays, writing the final report, reading the supporting literature (article/book chapter) provided by the teaching team, as well as doing the research needed for all of those.
|
Activity |
Hours |
|
|
Attending Lecture |
16 |
|
|
Attending Seminar |
24 |
|
|
Group work on the project |
64 |
|
|
Self-study |
64 |
|
|
Total |
168 |
(6 EC x 28 uur) |
In TER part B of this programme no requirements regarding attendance are mentioned.
Additional requirements for this course:
Active participation in the course is required, in the form of group-project and mini-essay presentations, as well as giving feedback on the presentations of others.
During the lecture or seminar sessions when a "mini-essay" is scheduled, the students should be present, otherwise, they do not receive the mark for that mini-essay. The student may be absent in 1 of these sessions. Absence needs to be communicated to the course coordinator.
In the development of the group project, there has to be a balanced participation of all team members. This will be monitored by the teaching team during the seminar sessions as well as the mid-term and final presentation of the projects.
| Item and weight | Details |
|
Final grade | |
|
0.15 (15%) Mini-essays | |
|
0.5 (50%) Group project presentation | |
|
0.2 (20%) Mid-term presentation | |
|
0.8 (80%) Final presentation | |
|
0.35 (35%) Final report (individual) |
Through the Canvas
For each assessment, the schedule will be communicated through the Canvas
Mini-essays: the students will be asked to write a succinct analytical text (~250 words) on one topic or interconnection of several topics that were already discussed during the lecture.
Mid-term group presentation: there will be an interim presentation of the projects where the teams describe their progress in exploring the specific context of their project and the results of their research on the space of possible solutions.
Final group presentation: the students will present the final results of their group project including a demo of the implemented application
Final project report (individual): each student should deliver a report about their group project. The expected structure and the rubric for this report are (will be) provided on the Canvas page of the course.
The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl
For the updated information on the course schedule, please refer to the Canvas page of the course (once published)
| Weeknummer | Onderwerpen | Studiestof |
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| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 6 | ||
| 7 | ||
| 8 |
The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.