Mobile Media (MRTS 4450 & MRTS 5660) Syllabus

Transcription

1 Mobile Media (MRTS 4450 & MRTS 5660) Syllabus Instructor: Dr. Xiaoqun Zhang Office: RTFP 233 Office Hours: Mo/We 9:00 AM-11:00 AM; Class Times: Mo/We 11:00 AM 12:20 PM Class Location: RTFP 180F Introduction Mobile Media have been diffused rapidly in recent years and affected our lives profoundly in various aspects. At the same time, industries related to mobile media have expanded with an increasing rate. And many regulation and legal issues have been raised with the rapid growth of mobile media. This course intends to engage you in the study of the theories and important issues related to mobile media. We will discuss the three major areas of mobile media: mobile media diffusion, mobile media regulation and social impacts, and mobile media industry and economy. Course Objectives Understand basic concepts and theories related to mobile media diffusion, mobile media markets, and mobile media regulation. Investigate the trends of the development of mobile media in the U.S. as well as in other countries. Be able to analyze the diffusion trends of mobile media in the world using relevant theories. Explore the Debatable topics relating the impacts of mobile media on people s lives. Study the major mobile media companies and important issues related to mobile media. Textbook: There is no a specific textbook for this class. All reading materials will be also posted on the Blackboard. Course requirements You are encouraged to participate in the class activities. There are various kinds of participations including asking questions, responding to questions asked by instructors as well as class members, and making comments. All the writing assignments are required to be turned in on time. These assignments should be typed and double-spaced in 12 point standard font. Accurate APA documentary style is required. Class Rules and Guidelines Regular on-time attendance is required. Late for the class and early leaving will render the deduction of attendance points. Please contact me by if you have reasonable

2 reasons, such as illness, prior to the class. Otherwise, your absence will be taken as the unexcused one. Your unexcused absence will render the deduction of points. Students with more than THREE unexcused absences will NOT get A for this course. Please notify me before the second week of the class if you will not attend the classes due to the religious holidays/holy days. You are expected to respect your peers and the instructor. Mutual respect should be practiced. Late work can only get half of the corresponding points without reasonable excuses. I know people give many reasons for late work (e.g., system crash, illness, etc.). You need to plan and schedule to complete work early. You need to provide the proof for reasonable excuses, such as doctor s note, system crash evidence. Academic integrity and special needs University of North Texas is a community that considers academic integrity essential to its sustenance. It is important to acknowledge and comply with the university academic integrity policy. Any violation of this policy will be punished. The punishment will be a failure for the course, or expulsion from the university. More information about the academic integrity can be obtained from The University of North Texas is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; reference Public Law The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. With the passage of new federal legislation entitled Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same opportunities enjoyed by all citizens. Students with disabilities should contact the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) at 1167 Union Circle Sage Hall Suite 167 (phone: ) to verify your eligibilities. Information regarding specific diagnostic criteria and policies for obtaining academic accommodations are at Please meet me early in the semester if you have special needs to be accommodated. Assignment descriptions Classroom Participation. You are required to read the designated course reading materials carefully. You are required to ask questions that you obtained from the reading, or answer the questions raised by your instructor or classmates. Short Topic Essay. You are required to write a ONE-page paper (double spaces) explaining the topics in the area of mobile media that you are interested in. You may describe a mobile media company you want to explore. Or you may explain an issue related to mobile media, such as health concern, adolescents' use of smartphone, privacy, cyber-crime on mobile devices. Etc. Mobile Media Diffusion Case Study. You will conduct a case study on the mobile media diffusion of a country. You can do an independent study or collaborate with another class

3 member. Your case study should apply the theories of diffusion of innovations and may discuss/address at least three of the following questions: 1. What are the penetration levels of mobile media (mobile phone/smartphone, tablet) of this country? 2. What are the different diffusion patterns between mobile media and other media platforms such as Internet and TV? 3. What are the characters of the social structure of this country, and how this social structure influences its mobile media diffusion? 4. What are the major mobile media companies (including device manufactures, wireless service providers, app developers, etc.)? How does mobile media industry contribute to the national economy of this country? 5. What are the regulations the government of this country has on mobile media industry? At least 10 sources (including scholarly sources and other sources) are needed and in-text citations of all sources are required with APA documentary style. This report should be approximate FIVE pages (double spaces) for an independent study, or EIGHT pages (double spaces) for a collaborative study, EXCLUDING references. Note: Your case topic must be approved in advance by the professor. Mobile Media Issue Debate. This class will have debates on two topics related to mobile media usage. The class is divided into four groups (6-7 persons per group). Each group needs to select the topic and position (pro or con) of the debate. All group members are expected to participate in the research, development, and presentation of your debate position. The guidelines for the debate will be posted on the Blackboard separately. Mobile Media Company/Issue Analysis. You are required to conduct the research on one mobile media company or an issue. You can do an independent study or collaborate with another class member. For a mobile media company study, you may choose any of wireless service providers, e.g., Version, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint; or mobile device producers, e.g., Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Sony. Your research should discuss/address at least three of the following questions: 1. The market(s) the company s products/services are directed at the local, national, and international levels. 2. The financial performance of this company. 3. The essence of its business model in terms of such things as where does the profit come from, its targeted market or audience, the production and distribution strategy, the choice of content? 4. The extent to which its products/services exemplify the impact of regulatory structures. 5. The extent to which its products/services exemplify the impact of new technology. For a mobile media issue, you have the freedom to select any particular issue you are interested in such as health concern, adolescents' use of smartphone, privacy, cyber-crime, mobile education. Your analysis may address at least three of the following questions: 1. What is the issue? Why it is important to be explored?

4 2. What are the impacts of the issue on people s lives? 3. What are the impacts of the issue on mobile media industry and/or regulation? 4. What are the broad social (economic, political, and cultural) impacts of the issue? 5. What are the factors, such as new technology, globalization, and regulation, influence the issue? At least 10 sources (including scholarly sources and other sources) are needed and in-text citations of all sources are required with APA documentary style. This report should be approximate FIVE pages (double spaces) for an independent study, or EIGHT pages (double spaces) for a collaborative study, EXCLUDING references. Note: Your mobile media company/app topic must be approved in advance by the professor. Exam. You will have a final exam. The final exam will contain several short essay questions developed from reading materials. Evaluation Assessment weighting Attendance 100 Classroom Participation 100 Short Topic Essay 50 Mobile Media Diffusion Case Study 200 Mobile Media Issue Debate 150 Mobile Media Company/Issue Analysis 250 Paper: 200 Presentation: 50 Final Exam 150 Total 1000 Final grading scale: A= ; B= ; C= ; D= ; F=below 600

5 Course Schedule:(Subject to change) Week 1 08/28/17 08/30/17 Week 2 09/04/17 09/06/17 Week 3 09/11/17 09/13/17 Week 4 09/18/17 Introduction and overview Introduction and Syllabus Ahonen (2013). Mobile and Megatrends. In Bruck & Rao (2013). Chapter 1 (pp ) Mobile media diffusion Labor Day, No class. Rogers. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations. Chapter 1: Elements of diffusion Mobile media diffusion Rogers. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations. Chapter 1: Elements of diffusion Rao. (2013). A world gone mobile. In Bruck & Rao (2013). Introduction (pp. 1-28). Short Essay Due before Sep 13 th 11:59 P.M. Submitted through Blackboard Mobile media diffusion Bruck & Rao (2013). Introduction: A world gone mobile. 09/20/17 Zhang. (2017). Exploring the patterns and determinants of the global mobile divide. Zheng (2012). Research on factors of smartphone diffusion based on innovation diffusion. Week 5 Mobile media diffusion 09/25/17 World Bank. (2016). Digital dividends 09/27/17 World Bank. (2016). Digital dividends Week 6 10/02/17 Mobile media regulation and social impacts Napoli. (2001). Foundations of communications policy. Chapter 2: Foundation principles and communications policymaking. 10/04/17 Week 7 10/9/17 10/11/17 Gallagher. (2013). Mobile spectrum: Overcoming challenges of scarcity. In Bruck & Rao (2013). Chapter 8 (pp ) Mobile media regulation and social impacts Southwood (2013). Policy and regulatory issues in the mobile Internet. In Bruck & Rao (2013). Chapter 29 (pp ) GSMA (2016). The mobile economy. Chapter 4: Rethinking regulation. Mobile Media Diffusion Case Study Due before Oct 17 th 11:59 P.M. Submitted through Blackboard

6 Week 8 Mobile media regulation and social impacts 10/16/17 Galetzka (2017). Mobile and interactive media use by young children. 10/18/17 Miakotkol. (2017) The impact of smartphone and mobile devices on human health and life. Week 9 Mobile media regulation and social impacts 10/23/17 Lundquist (2014). Smartphones- fulfilling the need for immediacy in everyday Life, but at what cost? 10/25/17 Workshop for mobile media issue debate Week 10 10/30/17 11/01/17 Week 11 11/06/17 11/08/17 Week 12 11/13/17 11/15/17 Week 13 11/20/17 11/22/17 Week 14 11/27/17 Mobile media issue debate Should kids have smartphones? Have our smartphones hijacked our lives? Goodwin et al. (2008). Consumption theory and the consumer society Inombi. (2013) Global mobile media consumption Sharma. (2013). Competition and the evolution of mobile market. In Bruck & Rao (2013). Chapter 5 (pp ) Sridhar (2013). Mobile partnership and alliance. Bruck & Rao (2013). Chapter 5 (pp ) GSMA (2016). The mobile economy. Chapter 1: Industry overview GSMA (2016). The mobile economy. Chapter 2: Mobile driving growth and innovations across the world. GSMA (2016). The mobile economy. Chapter 3: Mobile addressing social challenges in the developing world. 11/29/17 Mobile media company/issue analysis presentation Week 15 Mobile media company/issue analysis presentation 12/04/17 Mobile media company/issue analysis presentation Mobile Media Company/Issue Report Due before Dec 4 th 11:59 P.M. Submitted through Blackboard 12/06/17 Mobile media company/issue analysis presentation Exam review 12/11/17 Final Exam 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.