MIT - Final Exam Questions

JOUR 4874.001 and .802/COMM 4000.003
The Meaning of Information Technology
Final Examination Questions.

The final examination for this class again takes the form of a “partial take-home” exam. Today you are receiving 6 questions for thought, investigation and careful consideration. Of these 6 questions, 3 will appear on the regularly-scheduled final exam in our class room from 4:30-7:00pm on Friday, December 12. You will answer 2 of the 3 questions on the final exam (that is, we are giving you a choice). Take-home exams are desirable because (1) they cause us to think carefully about targeted issues of central importance to a course, (2) they allow us to investigate in areas where our knowledge may not be as strong so that we learn more about the key issues raised in a course, and (3) they take off the pressure to memorize massive amounts of information, allowing us to focus on key concepts and questions. The traditional drawbacks to take-home exams are that (1) we have no way to calibrate the length of an appropriate response (that is, how long did my classmates spend writing and how much did they write?), and (2) a take-home exam should, in an ideal world, have full time devoted to it from the time the question is handed to us to the time we turn it in. We address these drawbacks by having you write your answers within the time limit of the class. We will provide sufficient paper for you; blue books will not be used for this final exam.

So, carefully consider the following 6 questions. 3 will appear on the final exam; you must answer 2 of them. We expect your responses to be thoughtful, informed, well-organized, and convincing. While there is no “right” answer, your response must demonstrate your knowledge of the topic, your appreciation of the complexities and/or controversies of the topic, and it must demonstrate a clear argument, well-supported by examples and convincing points. Prepare your thoughts in advance. Please, bring no notes or other prompting devices to the exam.

1. What is “information technology”? Discuss its current significance in terms of society, commerce, culture, education and law.

2. Many social/technology critics say that the “digital divide” is a major problem in the United States, and that a variety of “digital divides” will continue to drive a wedge between our society's "haves" and "have-nots." What are these divides? Do you think that the federal government should use taxpayer money to address this problem? If so, how? Or can you propose other means of addressing this important issue?

3. William Mitchell, Karen Franck, and many other theorists speak of Cyberspace as a place that you can inhabit, freed from the constraints of the physical world. Please engage with the following 2 questions, providing examples that support your argument: Is it possible and is it desirable to construct a new identity for yourself in Cyberspace? Were you to do so, to what extent would you actually be in a new world, different from your "real" world?

4. Who currently controls the development of Information Technology? Is this different from who you think should control it? Discuss three specific examples in your answer. (Among currently-cited controlling agents you might think about Microsoft, white males, Wall Street, the government, research scientists, hackers, consumers…) It will help you to first define what kinds of IT you are talking about, then to provide specific examples.

5. According to theorist Nathan Shedroff, Information Anxiety takes many forms and underlies the current love/hate relationship that many of us may have with information technologies. Investigate exactly how much information is “out there” (you might refer to a recent U Cal Berkeley study that is online at http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info/index.html) and propose a systematic way for individuals to deal with this constant barrage of information. How can the blossoming field of Information Architecture help to limit our pain? You might also want to reflect on the difference among “information”, “knowledge” and “data.”

6. On the first day of our class, you were asked to respond to the following questions: How is IT affecting your life? Do you see IT developments as mostly positive/mostly negative? Why? Please revisit these questions, considering carefully our examination of information technology throughout this semester.