Virtual office hours:         Daily on ICQ (Name: Cogburn, UIN: 17862355); and
                                    AOL Instant Messenger (Name: CogburnDL)

Course Web Site and Virtual Study Center: www.communitytechnology.org/courses/globalization

This graduate seminar (limited to 30 students, Wits—10, UMSI—10, AU—10) is designed, using a unique interactive multimedia approach, to explore the socio-economic and political implications and development of information and communications technologies, systems and policies within the framework of globalization and the on-going development of an information economy and information society. A particular emphasis will be placed on the responses to these issues from the perspectives of Africa and the developing world.

The objectives of this seminar are as follows:

• Become familiar with and critique the recent literature and debates on the Information Age, globalization, state autonomy and the role of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in development;
• Develop an understanding of the structure of the world system and the global economy, and the mechanisms—including international regimes—developed to "govern" the global economy within an anarchic world system.
• Develop a basic understanding of the technologies underlying information and communications systems, R&D approaches, and technology management.
• Develop a basic understanding of key issues currently being developed, debated, and negotiated in the development of the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) and Global Information Society (GIS), including:
• telecommunications privatization and liberalization;
• electronic commerce (e-commerce)
• knowledge management
• implementing the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on basic telecommunications;
• education and learning reform and new technologies;
• telecommunications and broadcasting development and convergence;
• restructuring the international accounting rate system;
• regional and international organization responses;
• specific national responses and approaches;
• strategies for small-island states;
• privacy and security;
• intellectual property rights;
• national systems of innovation, and;
• universal access (community information centres, telecentres).
• Develop an appreciation for the challenges and opportunities presented by international interdisciplinary collaborative research by participating in global virtual research teams with students from two other universities;
• Develop research, analytic, writing, technology and presentation skills through collaborative research, report writing and class presentations.

This course is based upon the assumption that the world system and global economy are facing a fundamental restructuring and an on-going process of globalization, leading to the development of a knowledge-based Global Information Society. Within this change, it is imperative for students interested in the converging interdisciplinary fields of information systems, information and communications technology and international communications policy, to have an opportunity to engage in cutting edge educational and learning opportunities which prepares them for these new global realities. In response to this imperative, many universities are moving to provide new types of learning opportunities for their students and are engaging them in global basic and applied research. The emergence of new information and communications technologies enables this unique educational experience.

This seminar is designed to provide such an learning opportunity by immersing the participants in the relevant literature to contribute to the development of a deeper theoretical understanding of the issues covered, while engaging them in practical and applied approaches and activities.

The seminar seeks to break the boundaries of time, space and distance. It will employ information and communications technologies to create a networked collaborative learning environment. The seminar will have a mix of synchronous and asynchronous activities (i.e., some activities will take place at the same time, same place; some at the same time, different place; and some at a different time, different place). The seminar will provide continuous feedback, high levels of interaction and an emphasis on student work and group projects.

At the beginning of the semester, each participant in the seminar will be assigned to a global collaborative research team called Global Syndicates (based on the syndicate approach used at the University of the Witwatersrand). Each Global Syndicate will consist of 6 persons (2 from each university.) Each syndicate will be assigned one of five stakeholder perspectives: (1) global private sector; (2) international organization; (3) developed country national government; (4) developing country national government; and (5) non-governmental organization (non-state actors). These Global Syndicates will be tasked with a research problem, two projects, case study readings, and a role-playing exercise.

The approach taken in this seminar is highly relevant for training in university-based research, public policy research institutes (think tanks), international organizations and the private sector. This type of scholarly and scientific research involves a significant degree of self-education, independent learning, and discipline.

1. Introductory presentation: Using PowerPoint, give a two-minute presentation on your background and interest in and current understanding of Globalization and the Information Society. Each student will send their presentations to the professor for inclusion in the course web site and will make a present their slides to the seminar.
2. Mid-Term Paper and Presentation: Each student should prepare a mid-term paper of 10-15 pages (2500-3750 words) which is based on a relevant topic approved by the professor. These papers should express the student’s individual interests and perspectives on the seminar material and topics. Each student will summarize and present their paper in a five-minute PowerPoint presentation. The full presentations will be available in the VSC.
3. Final Global Syndicate Projects: Each global syndicate will develop a 20-25-page paper (5000-6000 words) and 20 minute presentation on the following two research questions: "What is the international telecommunications regime, why is it facing such a tremendous transformation, and what are the are the similarities and differences between it and the emerging global information infrastructure and global information society regime?" "From the perspective of your stakeholder groups, what should be the components of the emerging GII/GIS regime and what is its likelihood of success?"
4. Seminar Evaluation: Each student should prepare a 2-5-page evaluation of the course and its approach that should be submitted in electronic format.

1. Introductory presentation 10%,
2. Mid-term paper and presentation 35% (paper 25%; presentation 10%)
3. Final Global Syndicate projects 40% (paper 30%; presentation 10%),
4. Seminar and Syndicate peer evaluation 15% (10% seminar; syndicate peers 5%).

My physical office hours are limited, and by appointment only. Please send me an e-mail or phone my office for an appointment (these appointments will be subject to availability). However, my virtual office hours are daily, and you can reach me on ICQ (Name: Cogburn; User Identification Number: 17862355) or on AOL Instant Messenger (Name: CogburnDL) where we can set up a private chat.

To support the learning needs of this seminar, a virtual study center (VSC) is being developed on the Web. Each student is expected to make extensive use of this VSC and to contribute to its development. The VSC includes the following components:

Weekly Lectures

Technology Support: PlaceWare^TM:

• Real-time audio synchronized with enhanced PowerPoint slides;
• Live web components and links including Java animations;
• Real-time questioning and polling of students;
• Web-based polling of participants;
• Real-time courseware.

Technology Support: WebBoard^TM

• Threaded introductory discussions
• Threaded syndicate discussions
• Attached documents, sound files, images, etc.

• Sharing documents

Technology Support: Microsoft NetShow

• Archived lecture presentations (PowerPoint with synchronized audio)
• Some pre-recorded video
• Web-based courseware and study-guides
• Web-based background reading
• Library of background material and Internet links (including Java animations)

This seminar is technology-intensive and requires the use of numerous information and communications technologies (ICTs). Given the design and approach, all students in the seminar are required to have access to the following, and possess a functional knowledge of each:

(1). An individual e-mail account (there are many free accounts available);

(2). Access, during course hours, to the Internet and World Wide Web;

(3). Access, during course hours, to PlaceWare^TM (free to registered students);

(4). Access to Mirabilis ICQ^TM (for office hours, free on the web);

(5). Access to WebBoard^TM (for global syndicate work, free to registered students)

(6). Access to Microsoft Netshow^TM (for course archives, free on the web);

(7). Access to RealPlayer G2^TM (for some course background material, free on the web);

(8). Access to Microsoft PowerPoint97^TM (for presentations)

(9). Access to Microsoft Word^TM

See the detailed seminar schedule below. All required books are available at various campus bookstores. Most required journals are available on-line and can be accessed from the Virtual Study Centre. Other required reading materials are available on reserve in the library.

Recommended Regular Readings

Further, all students are encouraged to read the following journals on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, where possible.

• The Economist (www.economist.com)
• Business Week (www.businessweek.com)
• Fortune (www.fortune.com)
• Financial Times (www.ft.com)
• Atlantic Monthly (www.theatlantic.com)
• Business 2.0 (www.business2.com)
• Red Herring (www.redherring.com)
• Wired (www.wired.com)
• Information Strategy (www.info-strategy.com)

The professor in this seminar has very high expectations of the participants and they should have the same of the professor. This informal "learning contract" should govern activities in the seminar. All participants are expected to complete the required reading and case assignments for each session prior to that session and to actively participate in all activities of the Global Syndicate to which they are assigned. The codes of academic conduct at each university will be enforced strictly. NB: Grades of incomplete can only be considered upon receipt of medical certification. All late submissions receive one letter grade lower per day past the specified due date.

• Castells, Manuel. The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Vols. I and II (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996). Volume I: Rise of the Network Society; Volume II: The Power of Identity.
• Barnet, Richard J. and John Cavanagh, Global Dreams: Imperial Corporations and the New World Order (New York: Simon and Schuester, 1994).
• Shapiro, Carl and Hal R. Varian. Information Rules (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1999).
• Dodd, Annabel Z. The Essential Guide to Telecommunications (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998).
• Mansell, Robin and Uta When. Knowledge Societies: Information Technology for Sustainable Development (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998).
• Kosiur, David. Understanding Electronic Commerce: How On-Line Transactions Can Grow Your Business (Redmond: Microsoft Press, 1997).

• Grieder, One World, Ready or Not (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995). Part I: One World, pp. 11-53.
• Hoekman, Bernard and Michel Kostecki. The Political Economy of the World Trading System: From GATT to WTO (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995). Introduction, Chapter 1, pp. 1-34; Chapter 2, pp. 36-55; Chapter 5, pp. 127-143, Chapter 9, pp. 213-232; Chapter 10, pp. 235-245.
• Hopkins, Terence K. and Immanuel Wallerstein, The Age of Transition: Trajectory of the World-System 1945-2025 (London: Zed Books, 1996). Chapters 1, 2, and 3, pp. 1-86.
• Ruggie, John Gerard. Multilaterialism Matters: The Theory and Praxis of an Institution. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993). Chapter 1, pp. 3-36.
• Zacher, Mark W. with Brent A. Sutton. Governing Global Networks: International Regimes for Transportation and Communications (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997). Introduction, Chapters 1, 2, 7 and conclusion.
• Cowhey, Peter. "International Telecommunications Regime." International Organization
• Soon-Yong Choi et al, The Economics of Electronic Commerce (Indianapolis: Macmillian, 1997). Chapter 9, pp. 373-406; Chapter 10, pp. 407-462; and Chapter 11, pp. 463-538.
• Don Tapscott, Blueprint to the Digital Economy: Creating Wealth in the Era of E-Business (New York: McGraw Hill, 1998). Introduction, pp. 1-16, Chapter 1, pp. 19-33. Part 4: Governance in the 21^st Century, pp. 339-400.
• Carnoy, Martin, et al. The New Global Economy in the Information Age. Chapter 3, pp. 45-96.
• Frieden, Rob. International Telecommunications Handbook (Boston, Artech House, 1996). Chapter 2, 9-26 and Chapter 3, pp. 27-48.
• Kelly, Kevin.  New Rules for the New Economy: 10 Radical Strategies for a Connected World (New York: Viking Penguin, 1998), Introduction, pp. 1-8; Chapter 1, pp. 9-22.

1. Globalisation, Information Economy and Information Society

• Attali, Jacques Millennium: Winners and Losers in the Coming World Order (New York: Random House, 1991).
• Greider, William One World: Ready or Not: The Manic Logic of Global Capitalism (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997).
• Kelly, Kevin. New Rules for the New Economy: 10 Radical Strategies for a Connected World (New York: Viking Penguin, 1998).
• Roberts, Richard. Inside International Finance (London: Orion Publishers, 1998).
• Bhalla, A.S. ed. Globalization, Growth and Marginalization (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998).
• Clark, Ian Globalization and Fragmentation: International Relations in the Twentieth Century (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).
• Kenney, Martin and Richard Florida. Beyond Mass Production: The Japanese System and its Transfer to the U.S. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993).
• Longworth, Richard C. Global Squeeze: The Coming Crisis for First-World Nations (Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1998).
• Moon, Bruce E. Dilemmas of International Trade (Bolder: Westview Press, 1996).
• Reich, Robert The Work of Nations: Preparing Ourselves for 21^st Century (New York: Vintage Books, 1996).
• Castells, Manuel. The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Vols. I, II, and III (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996). Volume III: End of Millennium
• Barber, Benjamin Jihad v. McWorld: How the Planet is Both Falling Apart and Coming Together and What this Means for Democracy (New York: Times Books, 1995).
• Epping, Randy Charles. A Beginners Guide to the World Economy (New York: Vintage Books, 1995.

• Sassen, Saskia. Globalization and its Discontents: Essays on the New Mobility of People and Money (New York: The New Press, 1998).
• Davenport, Thomas H. and Laurence Prusak, Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998).
• Hoogvelt, Ankie Globalisation and the Postcolonial World: The New Political Economy of Development (London: Macmillian, 1997).
• Hoekman, Bernard and Michel Kostecki. The Political Economy of the World Trading System: From GATT to WTO (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995).
• Krueger, Anne O., The WTO as an International Organization. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998).

• Frieden, Rob. International Telecommunications Handbook (Boston, Artech House, 1996).
• Minoli, Daniel. Distance Learning Technology and Applications (Boston, Artech House, 1998).

• Johnston, David, et al. CyberLaw: What You Need to Know about Doing Business On-Line (Toronto: Stoddart Publishing, 1997).
• Soon-Yong Choi et al, The Economics of Electronic Commerce (Indianapolis: Macmillian, 1997).
• Tapscott, Don. Blueprint to the Digital Economy: Creating Wealth in the Era of E-Business (New York: McGraw Hill, 1998).
• Timmers, Paul et al, eds. Electronic Commerce: Opening Up New Opportunities for Business (London: Cheshire Henry, 1998).