Learning outcomes to be examined in this assessment:
• Collect, analyse, present and comment upon business data.
• Identify the relationship between computer hardware and software.
• Describe the most common types of software pro-grammes and explain how they may be used to en-hance management functions.
Assignment Tasks
Your assignment consists of one task (worth 100% of the total marks for the assign-ment).
Assignment Task 1: Essay
“Contemporary computing can be seen as an assemblage.” Discuss.
To achieve this:
Select TWO computing stories from the Live News exercise you fulfil in each week’s tutorial. Using Actor Network Theory as your primary tool for analysis, at a minimum:
Describe the scales on which the actants in your stories “act” in the assem-blage
Discuss how these actions can enhance management functions
Outline what issues/questions these actions raise. To achieve this, compare and contrast the viewpoints of a range of theorists and critics explored throughout the module.
Conclude by summarising how your answers relate to the statement “Con-temporary computing can be seen as an assemblage.”
Deliverables
You will submit a single word processed document to Turnitin, of between 1350-1650 words.
Your content will follow the structure outlined on page 3.
Task One is worth 100% of the total marks for the module. The marking criteria is outlined on page 4.
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Suggested essay structure
Cover Page
Assignment title, module code, student name, student number and submission date.
Table of Contents
A list of all the chapters, sections, headings or subheadings, as well as all page numbers.
Introduction (about 10% of the essay) ○ Explain how you intend to address the question. ○ What issues/topics are you going to explore? ○ What argument will you make?
Main body (about 80% of the essay) Use a chain of paragraphs to EXPLORE AND DEVELOP your ideas/argument.
You will probably have 3 to 4 main ideas. Break each idea into paragraphs, possibly 2 per idea. Perform substantial amounts of analysis and point making in each para-graph.
In each paragraph the reader is asking you to explain: ○ What is this paragraph about? ○ What is your argument on this? ○ What is your evidence? What does it mean? ○ How does it link to the essay title? ○ How does it link to the topic in the next paragraph?
It is not sufficient simply to describe a situation. Analysis and a critical approach are essential. Charts, diagrams and tables can be used to reinforce your arguments.
Conclusion (about 10% of the essay) ○ Do not introduce any NEW material here. ○ Summarise your ideas/argument (you might also have done this in your in-troduction) ○ Restate what you consider to be the main points ○ Make it clear why those conclusions are important or significant. ○ In your last sentence: link your conclusions or recommendations back to the title.
References
All the named sources you have quoted from or reproduced in your report. Please use The Harvard System for all references. Details for the Harvard System can be found on the student portal.
Appendices (optional)
An appendix contains supplementary information that you consider to be too long, complicated or not quite relevant to include in the main body of the essay, but is still relevant to your reader, e.g. questionnaire results, technical specs. Each appendix should be referred to in your text. You should not include something as an appendix if it is not discussed in the essay.
4 of 4
UK% marks
Expected characteristics of your work (complements generic marking criteria on following page)
70%+
Critical grasp of actor network theory and some additional concepts from the module. Work includes contemporary debates, issues and discussions. Links are successfully discussed between the news stories and the computing assemblage. Accurate Har-vard referencing.
Overall, your work shows a critical understanding of how contemporary computing fits into the knowledge economy.
69-60%
Accurate use of actor network theory and some additional concepts from the module, with some critical thinking. Adequate links between the news stories and the compu-ting assemblage. Uses viewpoints from theorists/critics to illustrate arguments. Accu-rate Harvard referencing.
Overall, your work shows a good understanding of how contemporary computing fits into the knowledge economy.
59-50%
Basic grasp of actor network theory, e.g. actant, assemblage, connections but some minor errors. Some thought has been given to the relevance of the stories have se-lected to the themes of the module. You have used a small number of extra theorists and concepts delivered on the module. Harvard referencing attempted but incom-plete.
Overall, your work shows an adequate understanding of some of the themes of the module, and how contemporary computing fits into the technical, social and business world.
49-40%
Your work identifies some actants, and how they act, but in a superficial or descrip-tive way. Little or no consideration has been given to the relevance of how the act-ants are acting. Work is poorly Harvard referenced.
Overall, your work reflects a poor understanding of the themes of the module, and of how contemporary computing fits into the technical, social and business world.
39-0%
2 computing-based stories have been described in your own words rather than ana-lysed using a theory delivered on the module. Actor network theory has not been ap-plied as a framework for analysis, or has been applied with much confusion or errors. Work is not Harvard referenced.
Overall, your work does not show an understanding of how contemporary computing fits into the technical, social and business world.
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