True Names by Vernor Vigne
On Wednesday, April 5th at the beginning of your lecture section, you
need to turn in a paper based on your reading of the specified essays of
the collection, as well as the other readings and materials for this course.
This is an INDIVIDUAL assignment. You will be able to turn the paper in
late with a 50% penalty. Late papers must be turned in by the beginning of
class on Wednesday, April 12th.
- Write the paper using a word processor, double-spaced in 12-point font
with 1 inch margins. The paper must have a header or footer with
automatic page numbering and your name.
- Make a cover page that has your name and your section number, and your
University ID number. Be sure to staples all pages together securely.
- The paper is divided into individual questions (given below). For
each question, you need to write a two to three page answer. Each
answer must begin at the top of a new page. In other words, use
a page break between your answer to question 1 and your answer to
question 2, another page break between your question 2 and question 3
answers.
- Spelling and grammar do count. If the paper is difficult to follow
due to bad grammar or organization, it will receive a lower grade.
- You are not required to use any resources besides the ones mentioned,
but you are expected to have specific references to back up the claims
in your paper. References to real-world events are often better when you
can references things such as news articles that discuss these events.
When you reference a specific point from the book, you
must indicate the page on which it was discussed by placing the page
number inside of parenthesis at the end of the first sentence in your
paper which mentions it. Use references of the following form: (TN P.190)
to refer to page 190, (TN P.183-185) to refer to pages 183-185. If you
refer to points from another source (such as an article from the readings),
you must fully indicate this within your paper and give a citation for
that reference (such as the URL) in a bibliography.
- Minimal work will receive a minimal grade.
Answer each of the following based upon material presented in the book
and class discussions:
- Discuss and explain techniques and resources available and
mentioned in the readings relating to e-mail privacy and security.
Your explanations need to demonstrate an understanding of the
techniques and resources, and should be able to be understood
by a casual Internet user who has not taken this class.
Give descriptions in your own words, and practical examples to
assist your explanations. Conclude this part of your paper
with a one-paragraph summary of your opinions on the use of
the techniques and resources you have explained.
- Discuss the way we interact and are identified online, how
the "haves" and "have nots" have or might change in an
information-centric society, and the consequences of these things
within the context of concepts such as Gandy's "Panoptic Sort"
and the other issues raised in the readings. Explain the issues
in a neutral tone, in a manner that any student here at the
University could understand. Conclude this part of your paper
with a two to three paragraph summary of your opinions as to
how the concerns mentioned in the readings (now five to ten years
old) have or have not come to fruition in what is often considered
today's Internet-abled, technology-rich society.
- The story "True Names" is a work of fiction written in 1981.
The ARPANET went live with two machines in 1970. The IBM PC was
released in 1981. The Apple Mac interface was not released until
1984. Seeing this story in that context, how (un)realistic do you
think the technology felt to the readers of that time period?
Reading it now, how (un)realistic does it seem. Based on the
readings, the class readings and topics, and your own knowledge of
the use of computer systems in today's everyday life, discuss
(a) a scenario you think is realistic as a possible disaster that
could befall our society, and (b) who you think should be safeguarding
us and what power you think they should be given to do so.