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GVPT 100 Syllabus Supplement, Term 5, 2006-07, RAF Mildenhall Faculty Contact Information: email: phil.richardson@faculty.ed.umuc.edu Grading Information: I prefer to give each student an 'A' in each of my courses. The grade, however, must be earned as I can only reflect the performance I observe. I do understand that students have many other responsibilities, but your own learning is your responsibility. Moreover, I also expect you to assist the learning of others in this class. I will work with every student within reason to help her or him complete this course successfully. It will come as no surprise that for a variety of reasons a number of students each term choose not to earn an "A". Students concerned with slow progress should seek help before getting into grade trouble. Contact me, your instructor, early. "Incompletes" will not be given unless thoroughly justified and backed up by a contract negotiated with the instructor allowing for completion within four weeks. Other Information: E-mail Connection: Send me an email by Tuesday after the first weekend to confirm our email connection. Provide me with both primary and alternate email addresses that you monitor. Please make one of your email addresses a non-military address. Place my email addresses (par.uk@btinternet.com and par.uk@mac.com) in your address book so I will be a recognized correspondent by your spam filter. (I do the same for you.) Make the subject of your email "GVPT100 07t5 Initial Contact". I will reply to confirm the connection. Attendance Policy : In-class discussion is a vital part of this course. Your active participation and interaction with your classmates is required and your attendance is needed for that to happen. Your lack of participation will lower your grade. You are responsible for keeping copies of all your work including graded exams and assignments and should be able to produce the same, if needed. Do not fall behind. Work ahead if possible. Do some work on this course every day or two. Set aside time to do this. If confused, in doubt, or in need of a clarification on any aspect of the course, contact me first. Two "Must's": Attribution : Give credit in your work to those whose ideas and words you use - and use them well. No one is expected to know everything. Indeed, we need to avoid "re-inventing the wheel". So look around and build on the ideas and words of others. Just take care to give them full credit. This includes prior works presented or published by you for other purposes or in prior or other classes. Use footnotes or endnotes where needed and construct a proper "Works Cited" or "Bibliography" page to accompany your work. Plagiarized papers, reports, projects, or exams will receive a grade of 0 (zero) whether copied in whole or in part. This includes "accidental" plagiarism. See the UMUC European Division Catalog policy on academic integrity. Effective writing is critical to the intellectual life of university students and graduates within the workplace. Effective managers are usually effective communicators. Your work in this course must demonstrate your ability to master and effectively communicate course content. We must be able to share our ideas with others properly. That means we need to pay constant attention to the way in which we present those ideas. Written and oral work which contains significant errors in English or presentation typically impairs the quality of the message you are trying to communicate. Use your eyes and brain to check your work -- a mechanical computer can hurt as well as help. Proofread and check your work PRIOR to submission. Poor English or presentation will reduce my evaluation of your work by one or more letter grades regardless of the brilliance of the ideas therein. Effective writing
Word Processor: Use Microsoft Word®. If your response will be more than 150-200 words, create a document in MS Word. If you do not have Microsoft Word, use "Save As" in your usual word processor and select the MS Word document option.
Supplemental Information: See my web site for further guidance on Class Policy: http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~prichard/crs_guid_gen/class_policy.html Case Analysis: http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~prichard/crs_guid_gen/case_analysis.html Using email in this course (when needed): http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~prichard/crs_guid_gen/email_hints.html http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~prichard/crs_guid_gen/email_attach.html Oral presentations in class : http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~prichard/crs_guid_gen/speaking_improv.html Course Project: The Current Issues Paper: Use the detailed Table of Contents in your text as a guide in your selection (you may propose a different topic, of course). Start reading as much as you can about your topic early in the course and expand your thoughts as you read. Start putting your thoughts in writing early as well. You will complete each section of the CIP separately and submit it separately to me on or before the due date in Microsoft Word format. (Create your documents in MS Word where possible; if not possible, you must change your document to MS Word format by using the "Save As" function. Only MS Word documents are acceptable as discussed below.) Include a cover page and follow all formatting requirements for each submission except CIP Topic Reservation (see below). All submissions except CIP Topic Reservation are electronic by email attachment. Files must be virus-checked before posting. If a virus is detected on any communication, it will not be opened or graded. All electronic mail will be acknowledged so that you know it was received. A minimum of one letter grade will be deducted for each CIP (CIP-1 through CIP-4) for significant problems related to organization, grammar, verb tenses, pronoun use, spelling, punctuation, and writing competency and other requirements including following directions. This is in addition to any penalty for late submission. CIP Topic Reservation: Topics are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis on an in-class sign-up sheet. Please check the topics others have selected before you record yours so you do not duplicate any of them. Keep in mind that you will be spending the rest of this term researching your selected topic, so make sure you like your topic. If you are uncertain of a specific subject, explore your alternatives more deeply. Do not select a broad topic area that you could not possibly cover in 6-8 pages of critical analysis. Please be specific about the aspects of any topic on which you will be focusing. Record your selection on the CIP Topic Sign-up Sheet no later than 7 June 2007. CIP-1: The task in CIP-1 is to explain your reasons for selecting your exploration area in no more than one page of text. Include a brief discussion of the special significance of your topic to students of government and politics (as opposed to ordinary citizens in the community). Submit CIP-1 as a Microsoft Word document via email attachment no later than 2400 hrs local, 12 June '07. CIP-2: Determine three critically important questions you would like to address regarding your CIP topic. Be aware that "asking the right question" is typically one of the most critical phases of research. Justify your selection of each question. Hint: Focus on "Why" questions first, then "How". These are commonly much more significant that "What". At times "Who" or "Where" issues are also highly significant. This is an exercise in critical thinking and writing, not mere exposition as important as that may be. Submit CIP-2 as a Microsoft Word document via email attachment no later than 2400 hrs local, 22 June '07. CIP-3: Begin CIP-3 with your topic and a listing of your three questions. (If I have asked you to revise one or more of the questions you submitted in CIP-2, please use the revised questions.) Provide at least three sources for every question. Organize your sources by question to which they primarily relate, most useful or important source first, least useful last. (I understand that this assessment may later change and that is OK). The textbook is not to be your major source for any question. Sources that relate to more than one question are to be listed only once, under the first question to which they relate with reference by number to the other question(s) supported. Number your sources sequentially (starting with 1 and continuing to 15). Include a full bibliographic reference for each source. Give the exact source whether it is an article, a book, a newspaper article, or a specific Web page. Electronic sources require a complete URL (web address of the exact web page) as part of that reference. Include the date of the information as well as, for electronic sources, the date accessed on-line. Describe the source in general terms, why it is valid and reliable (acceptable for you to use), and how that source will specifically help you to respond to one or more of your three significant questions. Hint: Do not give me a search engine as a reference! For example, http://www.google.com is not a reference. Neither is the home page of a journal or organization unless you are using information contained on that exact page. Thus CIP-3 should be a collection of 10-15 references with a paragraph for each reference describing its significance for this study and, for Internet references, clickable links (for me to easily access and review them). (To make a "clickable link" in Microsoft Word, copy and paste the link from your browser into the Microsoft Word document or type it. If typed, remember to press the Enter key for the link to turn "blue.") Submit CIP-3 as a Microsoft Word document via email attachment no later than 2400 hrs local, 6 July '07. CIP-4: Address arguments for and against your topic, if any. Now is the time for your "critical writing" to match your "critical thinking". Begin CIP-4 with a restatement of your three key questions. (If I asked you to revise one or more of the questions you submitted in CIP-2, please use the latest version of the questions.) Make sure your thoughts are cohesive and your paragraphs are clear by demonstrating one issue/thought/idea at a time and then moving on to the next. Since you have had plenty of time to work on your project, please make sure you incorporate all you have learned from this course to date and the skills you have developed throughout the sessions into your CIP-4 assignment. CIP-4 length: 6-8 pages of text not including figures, diagrams, tables, title page, executive summary, or bibliography (based on CIP-3). This is your completed "paper". When I grade CIP-4, I will look for critical thinking skills, logical and clear arguments, cohesive writing, proper citations and quoting, quality references, flow of ideas and good transitions between paragraphs, grammatically correct phrasing, and - of course - no spelling errors. Submit CIP-4 as a Microsoft Word document via email attachment no later than 2400 hrs local, 20 July '07. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH CIP 1. WRITING QUALITY Grammar, Verb Tenses, Pronoun Use, Spelling, Punctuation, and Writing Competency. Remember:
2. REFERENCES Use the APA format for your references. The CIP-3 assignment is a Reference List. (Reference List = same as a Bibliography) As part of CIP-4 you will need to re-submit the Reference List as it may have changed since you submitted CIP-3. You will also need to correctly reference your sources within the body of your paper. Here is an example referencing a source within the text of a paper: Mossman (2001) described the research design more clearly, " When developing a marketing proposal, one should always ......... " " Marketing research is a requirement before any new product is introduced to the market. " (Gomez and Breegle, 1999) 3. COVER PAGE Use a cover page for each submission. In the center of the page, in this order, double spaced, put the following, inserting the appropriate information in the brackets:
4. PROTECTING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY The University has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism from Internet resources. I may be using this service in this class by either requiring students to submit their papers electronically to Turnitin.com or by submitting questionable text on behalf of a student. If you or I submit part or all of your paper, it will be stored by Turnitin.com in their database throughout the term of the UniversityÕs contract with Turnitin.com. If you object to this temporary storage of your paper, you must let me know no later than two weeks after the start of this class. Please Note: If you object to the storage of your paper on Turnitin.com, I may utilize other services to check your work for plagiarism. Note: Using the CIP system, following the above requirements, and getting frequent feedback will help you not only in this course, but in your other courses as well. Schedule: ** Note ** Class times are 1615-1730, Monday-Thursday. Part 1: Introduction: The Idea of Politics ** Week 1 ** Sessions 1-4: 4 - 7 June '07, 1615 - 1730 hours Politics: Setting the Stage Modern Ideologies and Political Philosophy Principles of Political Analysis Study Text, Table of Contents, Preface, Chapters 1 & 2 and the text's Appendix. Assignments: TBD. CIP Topic Reservation Due NLT 7 June (First come, first served, no duplicates). Part 2: The State & Public Policy ** Week 2 ** Sessions 5-8: 11 - 14 June '07 The Modern State Policies of the State Study Text, Chapters 3-4. Assignments: TBD. CIP-1 due 2400 hrs local, 12 June by email attachment. Progress Test 1, 14 June (multiple choice, short answer & essay questions from Chapters 1-3 Part 2 (cont'd) and Part 3: The Citizen & the Regime ** Week 3 ** Sessions 9-12: 18 - 21 June '07 Economic Policy and the State Political Choices: The Problems of Justice and Efficiency Authority and Legitimacy: The State and the Citizen Study Text, Chapters 5-7. Assignments: TBD. CIP-2 due 2400 hrs local, 22 June by email attachment. Part 3 (cont'd) & Part 4: The Apparatus of Governance ** Week 4 ** Sessions 13-16: 25 - 28 June '07 Democracy and Autocracy Constitutions and the Design of Government Study Text, Chapters 8-9. Assignments: TBD. Progress Test 2, 28 July. (multiple choice, short answer & essay questions from Chap. 4-8); up to 25% of Progress Test 2 will review material previously tested. ** Week 5 ** Sessions 17-20; 2 - 5 July '07 Elections Parties: A Linking and Leading Mechanism in Politics Structured Conflict: Interest Groups and Politics Study Text, Chapters 10-12. Assignments: TBD. CIP-3 due 2400 hrs local, 6 July by email attachment. ** Week 6 ** Sessions 21-24: 9 - 12 July '07 Social Movements and Contentious Politics National Decision-making Institutions: Parliamentary Government Study Text, Chapters 13-14. Assignments: TBD. Progress Test 3, 12 July. (multiple choice, short answer & essay questions from Chap. 9-12); up to 25% of Progress Test 3 will review material previously tested. ** Week 7 ** Sessions 25-28: 16 - 19 July '07 National Decision-making Institutions: Presidential Government Bureaucracy and the Public Sector Law and the Courts Study Text, Chapters 15-17. Assignments: TBD. CIP-4 due 2400 hrs local, 20 July by email attachment. Part 5: International Politics ** Week 8 ** Sessions 29-30: 23 - 24 July '07 Global Politics: Politics Among States (and Others); Review and Class Discussion Study Text, Chapter 18. Review Texts, course notes, and supporting web sites. Assignments: TBD. Sessions 31-32: 25 - 26 July '07 Final Exam, closed book, closed notes, comprehensive test covering entire text, handouts, homework, and class discussion. |
| Phil Richardson, phil.richardson@faculty.ed.umuc.edu, Revised 5 May 2007 |