http://courses.ischool.berkeley.edu/i203/s09 Sun, 10 May 2009 14:22:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This week, we dive into the some examples of the ways in which social network analysis can be put to work. Hurlbert et al consider the question of how networks allocate resources. They examine the case of a hurricane to understand how the activation of ties in networks is influenced ... http://courses.ischool.berkeley.edu/i203/s09/2009/04/01/week-8-networks-in-action/ This week: The wonderful world of Networks.  They are everywhere and alwayshave been. As if you needed any more reason to study them, networks can shape information flows, technological adoption, and employment prospects. Further, this is an especially amazing time to be looking at social networks as the last few ... http://courses.ischool.berkeley.edu/i203/s09/2009/03/04/week-7-the-wonderful-world-of-networks/ It often seems that there are as many research methodologies as there are disciplines.  When you are in an interdisciplinary field such as ours, this can be very frustrating.  This week we aim to cut through all the assumptions about what quantitative and qualitative methods are "used for" or "not ... http://courses.ischool.berkeley.edu/i203/s09/2009/02/23/week-6-reading-and-evaluating-research/ In week 5 our readings deal with how information can act as a public good.  We look at two research articles that detail why information sharing is often complicated by different incentives, motivations, costs and benefits.  The Thursday lecture is devoted to applying our understanding of this material to two popular-press books: The ... http://courses.ischool.berkeley.edu/i203/s09/2009/02/23/week-5-user-generated-content/ We had a great discussion about the social implications of the Internet this week, covering a range of subjects, from the OLPC to politics in the age of Obama. Will the OLPC help bring about the changes that its backers hope it will? It well may; but our discussions suggested that ... http://courses.ischool.berkeley.edu/i203/s09/2009/02/17/week-4-everyone-has-their-say/ This week, we extend the discussion from Fischer on the different schools of thought around the issues of the connections between technology and society. Does technology "cause" social change? Is society the sole determinant of the course that technology takes? The readings explore the range of possibilities between both these ... http://courses.ischool.berkeley.edu/i203/s09/2009/02/02/week-3-technological-determinism-social-constructivism-and-everything-in-between/ This week’s reading and discussion is based on Claude Fischer’s America Calling.  Fischer’s rather extensive study of the process by which the telephone became a fixture in American life can serve as a case study for the application of a number of bodies of theory found under the heading of ... http://courses.ischool.berkeley.edu/i203/s09/2009/01/28/week-2-the-telephone-as-introduction-to-a-great-many-concepts/ I would like to welcome you all to Info 203: Social and Organizational Issues of Information.  We will be posting information about the course and the readings to this site, so please check back each week for updated news.  We will also give you a preview of the readings in ... http://courses.ischool.berkeley.edu/i203/s09/2009/01/19/welcome-to-i203/