UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT BRADFORD
SPRING 1997 SYLLABUS
Course: Business Telecommunications
CS-0208-48484: Tuesday-Thursday 1-2:15 p.m.
Location: Swarts Hall, Room 108
Professor: Dr. Carl J. Case
Office: Swarts Hall, Room 235.
Phone (814) 362-5277
Electronic mail - CJC3
Office Hours: Posted on 235 Swarts (bulletin board)
Textbook: Fitzgerald, Jerry and Alan Dennis. Business Data
Communications and Networking, 5th edition,
1996, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.
Grade Determination:
Points Date Student Grade
Exam #1 100 2/11 ________
Exam #2 100 3/25 ________
Final Exam 100 4/25 ________
Article Abstracts (60):
Article #1 10 1/21 ________
Article #2 10 2/04 ________
Article #3 10 2/18 ________
Article #4 10 3/04 ________
Article #5 10 3/11 ________
Article #6 10 4/01 ________
Term Paper/Presentation 100 4/15 ________
Quizzes/Participation(40):
Quiz #1 20 ____ ________
Quiz #2 20 ____ ________
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500
* Keep track of your grades and exam dates here so that you will
know exactly how you stand in the course.
Grade Structure:
460 points = A
435-459 = B+
410-434 = B
385-409 = C+
360-384 = C
335-359 = D+
310-334 = D
0-309 = F
Course Schedule:
Week Read
Begins Topic Chapter Assignment Due
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1/09 Syllabus, Course Introduction
1/14 Intro to Data Communications 1
1/21 Network Applications 2 Article #1
1/28 Telephone Hardware 3 Term Paper Topic
2/04 Data Communication Hardware 4 Article #2
2/11 Exam #1
2/18 Data Transmission 5 Article #3
2/25 Data Link Layer 6
3/04 Network Layer 7 Article #4
3/11 Local Area Networks 8 Article #5
3/18 --SPRING BREAK--
3/25 Exam #2
4/01 Wide Area Networks 9 Article #6
4/08 Backbone Networks 10
4/15 Network Security 13 Paper & Presentation
4/22 Review
4/25 Final Exam, Friday 12-2 p.m.
The majority of the text will be covered throughout the semester.
It is your responsibility to read and be able to discuss chapter
information (as detailed above).
Examination Policy:
There will be three exams, scheduled in 5 week intervals.
The actual date of each exam will be announced in class at
least one week prior to the exam. If, for a legitimate,
documented reason you anticipate missing the scheduled exam,
you must notify the professor both orally and in writing in
advance of your planned absence.
The final exam will be comprehensive but weighted with the
last five week's course content.
All exams are closed-book and may contain a variety of
question types (e.g., multiple-choice, true-false, short
essay, and so on). Exams will cover chapter material, hand-outs,
and in-class lecture information.
Article Abstracts:
Telecommunications is a domain of constant change. It is
incumbent upon the telecommunications professional to keep
abreast of new standards, uses, technologies, and so on. As
a result, for six of the topics listed in the "Course
Schedule", you are to locate a current article (dated within
the last 4 months) related to any aspect of the given topic.
Articles can be found using the World Wide Web, ABI Inform,
browsing periodicals (I have several which you may peruse),
and so on. Using the article as a basis, you are to write a
single-spaced, one page abstract (summary) of your article.
You must hand-in both the article and the abstract. In
addition, you must be prepared to briefly describe your
article during class.
All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due
date. Each abstract should contain the following
information on the top-right corner of the page:
Assignment Identification (e.g., Article #1)
Date
Your Name
Topics may include business uses, new technology, issues,
product evaluations, and so on. In addition, spelling,
grammar, content, and appearance are important.
Term Paper:
You are to select a topic relevant to telecommunications for
a term paper. The topic must be approved by the professor
by 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 28th. No topic will be
approved without a type-written, 1-2 paragraph summary
describing the outline and purpose of the paper. The topic
can relate to business uses, new technologies, issues, the
World Wide Web, and so on. You may scan the textbook for
more ideas.
The paper must be double-spaced, 7-9 pages in length,
contain a title page and bibliography (which do not count in
your paper length), use at least three sources (dated within
1997 and attached to the paper), be Courier 12 point with 1
inch margins, and be spell-checked. Papers modified from
other classes are not acceptable. The paper is due at the
beginning of class on Thursday, April 17. In addition, you
must present a summary of your paper to the class on the
same date. The presentation will be peer-graded and should
be approximately 7-10 minutes in length. Presentations
which exceed 10 minutes will have a 2 point deduction per
excess minute. Thus, present the most important aspects of
your paper in succinct terms. Overhead transparencies,
handouts, and so on may be used at your discretion.
Class Attendance:
Class attendance is necessary for course understanding.
Attendance will be periodically taken although penalties
will not be enforced for non-attendance. However, missed
assignments, exams, and quizzes cannot be made-up.
Moreover, quizzes traditionally have occurred on days in
which attendance is low. Finally, individual participation
is a factor in final grade determination.
You are responsible for all material presented and
assignments made in class. You are expected to get lecture
notes, assignments, and other material covered during your
absence from your classmates. Your professor is not
responsible for providing this material to you.
You are responsible for knowing drop dates, etc., as
published by the University. Ignorance is no excuse.
Punctual attendance is expected. You are also expected to
attend class for the full class period. Late arrivals and
early departures distract and detract from the learning of
those individuals concerned about their future.
Academic Integrity:
The highest levels of academic integrity are expected at all
times. Any talking or cheating during exams or quizzes will
result in a grade of zero. Violation of the above standards
will result in the maximum penalties as permitted by the
University.
Please keep the following points in mind when performing the
tasks associated with this course. Failure to follow these
guidelines will result in point deductions.
* Assignments should be typed and spell-checked. Failure to
do so will result in a 1 point deduction PER occurrence.
* There will be quizzes. The actual day of each quiz will not
be announced so be prepared.
* Assignments are due at the beginning (by 1:10) of class. Do
not wait until the start of class to staple your pages,
label your assignment, and so on. Assignments that are not
handed-in at the beginning of class are considered late and
will be graded at a 50% point deduction from the maximum
number of points. Assignments not handed-in within 5 days
of the due date will not be graded.
* If you plan on missing class, you may have a classmate bring
your project to class or you may, in advance of class, drop
it (at your peril) on my desk in Swarts Hall.
* Read your electronic mail regularly.
* This course is designed to introduce you to the field of
telecommunications and provide an overview of technologies
which you will interface with during your lifetime. As a
result, the harder you work in the course, the more that you
will benefit yourself.