CS898- Fall 2019- Technological Solutions to Social Problems of Computers

Individual Project

For this project, students work alone to complete a 10 page (5000 word)
document that provides a technological solution to a social problem of
the student's choice.

The ideal is for each student to be exploring a topic that is distinct from
the 4 already in focus for the course. The aim is for you to gain skill
in exploring, understanding, appreciating and creating
solutions for an existing social problem, from the ground up.
The write-up must include: i) a description of the chosen social problem
set against the backdrop of some readings which clarify why this is a
problem ii) a description of a proposed solution iii) explanation for why the
proposed solution will be effective iv) concluding remarks (next steps,
conclusions, etc.).

There are two additional possibilities for the project
that allow a tie-in to the 4 course subtopics, as follows:

a) students may elect to complete an implementation-oriented project
where they take their group's model for one of the topics as a starting
point and work on extending it to a detailed working system.

For this option, the write-up must include some kind of detailed user
manual.  Appendices may be needed beyond the 10 pages of text. In addition,
students MUST demonstrate some creative thinking still and must include
references as part of their background discussion, demonstrating analytical
skill as well.

b) students may elect to follow a path within one of the 4 group topics
that is entirely distinct from the one chosen by their group
(e.g. if your group looked at third-world countries in Digital Divide,
you could choose to study senior citizens instead).

Due: Dec 3 at 4pm
Worth: 40 marks

Each student will also be given a 10 minute timeslot in which to
describe the chosen topic/solution to the class. Students will be
at differing stages of completion at the time of presentation.
The presentation will be graded for its clarity, coherence, effectiveness
only (not on the value of the proposed solution, to date).

Dates: November 25 or Dec 2
Worth: 10 marks