Reading Assignments [24 points]

The reading assignments are designed to increase your knowledge about topics related to Social Computing and to help you acquire critical thinking on the topics. There will be three reading assignments throughout the semester (8 points for each assignment). The assignments are to be completed independently. For each assignment, you will be given a topic and a hypothesis related to that topic. For each topic, you will be given two papers supporting the hypothesis and two papers supporting an opposing view. You will be asked to read all four papers and write a one-page response either supporting or opposing the hypothesis using the information from the papers. Your response should include at least 5 pieces of supporting evidence from the papers you read. All the claims in your write-up have to be supported by references. You are allowed to use additional references as well as long as they are reliable sources. You have to include all the references you used in your write-up in a references page, which is a page in addition to your one-page summary. You will be also required to review a write-up by one of your classmate. Your independent write-ups need to be submitted by midnight before the class the reading is due. I will print anonymized copies of the write-ups and distribute in class for peer-review. For the review process you should follow the instruction below:

  1. Does the write-up clearly provide a statement supporting or opposing the major hypothesis? (1.5 point)
  2. Does the write-up include at least 5 claims from the papers? for each claim specify whether it supports the major argument of the response and whether it is supported by a valid reference (1 point for each claim)
  3. Is the response well-written (1.5 point)
Your peer-review score should sum up to 8 points for a perfect response.

There will be an in-class discussion for each reading topic. We will have a debate among supporters and critics. You must come prepared to class to participate in the discussion. Your in-class participation contributes to your overall reading grade. You will be required to work with other students in class to put together your arguments in order to defend your position.

Your final reading grade is based on your review, your peer-reviewed score, and your in-class participation in discussion. Each contributes equally to your grade. Peer-review is anonymous and the instructor reviews each peer-review to ensure its accuracy.

The reading topics are: