Units

---

Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Contemporary designers need to be aware of the way that emerging technologies are shaping and changing the way that we understand communication, society and culture. You will also need to understand design methodologies and approaches to research that are emerging in the light of technological and social advances. This unit encourages students to reflect upon and analyze current interconnections between technology, design and society, and to provide advanced frameworks for design research and innovation.

Aims

This unit aims to provide you with an intellectual framework for considering philosophical and cultural issues surrounding technology and design including how they impact upon and shape experience and social interaction. It also aims to introduce you to emerging design methodologies and theoretical models which will help you to become an innovative designer.

Objectives

On completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. interpret theoretical issues associated with technology and design and be able to articulate them in written and oral forms;
2. situate a design project within its focal and broader field;
3. analyze current issues relating to our engagement with, and the impacts of, advances in design and technology upon society and present arguments associated with these analyses within written texts;
4. apply research approaches and advanced methodologies for designing digital media,

Content

This unit is a theoretical subject, which covers current theories on our engagement with design, as it is applied to new technology. Within lectures and seminars, it addresses the impact that new media has upon design for the individual and society. It also considers traditional and emergent approaches to design methodologies for the production of technology and new media.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit is run as a combination of lectures and seminars, involving discussion both individually and in groups. You are also expected to pursue your own line of inquiry outside formal sessions.

Assessment

LATE ASSESSMENT ITEMS
An assessment item submitted after the due date without an approved extension will not be marked. If you are unable to complete your assignment on time and you do not have an approved extension, you should submit on time whatever work you have done.

Faculty Assessment Information
To access complete Creative Industries Faculty Assessment Information please refer to the Blackboard site for this unit.FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Description: You will receive formative feedback on your progress in this unit during tutorials and discussions throughout the semester.
Weight 0%

Assessment name: Written Essay
Description: (summative) You will produce a written analysis on a chosen topic within the field of contemporary digital media. It should demonstrate your understanding of the the changing debates on design and technology as well as interpretive and analytical skills within a coherently developed argument.
Relates to objectives: 1 & 3
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Late Semester

Assessment name: Presentations
Description: You will deliver an oral presentation/s that articulates a given position and argument in relation to a topic shared with your peers.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2 & 3
Weight: 20%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group
Due date: Early- Mid Semester

Assessment name: Research Paper
Description: You will produce a written research proposal, including the above and articulating a methodology, and a coherent method for design, production and evaluation.
Relates to objectives: 2, 3, 4, 5
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: End Semester

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Required Text

There is no set text for this unit.

Recommended References

Gray, C. and Malins, J. (2004) Visualising Research: a guide to the research process in art and design. England: Burlington

Hearn, G., Foth, G. (2004) Action Research in the Design of New Media and ICT Systems, Current Issues in Communications and Media Research. New York: Nova Science

Schon, D. A. (1991) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. England: Ashgate

Laurel, B. (2003). Design research : methods and perspectives. Cambridge, Mass., MIT Press.

Manovich, Lev. (forthcoming) Infoaesthetics

Manovich, L. (2001) The Language of New Media. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press

Grau, O (Ed) (2007) Media Art Histories. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press

Helfand, Jessica. (2001) Screen: essays on graphic design, new media, and visual culture. New York, N.Y.: Princeton Architectural Press

Hamilton, J. (Ed.) (2006) Intimate transactions: art, exhibition and interaction within distributed network environments. Brisbane, Qld: Australasian CRC for Interaction Design (ACID)

Hawk, B, Rieder, DM and Oviedo, O. (Eds) (2008) Small tech : the culture of digital tools.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press

Ken Smith (Ed) (2005) Handbook of visual communication: theory, methods, and media. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum

Hearn, G., Foth, G. (2004) Action Research in the Design of New Media and ICT Systems, in Current Issues in Communications and Media Research. New York: Nova Science.

Schon, D. A. (1991) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. England: Ashgate

Nowak, K.L. and Biocca, F. (2003) ¿The Effect of Agency and Anthropomorphism on Users' Sense of Telepresence, Copresence, and Social Presence in Virtual Environments¿ In Presence, Vol. 12, No. 5, 481-494

International Society for Presence Research. The Concept of Presence: Explication Statement. http://ispr.info (2000). Accessed August 2008

Grau, O. (2003) Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press

Chen, H., Wigand, R. T., & Nilan, M. (2000) ¿Exploring Web users' optimal flow experiences¿. In Information Technology & People, 13(4), 263-281

Lee, K. M. (2004) ¿Presence, explicated¿. In Communication Theory, 14(1), 27-50

Strate, L., Jacobson, R. L., & Gibson, S. B. (2003) Communication and cyberspace : social interaction in an electronic environment (2nd ed.). Creskill, N.J.: Hampton Press

Fry, T. (1999) A New Design Philosophy. An Introduction to Defuturing. Sydney: UNSW Press

Lovink, G. (2002) Uncanny networks: dialogues with the virtual intelligentsia. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press


Ars Electronica Futurelab http://www.aec.at/en/futurelab/index.asp

Presence http://presence-research.org/

Risk assessment statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks for this unit.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 05-Oct-2012