Your assignment consists of one task (worth 100% of the total marks for the
assignment).
Assignment Task 1: Essay
“An actant in modern computing does not act in isolation.” Discuss.
To achieve this:
Select TWO computing news stories of your choice, published anytime between 01/09/2015 and 01/02/2016. Analyse these using Actor Network Theory.
Your analysis should be written as an essay, and include the following points:
• Describe why Actor Network Theory is a relevant theory for studying computing.
• Name and categorise the actants in your stories. Describe how they are “acting” in the assemblage.
• Discuss how these actions can enhance management functions.
• Outline what larger issues/questions these actions raise. To achieve this, compare and contrast the viewpoints of a range of theorists and critics explored throughout the module.
• Conclude by summarising how your answers relate to the statement “An actant in modern computing does not act in isolation.”
Deliverables
You will submit a single word processed document to Turnitin, of between 1350-1650 words.
Your content will follow the structure outlined on page 3.
Task 1 is worth 100% of the total marks for the module. The marking criteria is outlined on pages 4 and 5.
2 of 5
Suggested essay structure
Cover Page
Assignment title, module code, student name, student number and submission date.
Table of Contents
A list of headings and page numbers.
Introduction (about 10% of the essay)
○ Explain how you intend to address the question.
○ What issues/topics are you going to explore?
○ What argument will you make?
Main body (about 80% of the essay)
Use a chain of paragraphs to EXPLORE AND DEVELOP your ideas/argument.
You will probably have 3 to 4 main ideas. Break each idea into paragraphs, possibly 2 per idea. Perform substantial amounts of analysis and point making in each paragraph.
In each paragraph the reader is asking you to explain:
○ What is this paragraph about?
○ What is your argument on this?
○ What is your evidence? What does it mean?
○ How does it link to the essay title?
○ How does it link to the topic in the next paragraph?
It is not sufficient simply to describe a situation. Analysis and a critical approach are essential. Charts, diagrams and tables can be used to reinforce your arguments.
Conclusion (about 10% of the essay)
○ Do not introduce any NEW material here.
○ Summarise your ideas/argument (you might also have done this in your
introduction)
○ Restate what you consider to be the main points
○ Make it clear why those conclusions are important or significant.
○ In your last sentence: link your conclusions or recommendations back to the title.
References
All the named sources you have quoted from or reproduced in your report. Please use The Harvard System for all references. Details for the Harvard System can be found on the student portal.
3 of 5
UK% Expected characteristics of your work (complements generic marking criteria
marks on following page)
70%+ Critical grasp of actor network theory and some additional concepts from the module.
Work includes contemporary debates, issues and discussions. Links are successfully
discussed between the news stories and the computing assemblage.
Accurate Harvard referencing.
Overall, your work shows a critical understanding of how contemporary computing
fits into the knowledge economy.
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