It_global_conflict_syllabus_09

Information Technology & Global Conflict COMM 5610/6610 Dr. Sean Lawson Email: [email protected] Phone: 801-585-7127 Class meets: M, W 8:05AM - 9:25AM, BEH 108 Office hours: by appointment **Once you have read through this syllabus carefully, please go to http://bit.ly/ PKaJB and fill in the Syllabus Understanding and Agreement Form. YOU WILL NOT BE ENTERED INTO THE GRADE SHEET FOR THE COURSE UNTIL YOU DO.**

Overview and Objectives "Smart bombs," GPS, cruise missiles, space-based surveillance and communication systems, unmanned aerial vehicles--all of these and more are the tools that have revolutionized the conduct of warfare over the last fifty years. And all of them have been powered by advancements in information and communication technologies (ICTs). In this course, we will explore the role of ICTs in global conflict, from traditional forms of warfare to newer forms of conflict such as "cyberwar" and "softwar." We will begin with a series of readings and lectures aimed at helping you to think better about technology in general, both what it is and how change in technology relates to society more generally, as well as the general relationship between technology and warfare. Next, to provide historical perspective for our discussion of technology and warfare in the Information Age, we will examine a number of theories and technologies of Industrial Age warfare. We will see that the key technologies of the "information revolution"--i.e. the digital computer and the Internet--were themselves products of World War II, and later Cold War, military research. We will then explore the way that these technologies were being incorporated into a whole new generation of military systems in the 1970s and 1980s, so much so that more than any other activity, the very conduct of warfare came to be seen as an exercise in the collection and communication of information. Beyond the conduct of traditional warfare by traditional military forces, we will examine the way that new ICTs have shaped the conduct of terrorism and counterterrorism, the collection and analysis of intelligence, theories of international relations in the Information Age, as well as the emergence of new forms of conflict such as "cyberwar" and "softwar." Finally, we will end by examining recent military use of two particular new media technologies, blogs and videogames.

Course Objectives This course has a three main objectives: 1. For students to become knowledgeable about the the various ways that the conduct of warfare in particular, and global conflict more generally, have shaped the development of information and communication technologies; 2. For students to become knowledgeable about the various ways that the conduct of warfare in particular, and global conflict more generally, have been shaped by the development of information and communication technologies; and

3. For students to hone their research, writing, and analytical skills by participating in a real-world, "open source intelligence" research project.

Required Readings There are no required books to purchase! All readings will be available as electronic documents via WebCT or elsewhere on the Web. Unless otherwise noted, all readings are available in WebCT, in a folder labeled with the corresponding week number. Readings available somewhere other than WebCT with have a hyperlink to a publicly available document on the Internet. Readings should be completed prior to the Monday class session each week. Some weeks have more reading than others, so be aware and plan ahead. In general, you are responsible for completing all of the assigned reading each week. I do understand that in some weeks it may not be possible for you to get through all of it. In those cases, you should push yourself to do as much as possible so that you can still make an informed and valuable contribution to class discussions both online and in class.

Assignments & Grading Class Participation = 20% You are expected both to attend all scheduled class sessions each week and to participate when you are in class. Of course, you cannot participate if you are not in class. Thus, attendance will be taken at the beginning of each scheduled class session. You will be allowed two (2) absences, for whatever reason, for the semester. Cyberwar Threat Assessment Project = 80% Each student will participate as a "Junior Investigator" (JI) in a large-scale, "Cyberwar Threat Assessment Project" (CTAP) led and coordinated by the instructor in the role of "Principle Investigator" (PI). Each JI will use a standard methodology to investigate and analyze an incident of "cyberattack" occuring within the last two years. The collection of individual "Incident Assessment Reports" (IARs) produced by JIs will be used by the PI to produce an overall "Cyberwar Threat Assessment," which will be made available on the Internet as a product of the "ITGC Research Group." Performance of JIs will be evaluated on the following basis: • • • • •

Planning and Direction Work Product: 10% Collection Work Product: 10% Data Processing Work Product: 10% Data Analysis Work Product: 10% Dissemination Work Products: ◦ Incident Assessment Report: 50% ◦ Incident Briefing: 10%

More details about the project, its procedures, terminology, and work products are provided in WebCT.

Weekly Schedule In general, Monday class sessions will be devoted to lecture while Wednesday sessions will be devoted to in-class discussion of the week's readings and/or coordination and work on the course research project. There will be some exceptions to this general pattern, however. They are noted in the schedule below. Week 1 (8/24 & 8/26) - Intro to course 8/24 - Intro to course - Topic, assignments, expectations, etc. 8/26 - Background Brief - Cyberwar Assessment Project Readings: • Chpt 1, "Gulf War--Infowar," in Dorothy E. Denning, Information Warfare and Security, 1st ed. (Addison-Wesley Professional, 1998). • Drapeau, M. & L. Wells II (2009) Social Software and National Security: An Initial Net Assessment (Washington, D.C.: National Defense University). • Fitsanakis, Joseph & Ian Allen (2009) 'Cell Wars: The Changing Landscape of Communications Intelligence', RIEAS Research Paper 131. Week 2 (8/31 & 9/2) - Thinking about Technology and War Readings: • "The Nature of Technology," in R. Volti, Society and technological change. New York: St (Martin's Press, 1995). • Marx, Leo (1997) 'Technology: The Emergence of a Dangerous Concept', Social Research 64(3): 965-88. • Hughes, "Technological Momentum," in Merritt Roe Smith and Leo Marx, Does Technology Drive History?: The Dilemma of Technological Determinism (MIT Press, 1994). • "Introduction" and "Conclusions: The Logic of Technology and War," in Van Creveld, Martin L. Technology and War: From 2000 B.C. to the Present. New York: Free Press, 1991. Recommended: • Law, "Technology and Heterogeneous Engineering: The Case of Portuguese Expansion," in Wiebe Bijker, Thomas P. Hughes, and Trevor Pinch, The Social Construction of Technological Systems: New Directions in the Sociology and History of Technology (The MIT Press, 1989). • Marx, Leo (1994) 'The Idea of 'Technology' and Postmodern Pessimism', in Merritt Roe Smith & Leo Marx (eds), Does Technology Drive History? The Dilemma of Technological Determinism (Cambridge: MIT Press): 237-58. Week 3 (9/9) - Industrial-Mechanized Warfare Readings: (Choose one sub-topic to read about) Professionalization & Organizational Change • Hacker, Barton C. "Engineering a New Order: Military Institutions, Technical Education, and the Rise of the Industrial State." Technology and Culture 34, 1 (1993): 1-27;

• "The Rise of Professionalism," in Van Creveld, Martin L. Technology and War: From 2000 B.C. to the Present. New York: Free Press, 1991. • Bien, David D. "Military Education in 18th Century France; Technical and Nontechnical Determinants." In Science, Technology, and War: The Proceedings of the Third Military History Symposium, edited by Lt. Col. Monte Wright and Lawrence Paszek, 51-59. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969. Recommended: ◦ Hughes, Thomas P. "A Commentary on Bien's 'Military Education in 18th Century France; Technical and Non-technical Determinants'." In Science, Technology, and War: The Proceedings of the Third Military History Symposium, edited by Lt. Col. Monte Wright and Lawrence Paszek, 69-74. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969. ◦ Shy, John. "Western Military Education, 1700-1850, a Commentary on Bien's 'Military Education in 18th Century France; Technical and Nontechnical Determinants'." In Science, Technology, and War: The Proceedings of the Third Military History Symposium, edited by Lt. Col. Monte Wright and Lawrence Paszek, 60-68. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969. War on Land • Hacker, Barton C. "Imaginations in Thrall: The Social Psychology of Military Mechanization, 1919-1939." Parameters 12 (1982): 50-61. • "Land Warfare," in Van Creveld, Martin L. Technology and War: From 2000 B.C. to the Present. New York: Free Press, 1991. • "The Future of Land Warfare," in Fuller, J.F.C. The Reformation of War. New York: E.P. Dutton and Company, 1923. War in the Air • "Command of the Air," in Van Creveld, Martin L. Technology and War: From 2000 B.C. to the Present. New York: Free Press, 1991. • "Some Principles of Air Warfare" and "Bombardment Aviation" in Sherman, William C. Air Warfare. New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1926. • Hart, B.H. Liddell. Paris; or The Future of War. New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, 1925. Assignments: • 9/9 - Planning and Direction Work Product due. Week 4 (9/14 & 9/16) - Warfare, Cybernetics, and Computers: WWII to Vietnam Readings: • Peter Galison, "The Ontology of the Enemy: Norbert Wiener and the Cybernetic Vision," Critical Inquiry 21, no. 1 (Autumn 1994): 228-266. • Chpt 2, "MIT as System Builder: SAGE," and Chpt 6, "Networking: ARPANET," in Thomas P. Hughes, Rescuing Prometheus: Four Monumental Projects That Changed the Modern World, Reprint. (Vintage, 2000). Recommended: • "WWMCCS: Worldwide Military Command and Control System" from GlobalSecurity.org (http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/wwmccs.htm) • Pearson, David E. "Organization, Technology and Ideology in Worldwide Command and Control." Defense Analysis 15, no. 2 (1999): 197-214.

Week 5 (9/21 & 9/23) - From Igloo White to OODA Loops: Informatic Warfare in the 1970s & 1980s Readings: • Correll, John T. "Igloo White." Air Force Magazine. November 2004, 56-61; http://www.afa.org/magazine/Nov2004/1104igloo.asp • Chpt 4, "Military Innovation in the Shadow of Vietnam: The Offset Strategy," in Tomes, Robert R. U.S. Defense Strategy from Vietnam to Operation Iraqi Freedom: Military Innovation and the New American Way of War, 1973-2003. London: Routledge, 2007. • William Perry, "Perry on Precision Strike," Air Force Magazine 80, no. 4, http://www.afa.org/magazine/April1997/0497perry.asp. • Grant T Hammond, The Essential Boyd, 2000. • Romjue, John L. "The Evolution of the Airland Battle Concept." Air University Review, May-June (1984); http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/ aureview/1984/may-jun/romjue.html Week 6 (9/28 & 9/30) - From RMA to NCW: The 1990s & Beyond Readings: • Part I and II (pgs 1-10) of Andrew F Krepinevich Jr. , The Military-Technical Revolution: A Preliminary Assessment (Washington, D.C.: Office of Net Assessment, Department of Defense, 1992). • Chpts 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 in Alvin Toffler and Heidi Toffler, War and Anti-War: Survival at the Dawn of the 21st Century (Diane Pub Co, 1993). • Joint Vision 2010, Washington D.C.: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1996. • Arthur K Cebrowski and John J Garstka, "Network-Centric Warfare: Its Origin and Future," Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute, no. January (1998). Assignments: • 9/30 - Collection Work Product due. Week 7 (10/5 & 10/7) - International Relations in the Information Age Readings: • Joseph Nye, Jr. and William Owens, "America's Information Edge," Foreign Affairs, no. March/April (1996). • "Summary" in John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt, The Emergence of Noopolitik: Toward an American Information Strategy (Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, 1999), http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1033/MR1033.sum.pdf • Thomas Barnett, "The Pentagon's New Map," Esquire, March 1, 2003, http://www.esquire.com/ESQ0303-MAR_WARPRIMER. • Thomas Barnett and Arthur Cebrowski, "The American Way of War," Transformation Trends, January 13, 2002. • Thomas Barnett and Henry Gaffney, Jr., "The Global Transaction Strategy," Transformation Trends, December 16, 2002. Week 8 (10/12 & 10/14) CLASS CANCELED

Fall break!! Week 9 (10/19 & 10/21) - Challenging RMA and NCW Readings: • Gregory Witol, "International Relations in a Digital World, in Alan D. Campen and Douglas H. Dearth, Cyberwar 2.0: Myths, Mysteries & Reality (AFCEA International Press, 1998). • Charles Perrow, "Difficulties with Network Centric Warfare," in Jacques S. Gansler, Information Assurance: Trends in Vulnerabilities, Threats, and Technologies (National Defense University (NDU), 2004); http://www.ndu.edu/CTNSP/ IAverMay03.pdf • Charles Dunlap, Jr, "How We Lost the Hi-Tech War of 2007," The Weekly Standard, January 29, 1996, http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/ 000/001/569nzbrd.asp. • Charles Dunlap, Jr, "Sometimes the Dragon Wins: A Persective on Information-Age Warfare," http://www.afcea.org.ar/publicaciones/dunlap.htm. • William Lind et al., "The Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation," Marine Corps Gazette, no. October (1989): 22-26; http://www.d-n-i.net/fcs/ 4th_gen_war_gazette.htm • Conclusion in John Keegan, Intelligence in War: Knowledge of the Enemy from Napoleon to Al-Qaeda (Knopf Group E-Books, 2003). Week 10 (10/26) - Terrorism/Counter-terrorism Readings: • Michele Zanini and Sean Edwards, "The Networking of Terror in the Information Age," in Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy (RAND Corporation, 2002), 29-60; http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/ MR1382/MR1382.ch2.pdf • Timothy Thomas, "Al Qaeda and the Internet: The Dange of 'Cyberplanning'," Parameters, no. Spring (2003): 112-123; http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/ Parameters/03spring/thomas.pdf • 'Al-Qaeda Online: Understanding Jihadist Internet Infrastructure', Janes Intelligence Review (2 December 2005). • 304th MI Bn OSINT Team. 'Sample Overview: Al Qaida-Like Mobile Discussions & Potential Creative Uses', 304th MI Bn Periodic Newsletter (16 October 2008). • Melanthia Mitchell, “Cyber sleuths patrol Web for terrorism signs,” Great Falls Tribune, July 4, 2004, http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040704/ localnews/777400.html. • Richard Roesler, "Terrorist hunters get mixed welcome," Spokesman Review, May 15, 2004, http://www.spokesmanreview.com/local/ story_txt.asp?date=051504&ID=s1519976. • Blaine Harden, "In Montana, Casting A Web for Terrorists," The Washington Post, June 4, 2006; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/ 03/AR2006060300530.html • Mike Carter, "It's 4 a.m. in Montana, and a cyberspy is at work," Seattle Times, June 16, 2004, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/ 2001957222_montana16m.html.

Assignments: • 10/26 - Data Processing Work Product due. Week 11 (11/4) - Cyberwar & Critical Infrastructure Protection Readings: • Cybersapce Policy Review: Assuring a Resilient Information and Communications Infrastructure (Washington, D.C.: The White House, 2009). • Langevin, R. J. R. et al. (2009) Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency (Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic and International Studies). • Dorothy Denning, Cyberterrorism (Washington, D.C., 2000), http://www.cs.georgetown.edu/~denning/infosec/cyberterror.html. • Dorothy Denning, "Activism, Hacktivism, and Cyberterrorism: The Internet as a Tool for Influencing Foreign Policy," in Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy (RAND Corporation, 2002), 239-288; http://www.rand.org/ pubs/monograph_reports/MR1382/MR1382.ch8.pdf • Sean Lawson, "The Cyber-Intifada: Activism, Hactivism, and Cyber-Terrorism in the Context of the 'New Terrorism'," seminar paper for the course, Information Warfare and Security, taught by Dr. Dorothy Denning, Georgetown University, Fall 2001, http://seanlawson.rhetorical-devices.net/workpapers/Cyber-intifada.pdf • Chpt 1, "Trends in Vulnerabilities, Threats, and Technologies," and Chpt 6, "Vulnerabilities to Electromagnetic Attack of the Civil Infrastructure," in Jacques S. Gansler, Information Assurance: Trends in Vulnerabilities, Threats, and Technologies (National Defense University (NDU), 2004); http://www.ndu.edu/CTNSP/ IAverMay03.pdf Week 12 (11/9) - Perception Management/Deception/Softwar Readings: • Chpt 5, "PSYOPS and Perception Management," in Dorothy E. Denning, Information Warfare and Security, 1st ed. (Addison-Wesley Professional, 1998). • De Caro, "Operationalizing SOFTWAR," in Alan D. Campen and Douglas H. Dearth, Cyberwar 2.0: Myths, Mysteries & Reality (AFCEA International Press, 1998). ◦ Website for De Caro's company, Aerobureau Corporation, http://www.aerobureau.com/ • Dearth, "Deception, Human Factors, and Information Operations," in Alan D. Campen and Douglas H. Dearth, Cyberwar 2.0: Myths, Mysteries & Reality (AFCEA International Press, 1998). • Chapt 3, "Principles of Deception," and Chpt 12, "Future of Deception," in Jon Latimer, Deception in War: The Art of the Bluff, the Value of Deceit, and the Most Thrilling Episodes of Cunning in Military History, from the Trojan Horse to the Gulf War (Overlook TP, 2003). • Williamson, "Psychological Operations in the Information Age," in Alan D. Campen and Douglas H. Dearth, Cyberwar 2.0: Myths, Mysteries & Reality (AFCEA International Press, 1998). Week 13 (11/16 & 11/18) - Intelligence - CLASS CANCELLED Readings:

• Chpt 2, "The Information Battle," in Jon Latimer, Deception in War: The Art of the Bluff, the Value of Deceit, and the Most Thrilling Episodes of Cunning in Military History, from the Trojan Horse to the Gulf War (Overlook TP, 2003). • Chpt 7, "Seizing the Signals," in Dorothy E. Denning, Information Warfare and Security, 1st ed. (Addison-Wesley Professional, 1998). • Tracking Ghostnet: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network (Toronto: Munk Center for International Studies, University of Toronto, 2009). • D. Calvin Andrus, "Toward a Complex Adaptive Intelligence Community: The Wiki and the Blog," Studies in Intelligence 49, no. 3 (2005), https://www.cia.gov/library/ center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol49no3/ html_files/Wik_and_%20Blog_7.htm. • Matthew Burton, "How the Web Can Relieve Our Information Glut and Get Us Talking to Each Other: Connecting the Virtual Dots," Studies in Intelligence 49, no. 3 (2005), https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csipublications/csi-studies/studies/vol49no3/html_files/ Intelligence_Networking_6.htm. Recommended: • Shane Harris, "Intelligence Veteran Aims to Motivate Young Analysts," National Journal, September 24, 2007, http://www.govexec.com/ story_page.cfm?articleid=38114&dcn=e_wfw. • "U.S. Intelligence Community A-Space," in Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ US_intelligence_community_A-Space. • "Intellipedia," in Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellipedia. Assignments: • 11/18 - Data Analysis Work Product due. Week 14 (11/23) - SHORT WEEK Monday: Incident Briefings Wednesday: Class canceled for Thanksgiving Week 15 (11/30 & 12/2) - Blogging Readings: • Intro from Matthew Currier Burden, The Blog of War: Front-Line Dispatches from Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan (Simon & Schuster, 2006). • Maj. Elizabeth Robbins, "Muddy Boots IO: The Rise of Soldier Blogs," Military Review, no. Sept-Oct (2007): 109-118; http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/milreview/ English/SepOct07/robbinsengseptoct07.pdf • Cori E Dauber, "Life in Wartime: Realtime War, Realtime Critique; Fighting in the New Media Environment," in Military Life: The Psychology of Serving in Peace and Combat, Vol. 4 Military Culture, ed. Thomas Britt, Carl Castro, and Amy Adler (Praeger Security International, 2006), 180-210. • Sean Lawson, "Loosing the Blogs of War: The Advent of Milblogging in the Post-9/11 U.S. Military," (presented at the Association of Internet Researchers Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, 2007), http://seanlawson.rhetorical-devices.net/ confpapers/Lawson_Loosing%20the%20Blogs%20of%20War.pdf.

Assignments: • 12/2 - Incident Briefings Week 16 (12/7 & 12/9) - Videogames Readings: • Timothy Lenoir, "Programming Theaters of War: Gamemakers as Soldiers," in Bombs and Bandwidth: The Emerging Relationship Between IT and Security (New York: New Press, 2003), 175-198. • Sharon Ghmari-Tabrizi, "U.S. Wargaming Grows Up: A Short History of the Diffusion of Wargaming in the Armed Forces and Industry in the Postwar Period up to 1964," Strategy Page, unknown date , http://www.strategypage.com/wargames/articles/ wargame_articles_20049715.asp. • Michael Peck, "U.S. Spies Use Custom Videogames to Learn How to Think," Wired, April 28, 2008, http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2008/04/ spy_games?currentPage=all. • Noah Shachtman, "Army Sets Up New Office of Videogames," Wired: Danger Room, December 12, 2007, http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/12/armys-new-offic.html. • Glenn Derene, "Wii All You Can Be? Why the Military Needs the Gaming Industry," Popular Mechanics, May 29, 2008, http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/ military_law/4266106.html. Assignments: • 12/9 - IARs due! • 12/7 & 12/9 - Incident Briefings Week 17 (12/15, 8AM - 10AM, BEH 108) - Finals Week Assignments: • 12/15 & 12/17 - Incident Briefings (if needed).

Policies Disability Accommodation The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in the class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, 581-5020 (V/TDD). CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. All written information in this course can be made available in alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services. Content Accommodation The University recognizes that students’ sincerely-held core beliefs may make it difficult for students to fulfill some requirements of some courses or majors. It is the student’s

obligation to determine, before the last day to drop courses without penalty, when course requirements conflict with the student’s sincerely-held core beliefs. If there is such a conflict, the student should consider dropping the class. A student who finds this solution impracticable may request a content accommodation from the instructor. Though the University provides, through this policy, a process by which a student may make such a request, the policy does not oblige the instructor to grant the request, except in those cases when a denial would be arbitrary and capricious or illegal. Attendance The student handbook states: You [the student] may not attend a University course unless you are officially registered and your name appears on the class roll. The University expects regular attendance at all class meetings. You are not automatically dropped from your classes if you do not attend. You must officially drop your classes by the published deadline in the academic calendar to avoid a "W" on your record. You are responsible for satisfying the entire range of academic objectives, requirements and prerequisites as defined by the instructor. If you miss the first 2 class meetings, or if you have not taken the appropriate requisites, you may be required to withdraw from the course. Extensions, Incompletes, and Extra Credit In general, the policy in this course is that extensions will not be given for assignment due dates. You will know the due dates for all assignments from the beginning of the course and should plan accordingly to get your assignments turned in on time. If you are absent from class to participate in officially sanctioned University activities (e.g. band, debate, student government, intercollegiate athletics), religious obligations, or with instructor's approval, you should make arrangements to turn your work in ahead of the assigned deadline. Extensions will only be granted in the case of documented cases of personal or family illness, a death in the family, or some other serious circumstance. If you believe that you have such a circumstance, please contact me and we can discuss the possibility of an extension.

An Incomplete will only be given for work not completed due to circumstances beyond your control. Additionally, you must be passing the course and have completed at least 80% of the required coursework to be eligible for an Incomplete. If you feel that you have met these criteria, please contact me and we will discuss the possibility of an Incomplete, as well as what would be required for you to see a successful outcome in the course. For more on the university's policy on Incompletes, see http://www.acs.utah.edu/sched/

handbook/grpolicy.htm.

Finally, extra credit assignments will not be given under any circumstances, and certainly not in lieu of a missed regular assignment. Your grade will based solely upon your completion of the assignments identified in this syllabus and quality of your work on those assignments. Academic Honesty

It is expected that your work will be your own or, in the case of group exercises and projects, the original work of you and assigned members of your group. Cases of plagiarism and/or any other form of cheating will be dealt with severely, either with failure on the assignment in question or failure for the entire courses depending upon the particular circumstances. The university's definition of plagiarism is as follows: “Plagiarism” means the intentional unacknowledged use or incorporation of any other person's work in, or as a basis for, one's own work offered for academic consideration or credit or for public presentation. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, representing as one's own, without attribution, any other individual’s words, phrasing, ideas, sequence of ideas, information or any other mode or content of expression. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to read and understand the university policy on student academic conduct (see http://www.admin.utah.edu/ppmanual/8/8-10.html). As they say in legal proceedings, "Ignorance is no excuse before the law." WebCT Students sometimes have difficulty understanding how WebCT works, and sometimes students find that their personal computers, home Internet connections, or preferred Web browsers have difficulty working with WebCT. Additionally, WebCT is sometimes quirky and can have problems. Figuring out how you will use WebCT to suit your needs is entirely your responsibility. Be persistent when faced with a technical problem—try again before giving up. Visit the university’s library to use a WebCT-friendly computer. Also, WebCT has an extensive "Help" function, you can find many discussion forums dedicated to troubleshooting in WebCT through a Google search, and the university’s TACC office (http://tacc.utah.edu) exists to help you with WebCT issues. The instructor is your very last resort for WebCT troubleshooting.