Due December 6, 2004

For your second paper, discuss a public policy issue among those covered during the semester, such as (but not limited to) the digital divide, spam, Internet in education, online privacy, Internet taxes, online commerce, security in online communication and transactions, digital democracy, Internet and terrorism, online health resources, and music downloading.  Your paper should cover all aspects of this issue, including how it impacts American society today.  Your paper is to conclude with a recommendation for a new or changed public policy to address the issue.

You will propose your topic to the class, and your classmates will assist you (and you them) in refining, organizing, and researching your topic.  As with the first paper, you will write your second paper in two phases.  In Phase 1 - the research and discussion phase - you select a topic (your choice), propose the topic to the class, and locate a few Internet resources that are related to this topic.  Other students are then required to assist you by suggesting additional ideas for you to cover in your paper, web resources, etc.  You also are required to assist at least 3 other students with their paper topics.  In Phase 2 - the submission phase - you write your paper and submit it to a plagiarism detection website (turnitin.com), to me (for evaluation), and to the class (for class discussion.)

In order to receive full credit for your paper, you must follow all of these instructions carefully.

1. For your paper, you are to use a minimum of 5 Internet-based resources relevant to your chosen topic.  In addition, you must incorporate and cite specific comments from the Phase 1 Discussions with the other students in the class.  Citations of input from the other students must include the author's name and the date the comment was made, and be listed in the "Works Cited" or "References" section.  You will not receive full credit if you do not include and cite student comments!

2.  Write a paper in which you discuss all aspects of a public policy issue among those covered during the semester.  The paper is to conclude with a recommendation for a new or changed public policy to address the issue.  You must use material from the Internet websites you and your colleagues locate, as well as comments made by your classmates in the various class discussions.  It must be very clear to me that you have incorporated the resources and ideas contributed by your classmates into your paper.

3. The minimum length of your paper is 2000 words of original content plus a References list. Important note: direct quotes from other sources are not counted in determining the "word-count" length of your paper.  The web resources must be cited properly (see instructions on the web) and should be listed on a numbered References list;  a parenthetical reference [e.g. (4)] should  be made in the text of your paper whenever information from that source is used.  Remember, your References (or Works Cited) list must also include citations of the discussion comments from your fellow classmates that you use in your paper.

Instructions for discussing and submitting your paper will be forthcoming.