SYLLABUS

SYST 489 - Senior Seminar

Fall 2004

 

Professor:

Dr. Peggy Brouse

Assignment Submission:

WebCT usage is required in the class; instructions are below.

Work Phone:

(703) 993-1502 (with voice mail)

FAX:

(703) 993-1706

E-mail:

pbrouse@gmu.edu

Office:

GMU:  Science and Technology II - Room 317

Office Hours:

Mondays 11:30 - 1: 00 and by appointment

Course Description:

This course is designed to introduce the students to several important topics in systems engineering, provide additional experience to the students in writing and giving presentations, and obtain feedback on the curriculum for the B.S. in Systems Engineering.  Several lectures will be devoted to ethics in systems engineering.  Writing and making presentations for systems engineering will also be covered early in the semester. Lecture series presenters will present material that is not part of the required course load to expand the horizons of the students.  Each student will write a short paper on each of these presentations.  In addition, students will work in teams to critique and redesign the curriculum in Systems Engineering.  Each group will deliver a written product and provide at least one briefing to the class.  The best critique and redesign will be presented to the faculty.

Course Hours:

Monday and Wednesday  1:30PM to 2:45PM in Science and Technology 2 room 12

Text:

1.      Pocket Book of Technical Writing for Engineers and Scientists (2000) Leo Finkelstein.  McGraw-Hill.            ISBN 0-07-237080-7

2.      Preparing and Delivering Effective Technical Presentations (2000), David Adamy.  Artech House Publishers; 2nd edition.  ISBN 1-5805-3017-6

3.      Social, Ethical and Policy Implications of Engineering: Selected Readings (2000) Joseph Herkert. IEEE Press ISBN 0-7803-4712-9

Grades:

On following page

 

 

Topic

Lecture

Deliverables

Grading

Technical Writing

From Finkelstein text

1 - Introduction, Technical Definition, Description of a Mechanism, Description of a Process:  pages 1 - 61

2 – Proposals, Progress Reports, Feasibility Reports:  pages 63 – 118

3 – Instructions and Manuals, Laboratory and Project Reports, Research Reports:  pages 119 – 170

4 – Documentation, Visuals, Electronic Publishing: pages 207 – 232, 251 - 266

 

 

Giving Presentations

From Adamy text

 

 

 

Ethics

From Herkert text

Individual: Case write-ups (every case except the one your group presents)

 

Group: Team presentation and discussion lead.  Team paper.

Individual:

10%

 

 

Group:

students

evaluation of others in group

20%

Curriculum Review

 

Group: Determine subject of curriculum review

Brief subject

Interview professors, students

Draft review

Final review

In-class brief

Vote on best

Brief faculty

Group:

4 students

evaluation of others in group

25%

Technology Review

Attend speaker series lecture

Individual:

Short paper on lecture attended (3 pages)

Long paper on bleeding edge technology (20 pages)

Individual:

10%

 

25%

Professionalism

 

Individual:

Evaluated by instructor

Individual:

10%


Exact Grade Breakdown

 

Individual

 

 

Ethics - Writeups (5 at 2% each)

10%

 

Bleeding Edge Annotated Outline Presentation

5%

 

Bleeding Edge Presentation

5%

 

Bleeding Edge Paper Draft

5%

 

Bleeding Edge Paper

10%

 

Seminar Review Paper

10%

 

Professionalism

10%

 

Group

 

 

Ethics Case Presentation

10%

 

Ethics Case paper

10%

 

Curriculum Review Subject

5%

 

Curriculum Review Draft Presentation/Paper (2.5% each)

5%

 

Curriculum Review Final Presentation/Paper (7.5% each)

15%

 


How To Access WebCT?

 

         Go to http://webct38.gmu.edu

 

         Enter WebCT ID and password:

Students need a WebCT ID and password to login. Their WebCT ID is their Mason mail user name (e.g. the WebCT ID for jdoe@gmu.edu would be jdoe);   Starting August 16, 2004, all initial passwords for new student WebCT accounts will be a four digit number representing the student's birth month and birth day. Example: a student's birthday is January 8; their initial WebCT password is 0108.

 

         If you do not know your Mason mail user name, go to http://mail.gmu.edu and click on “Activating My Account” icon, follow the steps.

 

         All assignments have due dates and submissions after the due date/time will not be possible, since WebCT will automatically block “submit my homework” option.

 

         From time to time, WebCT works too slowly. Especially from a dial-up internet connection, WebCT access may not be so efficient all the time; students are encouraged to submit their work earlier than the deadline.

 

         If you experience any problem while accessing/using WebCT, pls. send an e-mail to Dr. Brouse, pbrouse@gmu.edu


CLASS SCHEDULE

Week 1>

30 August/          1 September

¨       Background; Introductions, in-class writing assignment

 

 

 

Week 2>

6 September

8 September

¨       LABOR DAY - no classes

¨       Group work day – Curriculum Review Subject

 

 

 

Week 3>

13/15 September

¨       Lecture Finkelstein 1, 2

 

 

 

Week 4>

20 September

22 September

¨       Lecture Finkelstein 3

¨       Group: 5 min presentation of curriculum review subject

 

 

 

Week 5>

27 September

29 September

¨       Lecture Finkelstein 4

¨       Ethics case choices due

 

 

 

Week 6>

4 October           6 October

¨       Lecture Adamy 1, 2

¨       Individual: Write up (annotated outline) on bleeding edge paper due

 

 

 

Week 7>

12 October

13 October

·         NOTE: 12 October is a Tuesday class -  Lecture Adamy 3

·         Individual: 5 min presentations on bleeding edge paper to date

 

 

 

Week 8>

18 October

 

20 October

¨       Individual: 5 min presentations on bleeding edge paper to date

¨       Lecture: Herkert

 

 

 

Week 9>

25 October

27 October

¨       Group Presentation: Ethics Case 1

¨       Group Presentation: Ethics Case 2, Individual: Write up (draft paper) on bleeding edge paper due

 

 

 

Week 10>

1 November           3 November

¨       Group: 5 min presentation of curriculum review to date, Group: Write up (draft) on curriculum review due

¨       Group Presentation: Ethics Case 3

 

 

 

Week 11>

8 November

10 November

¨       Group Presentation: Ethics Case 4

¨       Group Presentation: Ethics Case 5

 

 

 

Week 12>

15 November

 

17 November

¨       Group Presentation: Ethics Case 6,  Individual Ethics Case Write-ups due

¨       Individual: Presentations of bleeding edge paper, Final bleeding edge due

 

 

 

Week 13>

22 November

 

24 November

¨       Individual: Presentations of final paper, Group: Final curriculum review due

¨       Group work day – Final Curriculum Review

 

 

 

Week 14>

29 November

¨       Group: Presentations of final curriculum review

 

 

 

Week 15>

1 December

 

4 December (Thursday)

¨       Colby Africa> guest lecture

¨       Individual: short paper on lecture attended due

¨       Individual:  Evaluation of Others in Group due

¨       Group: Presentation to faculty on curriculum review (everyone attends)> will be coordinated with SYST490 presentations to faculty