THE NATURE OF A THREADED DISCUSSION.

This task will involve a threaded discussion on a case assigned to your group [scroll down to see group assignments]. A threaded discussion is a computer registered discussion, which allows students to make contributions to the task assigned to the group. It is somewhat like a "chat room" except that the participants do not have to be on line at the same time. You can either make a comment which starts a new thread or you can reply to a previous comment that continues the thread. The purpose of a threaded discussion is to keep the issues discussed in the course before the minds of the students and to develop new insights and skills of reflective analysis related to the issues discussed in the course.

1. Students will be automatically identified when a contribution to the discussion is made.
2. Comments need not be lengthy but they should be substantive. "I agree with X." is not a very helpful comment unless some explanation of the reason for the agreement is given.
3. Students will contribute only to the group to which they are assigned. See below for group assignments.
4. Please note that the discussions are time-limited; this means that you may contribute to the discussion only during the time period designated for the discussion.
5. Students will be expected to make five comments to each threaded discussion. Each comment will be worth 2 points. These points will be added to the points you have received on the examinations --- examinations are worth 90 points each. So the total for each examination is 100 points.
6. Remember that, even though this assignment is password protected, hackers could get in and read what you say. This includes someone from Bangladesh, or the Vatican, or your parents, or your physician, or your boss, or your sixth grade teacher. Speak honestly but not offensively.
7. Contributions will be judged on the quality of the comments and the way they help to move the discussion forward.
8. In working with your case you will want to incorporate the topics, which we are discussing in the course readings into the discussion of the case on an on-going basis.
9. Be challenging to everyone in the group --- as well as to me!

REMEMBER THAT THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A DISCUSSION SO YOU SHOULD NOT JUST SIT AT YOUR COMPUTER AND MAKE A SERIES OF COMMENTS AT THE SAME TIME. SPACE YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS OVER THE PERIOD OF THE DISCUSSIONS.

Let me know immediately if you have any problems making contributions to the threaded discussions.

THE TOOL BEING USED FOR THREADED DISCUSSIONS IN THIS COURSE IS "QUICKPLACE." THE ADDRESS IS   <http://quickplace.udayton.edu/QuickPlace/phl313_ulrich/Main.nsf> THIS TOOL DOES NOT WORK WELL WITH MAC COMPUTERS [IT MAY WORK WITH A MAC IF NETSCAPE IS USED AS A BROWSER] AND REQUIRES MS INTERNET EXPLORER FOR A BROWSER.

QUICKPLACE NOW USES YOUR LDAP USERNAME AND PASSWORD. THE LDAP USERNAME MAY BE THE SAME AS THE USERNAME FOR LOTUS NOTES. HOWEVER, THE PASSWORD FOR LDAP MAY BE DIFFERENT. IF YOU NEED HELP IN REMEMBERING THEM, CALL THE HELP DESK AT 229-3888.

GUIDELINES FOR MAKING A CONTRIBUTION TO THE THREADED DISCUSSION.

There will be three threaded discussions throughout the summer. Each threaded discussion will be worth ten (10) points. Each of the ten (10) point blocks will be added to one of the examinations. Thus, Exam 1 (90 points) + Threaded Discussion 1 (10 points) = 100 points for that examining period. To contribute to your group's threaded discussion, consult the table below to find your group assignment. Then CLICK HERE  to go to Quickplace to make your contribution after you have read the guidelines in the table above for accessing the appropriate group's page.

Cases are to be found in Newton and Schmidt, Wake Up Calls: Classic Cases in Business Ethics (designated WUC) or in Ethical Issues in Business (designated EIB).

Please note that the composition of the groups changes with each round of threaded discussions. [Membership in the groups is the result of random selection.]
Links to the discussion groups will be connected (and disconnected) at the appropriate times.
 
 

REMEMBER THAT THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A DISCUSSION SO YOU SHOULD NOT JUST SIT AT YOUR COMPUTER AND MAKE A SERIES OF COMMENTS AT THE SAME TIME. SPACE YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS OVER THE PERIOD OF THE DISCUSSIONS.