Telecommunications Policy: An International Perspective
Spring 2004

PUBP 726 Fundamentals of International Electronic Commerce Wednesday (7:20-10 PM) Room 205 Innovation Hall
Instructor: Stephen Ruth, Professor of Public Policy and Technology Management (ruth@gmu.edu);

Office : Room 203B Finley; Phone : 703 993 1789; Office hours: by appointment;
URL for the course: http://www.icasit.org/classes/pubp726spring2004/index.html &
URL for instructor: http://www.icasit.org/ruth/index.htm

Co-Instructor: Jiwan Giri, PhD Candidate, School of Information Technology (jgiri@gmu.edu)

Overview and Description-Approaching the Course Topics from Three Perspectives: Review of Intellectual Territory, Broad Analysis of Selected Major Themes and Individual, Focused Research

The aim of this course is to examine some of the key issues associated with telecommunications, Electronic Commerce and the global Internet and to integrate those issues into the questions facing today's decision makers - in government, education and business. We will approach this broad subject from three perspectives in order to permit maximum coverage and ample customization of course material to students' needs. First, there will be a mini-tutorial on the intellectual territory surrounding the use of the Internet, with particular emphasis on Electronic Commerce and the technology surrounding it. Some of the lectures and study materials will be provided off line, enabling us to concentrate more on the issues during the lectures. The aim is maximum breadth, to cover as many of the most important concepts, terms, cases and challenges as possible.

The second, and most significant, perspective is that of public policy. To what degree will the increasing use of Internet and Electronic Commerce in delivering government services change standards of living in the US and overseas? Is the "Digital Divide", domestically and globally, a serious problem, and if so, what can be done to alleviate its effects? What economic effects will broadband proliferation have on the body politic? Is there too much bandwidth? One of our previous speakers made the case that if all the fiber lines already available in the world were lit (activated) there would be more than enough bandwidth for everyone already. Will telemedicine and other Internet interventions cause major reductions in the death rates due to starvation in the world's poorer countries or will twenty thousand children continue to die of hunger and malnutrition every day? We will divide these policy matters into several dozen segments (see next page for partial list) and each student in the course will be asked to select four of them for more detailed emphasis.
The third perspective is the student's own. A term paper or other type of research activity will allow each person in the course to select a subject for more detailed review. This research perspective has only one goal-to permit the student to learn more about a topic within the course's coverage by delving more deeply into the literature surrounding it.

Assignments: The selection of assignments is based on providing each student with the breadth needed to take advantage of the rich array of resources offered, but, most importantly, to give a challenging academic experience. The course requires a lot of writing. There are three major assignments:

Reminder to students in this course: You must be prepared to dedicate about 5-8 hours per week outside of class to meet the normal workload, all of which is writing, research and analysis. Please do not enter the course if you cannot dedicate this kind of time. Also attendance is crucial since 10 percent of the course grade is based on class contributions.

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