Postgraduate Course: E-Governance, Digital Change and Democratisation (LAWS11446)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | What is the shape of democracy in the XXI Century?
Digital technologies are already affecting virtually any aspect of public life: from the way local authorities deliver public services, to how political decisions are made; from supporting business-to-government purchases to harnessing the potential of technological and mobile innovation to bridge the digital divide and aid economic development.
The course focuses on five selected case-studies to discuss the impact of digital technologies on today¿s societies from a specific public law angle, including constitutional theory (right to vote, equality before the law, democratic decision-making processes), administrative law (delivery of public services, urban governance, public sector procurement) and international public law (right to development) perspectives. |
| Course description |
The course will be delivered in five seminars which may cover the following:
1) E-voting and Liquid Democracy
2) Smart Cities
3) Algorithmic Citizenship and Its Challenges to the Welfare State
4) E-procurement
5) ICT4D
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2020/21, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 25 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
88 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Formative Assessment:«br /»
The students will be offered the opportunity to submit a draft skeleton answer to their final essay in week 3.«br /»
«br /»
Summative Assessment:«br /»
The course will be assessed by a 2,500 word essay (90%); and class participation (10%). |
| Feedback |
Feedback on the formative assessment may be provided in various formats, for example, to include written, oral, video, face-to-face, whole class, or individual. The course organiser will decide which format is most appropriate in relation to the nature of the assessment.
Feedback on both formative and summative in-course assessed work will be provided in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course.
Feedback on the summative assessment will be provided in written form via Learn, the University of Edinburgh's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of how digital technologies are impacting on professional practices in the journalism industry, and what challenges they are posing to the ability of news media to deliver their societal function effectively.
- Discuss existing regulatory gaps and emerging rationales from a critical perspective.
- Investigate the ongoing relevance of existing legal principles, the emergence of new ethical and regulatory frameworks, and discuss the merits and drawbacks of each option.
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Reading List
| Please contact course organiser for further information on an indicative bibliography. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Skills and Abilities in Research and Enquiry
The students will develop the ability to investigate the ongoing relevance of existing legal principles, the emergence of new ethical and regulatory frameworks, and discuss the merits and drawbacks of each option.
Skills and Abilities in Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
Students will be encouraged to develop autonomous views on a range of current and emerging issues where definite answers do not yet exist (yet?) and compare them with those of their peers in seminar discussions.
Skills and Abilities in Communication
As the course has both a written and an oral (participation) component, students will have the opportunity to practice both forms of communication.
Skills and Abilities in Personal Effectiveness
By being asked to discuss and elaborate on the merits of laws and ethical frameworks, both orally and in writing, students will develop analytical abilities as well as the ability to articulate legal reasoning.
Technical/practical skills
The students will develop familiarity with regulatory approaches and ethical frameworks for journalistic professions, including in a comparative perspective. |
| Keywords | Law,Postgraduate,Level 11,E-Governance,Democratisation,Digital |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Paolo Cavaliere
Tel: (0131 6)51 5137
Email: Paolo.Cavaliere@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Ruth Johnston
Tel: (0131 6)50 9094
Email: Ruth.Johnston@ed.ac.uk |
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