PMED1070 Technology and Society Course description

The language is normally English.

Technologies, from the stone axe to the computer, have been integral in shaping how we live, think, interact, and work. Advances in digitalization have made digital competences a significant factor in ensuring the employability of candidates in all professions vital to our society. Understanding the benefits, the limitations, and the transformative power of technologies on public and private life as well as professional practice is crucial.

In this course, students will acquire the basic knowledge needed to harness the potential of digital technologies and identify opportunities to use technology to foster inclusion, active participation, and sustainability in society and the workplace. Through individual reflection, shared exploration and group discussions, students will gain awareness of how technological developments might impact their future professions, and their role as citizens in an increasingly digitalized society.

This course will provide students with the foundational knowledge and means to become a responsible agent of change in their own profession and field of study. Students will learn to recognise limitations, strengths and potentially disruptive consequences of technological innovation and grapple with the social, ethical, and political issues that arise as technology becomes both increasingly complex and essential to the function of society.

No additional course-specific requirements.

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge 

Upion successful completion of this course the student understands: 

• basic concepts, mechanisms, and tools behind digitalization
• how digitalization shapes public and private life
• the role of technological innovation and development in equity and justice, sustainable development, and civic engagement
• how technological infrastructures shape and support society and the welfare state.

Skills 

Upon successful completion of this course the student can: 

• apply critical and analytical strategies to evaluate and critically discuss the possibilities and challenges of existing and potential technologies 
• reflect on social, ethical, and political consequences of technological change
• provide examples of local and global technological disparity, both in general terms, and in relation to their field of study
• analyse and interpret the processes by which information and disinformation is distinguished, disseminated and used in different contexts.
• identify and discuss central sustainability challenges with digital technologies

General Competence 

Upon successful completion of this course the student can: 

• discuss ethical, social, and political challenges arising at the intersection of technology and society
• understand how digitalisation and digital technologies facilitate and shape interdisciplinary collaboration
• examine contemporary, real-world cases from multiple perspectives 
• evaluate the potential impact of new technologies and digitalization processes on an individual and societal level
• understand the importance of user-oriented perspectives in the use and development of technology
• communicate concepts and models related to the use of technology in a structured manner.

Knowledge

The student has

• advanced knowledge of a specialised field of public management, primarily in the public sector
• in-depth knowledge of theories relevant to the topic of the master's thesis
• in-depth insight into a topic or phenomenon from several different perspectives
• insight into academic requirements for analysis and written work

Skills

The student is capable of

• carrying out a limited research project under supervision and in accordance with applicable standards of research ethics
• using relevant methods in report work and evaluations
• writing a text with the strucure and content required of a master¿s thesis

Competence

The student is capable of

• reading research literature in a critical and reflective manner
• evaluating the use of methods in and results of studies and evaluations
• communicating knowledge and own research results orally and in writing
• applying knowledge and skills in obtaining and using relevant sources, literature and other information, masters reference and quotation techniques, and is capable of defining what constitutes plagiarism and cheating

The students are encouraged to select a topic and research question early in the course of the programme and to use the options available in connection with courses and written works to prepare for the master's thesis. The topic, research question and methodological approach to the study must be presented at a seminar dedicated to work on the master's thesis early in the first semester.

The master's thesis can be submitted individually or students can work and submit the thesis in pairs. The scope of the master's thesis is 16,000 words +/- 10%. The table of contents and reference list come in addition to this. When students work in pairs, the students must submit a written declaration on submission describing the division of work between them.

Supervision

Each student will be appointed a supervisor affiliated to the academic environment for the master's programme. The students have a right to up to eight hours of individual supervision (if relevant two students together), and must attend at least four supervision sessions and joint supervision seminars. Supervision is not normally given for more than one year after normal study progress.

An individual home exam consisting of three exercises.  Each of the exercises are between 800 and 1200 words. The maximum length of the exam submission is 3000 words.  

The submission is assessed as a whole and given one single pass/fail grade, but the three individual assignments that constitute the exam must receive a pass grade in order to pass the exam.

The exam submission must be written in either English or a Scandinavian language.

The exam can be appealed.

New/postponed exam: In case of failed exam or legal absence, the student may apply for a new or postponed exam. Students are required to submit a new exam, not an improved version of their previous exam submission. In case of a second failed exam or legal absence, the third and final exam attempt will be an oral examination.

New or postponed exams are offered within a reasonable time span following the regular exam. The student is responsible for applying for a new/postponed exam within the time limits set by OsloMet. The regulations for new or postponed examinations are available in regulations relating to studies and examinations at OsloMet.

The master's thesis will be assessed together with an oral presentation of the main aspects of the thesis, followed by an oral exam. The oral presentation will last 15 minutes for an individual thesis and 20 minutes for a group thesis. A grade will be awarded for the master's thesis with the possibility of adjustment on the basis of the oral presentation and oral exam.

When students work on the thesis in pairs, the written thesis will be awarded the same grade. Each student will present their part of the thesis in lecture form and then take an individual oral exam. However, the lectures and the oral exam will be considered the individual student's contribution and are used to adjust the final grade for each student as necessary.

If the student appeals against the grade, a new committee will be appointed and the master's thesis will be re-assessed. If the grade is changed, a new oral exam will be held.

Students are allowed to submit a new or revised master's thesis once if they are awarded a fail grade. A reworked version of the thesis must be submitted within the given deadline. The student has a right to one additional supervision session before the new submission. A student will not be allowed to submit a new master's thesis in the same programme if a pass grade has already been awarded.

The master's thesis must be submitted electronically. The student must sign a publication agreement in connection with submission to allow the thesis to be published and made publicly available. If the student consents to this, all non-restricted master's theses awarded a pass grade will be published in ODA, the university's digital knowledge archive.

A grade scale with grades from A to E for pass and F for fail is used.

Det benyttes en intern og en ekstern sensor til sensurering av alle besvarelsene, inkludert presentasjon og eksaminasjon.

Agnete Vabø