The Internet/Information Policy course is a survey course relevant for students interested in understanding the varied components of Information Policy and in engaging in depth study or practical experience with an aspect of Information Policy of particular interest to the individual student. Topics covered in the course include Information Economics; Data, Information, and Open Data and Applications in Planning and Policy Making; Community Informatics; Information Security; Cybersecurity and Global Internet Governance; Hacktivism and Social Media; Artificial Intelligence and the Future Workforce; and Planning and Policy Applications for the Future of Information and the Internet of Things; among others.
Students will engage in readings, practical experiences, and guest lectures to cover the subject matter and will be responsible for completing an individual or group project related to a topic of their choosing within the purview of Information Policy. Students will have the opportunity to engage in local technology projects with Austin City Council related to connecting City Council members to timely, relevant data for evidence-based policy making, as well as projects related to artificial intelligence and transportation and artificial Intelligence and the future workforce.
Examples of student projects include exploring how information architecture plays a role in community informatics and regional planning, conducting field research to understand how user design plays a role in open data and local policy making, researching cybersecurity policies and enhancements or hindrances to economic growth, developing a model organizational design to exploit information flows for better policy or economic outcomes, designing an app for disease mitigation, discovering the regulatory barriers to financial inclusion in mobile banking, understanding and exploring any role 3D printing might play in affecting health and health informatics, connecting businesses and local organizations to open data to spur innovation, and those yet to be unleashed by the student imagination.
This class is cross-listed with CS, BGS, CMS, INF and MIS. LBJ is the home department.