The Annotated Bibliography is due by the beginning of class Wednesday, September 21st.  Papers will be penalized one full letter grade if it is not received by the beginning of class on the due data AND one full letter grade for each day late it is received thereafter. (What matters is when I get the paper....not when you slide it under my door...give it to the Administrative Specialist....put it in my departmental mailbox...turn it in to TurnItIn) .... all of the rules described above apply to this paper as well.

Annotated Bibliography Grade Form

Annotated Bibliography Example 1

Annotated Bibliography Example 2

You WILL have to submit BOTH papers to turnitin.com, so unless you want a zero for the paper and academic prosecution, plagiarism is not advised.  Papers not submitted to turnitin.com by the due time/date will not be graded.  The procedures for using turnitin.com will be explained in class.

Poll: The class will be conducting a telephone poll.  This semester, the poll will occur September 18-25, 2016. Your grade on this will be based on your overall contribution to the completion of the project.  You will be expected to work a one shift-- over a one week period.   During this week, you will have no take home homework.  Sounds easy, doesn’t it?  It is.  However, every semester, several students fail to to complete their shifts.  Why? .. they (a) don't plan in advance and never sign up for the required training or a shift (fail to attend your training session? No, the SBRL will not create a whole new training session just for you), (b) they fail to follow the SBRL rules and scientific protocols and are dismissed from their shift without completing it, or (c) they skip their shift.  And just like that, they get a zero for 10% of their grade.  That's a whole letter grade.  When the end of the project rolls around, they complain that it was too much and an impossible task…despite the fact that nearly all of their classmates did it with no trouble.  Many students have done it before.  If you find yourself unable to do it, there will be only one person to blame (hint: it isn’t me).  If you have some legitimate medical condition ( for example: deafness, severe speech impediment, etc.) that would prevent you from participating in this aspect of the class, you may write an 7-9 page paper on polling instead.  You may be required to work weekend “shifts” during this time period in order to get your requirement done.  IF YOU CANNOT DO THIS THEN YOU CANNOT COMPLETE THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS CLASS.  The only way to get an “A” on the poll is to complete your required shift.  If you fail to complete your required shift because you are late or leave early, you will receive a one letter grade penalty for each 10 minutes of a shift you miss (rounding up from the first minute -- missing 1 minute costs a letter grade .... missing 11 minutes costs two letter grades, etc.)  If you must miss a shift, you must notify the SBRL Operations Manager BEFORE the beginning of the shift.  Failure to do so without an excellent reason will lower your grade one full letter grade for each occurrence -- assuming all required shifts are later made up.  Finally, if the SBRL Operations Manager or your shift Supervisor report that you were goofing off, etc., your grade will be lowered whether you were sent home or not.

 

This is the only Winthrop Poll this semester on which you will be allowed to work. You will not be allowed to work another to "make up" for your failure to work this poll. 

WINTHROP POLL CALLING SHIFTS:

Monday – Friday	Saturday	Sunday
5:00pm-9:00pm	9:00am-12:00pm	1:00pm-4:00pm
	12:00pm-3:00pm	4:00pm-7:00pm
	3:00pm-6:00pm
	6:00pm-9:00pm

Why do we do a poll?  The answer to this question is two-fold: (1) a poll quite neatly encapsulates the research process.  We form hypotheses to test theories, create questions to test these hypotheses, conduct a scientific sample, field the research, collect data, and analyze the results.  It is a wonderful way to get real world, hands-on research experience.    (2) as an institution, Winthrop is committed to Experiential Learning.  This is the integration of real-world experience and learning.  In doing the poll, not only are you learning valuable lessons and skills, you are also serving the community.  I am a firm believer that each of us has a duty as a citizen to serve her or his community.  We use these polls to serve the community by providing local organizations and government with valuable information.  These are real surveys and the results have real policy implications.

This syllabus may be revised throughout the term.

Office of Accessibility (OA): Winthrop University is committed to providing access to education. If you have a condition which may adversely impact your ability to access academics an d/or campus life, and you require specific accommodations to complete this course, contact the Office of Accessibility (OA) at 803-323-3290, or, accessibility@winthrop.edu . Please inform me as early as possible, once you have your official notice of accommodations f rom the Office of Accessibility.

Class announcements will be made via the class listserv.  

If you have an active winthrop.edu email account, you should be automatically added to the listserv, otherwise you must add yourself to the listserv.  You are EXPECTED to regularly check your email for class announcements!  Announcements made over the listserv are considered "official" class announcements.  If you are not on the class listserv, go HERE for instructions on how to sign up (the course designator to sign up is: PLSC350001). It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to make sure you are on the listserv and are getting class messages.

Academic Misconduct

Academic misconduct will not be tolerated.  Winthrop’s Conduct Code defines academic misconduct as: 

”Academic misconduct includes but is not limited to providing or receiving assistance in a manner not authorized by the professor in the creation of work to be submitted for academic evaluation including papers, projects, and examinations; presenting, as one's own, the ideas or words of another for academic evaluation without proper acknowledgment; doing unauthorized academic work for which another person will receive credit or be evaluated; and presenting the same or substantially the same papers or projects in two or more courses without the explicit permission of the professors involved. In addition, academic misconduct involves attempting to influence one's academic evaluation by means other than academic achievement or merit. More explicit definitions of academic misconduct specific to certain academic disciplines may be promulgated by academic departments and schools.”

I will prosecute cases of academic misconduct to the fullest extent of university policy, and that can mean expulsion from the university.  Obviously, any student caught cheating or plagiarizing, in any manner, on an exam or assignment will receive a zero for that assignment in addition to academic prosecution.  Additionally, I reserve the right to award the student an "F" in the course for ANY act of academic misconduct if I feel it is warranted.  This is in addition to academic prosecution by the Dean of Students.

**ADDITIONALLY, the Department of Political Science has it's own policies on plagiarism and academic misconduct: Poli Sci Statement on Plagiarism In the immortal words of Brad Hamilton: "Learn it; Know it; Live it!"**

 

University Level Competencies (ULCs): This course contributes to student mastery of the following ULCs: Competency 1: Winthrop graduates think critically and solve problems. and Competency 4: Winthrop graduates communicate effectively. 

 

Class Policies:

 

Please provide a respectful learning environment for your fellow students. Repeated tardiness, cell phone disruptions, reading materials unrelated to the course (such as the student newspaper), and use of communication technologies (e.g., web browsing/ IMing/ texting/ snapchatting/ etc. during class) during class will adversely affect your grade.

 

Attendance Policy: Beginning with the third time a student is declared absent, the student will lose a full letter grade for each absence.  Any student caught IMing, texting, or browsing the web will be declared “Absent” for that class.  Since I don’t take roll, this is the only way to be declared absent.  Additionally, you will be asked to leave the class that day.  Campus police will be called if you do not do so voluntarily.

 

Please arrive at class on time and switch off all pagers, cell phones, and alarms during class.  The only exceptions to this rule are if you have children or an emergency family situation (e.g. family member in surgery).  For these circumstances, you must notify the professor of the situation after which you may leave your phone on vibrate and you must leave the class to answer a call.

 

I do not provide lecture notes for students under any circumstances.

 

Grade Appeals: If you wish to dispute a grade on a particular assignment for any reason other than an obvious arithmetic error on my part, you will need to type a one-page explanation of your position and turn it in, along with the original graded assignment, at least one week after the assignment is returned to you. I will then consider your appeal and make a determination.

 

Appeals must be submitted in hard copy format; no appeals submitted via email will be considered.

 

For appeals regarding your final grade in the course, please consult the Student Handbook and Catalog for procedures.

This syllabus subject to change by the instructor throughout the course.