Spring 2009 Syllabus: CITE 10003

Disasters, Failures, and other Dangerous Things

Dr. Antonio Sanchez (TTC 332 – a.sanchez-aguilar@tcu.edu)

Textbook and Other Support

My website is located at:

http://www.cs.tcu.edu/people/professors/asanchez/asanchez.html

You will find access to the material of the course there. The textbook website is https://www.cog-sys.com/DFtext/. Access to the textbook requires a username and password which will be provided in class. Sharing the username and password with anyone not enrolled in the class is both a violation of the TCU student code of conduct and a federal crime, so please do not do that.

Lecture slides are posted and additional resources linked from the textbook site. While we want you to make copies of the lecture slides for your own use, please respect the material’s copyright and do not provide this material to any third party. The goal is to use the textbook website to develop a published textbook for future TCU students and any distribution of the material to others will hurt our ability to get a publisher to publish the text.

Objective and Overview

This course focuses on how we can develop technological solutions to problems by applying the scientific method to the study of major technological accidents and failures. The lecture material will be augmented by laboratory experiences where the student will be able to experiment with some common everyday complex systems and study their failures under carefully controlled conditions.

Outcomes

Students will demonstrate a basic understanding of:

1) The investigation methodologies, computer models and simulation methods used by engineers and scientists in the development of modern technologies.

2) The engineering, and the underlying natural science, behind a set of modern technologies.

3) How the engineering and the underlying natural science behind modern technologies control not only what we can do, but how society must deal with both the positive and negative effects of a technology.

CITE 10003 - 30 DF&OTT Weekly Schedule: Spring 2009
Week	Date	Lec #	Lecture Topic	Quiz	Lab
#1	Mon - Jan 12	1	1-Process & Tools		Lab Intro
	Wed - Jan 14	2	1-Process & Tools
#2	Wed - Jan 21	3	1-Bridges		1. Process & tools
#3	Mon - Jan 26	4	2-Bridges		2-Bridges
	Wed - Jan 28	5	3-Bridges
#4	Mon - Feb 02	6	3-Nuclear Medicine	U2	3-Nuclear Medicine
	Wed - Feb 04	7	3-Nuclear Medicine
#5	Mon - Feb 09	8	4-Airplanes	U3	4-Airplanes
	Wed - Feb 11	9	4-Airplanes
#6	Mon - Feb 16	10	5-Power Grid	U4	5-Power Grid
	Wed - Feb 28	11	5-Power Grid
#7	Mon - Feb 23	12	6-Nuclear Power	U5	6-Nuclear Power
	Wed - Feb 25	13	6-Nuclear Power
#8	Mon - Mar 02	14	7-Telephones	U6	7-Telephones
	Wed - Mar 04	15	7-Telephones
#9	Mon - Mar 09	16	8-Tech Markets	U7	8-Tech Markets
	Wed - Mar 11	17	8-Tech Markets
#10	Mon - Mar 16				Spring Break
	Wed - Mar 18
#11	Mon - Mar 23	18	9-The Internet	U8	9-The Internet
	Wed - Mar 25	19	9-The Internet
#12	Mon - Mar 30	20	10-ISS	U9	10-ISS
	Wed - Apr 01	21	10-ISS
#13	Mon - Apr 06	22	11-Exploration	U10	11-Exploration
	Wed - Apr 08	23	11-Exploration
#14	Mon - Apr 13	24	12-Limits	U11	12-Limits
	Wed - Apr 15	25	12-Limits
#15	Mon - Apr 20	26	13-WTC-9/11	U12
	Wed - Apr 22	27	13-WTC-9/11
#16	Mon - Apr 27	28	14-Movies	U13	Lab Final
	Wed - Apr 29	29	14-Movies
Final
	Wed - May 6	CITE 10003 Section 30 (11:30-2:00)

Grades

Grades will be determined using the following breakdown:

Unit Quizzes	40%
Final	10%
Lab Write-ups	44%
Lab Introduction and Final	6%

I will assign only letter grades A,B,C,D,F this is to say that +/- will not be used in this course

Quizzes

Normally, thirteen unit quizzes will be administered during the course. These will normally be given in the first 10 minutes of class after the unit is covered. If class attendance starts to drop off, the instructor may either, 1) randomly select the quiz date, 2) divide the unit quiz into two shorter quizzes given on two different days, and/or 3) give additional pop quizzes.

Normally, the lowest quiz will be dropped, the rest will count about 3 points each. No make-up quizzes will be given. If you miss one or more quizzes and have a valid excuse for any of the quizzes you have missed, your quiz grade will be calculated on the total number of quizzes you should have taken. For example, if 13 quizzes were given over the semester and you missed 4 quizzes and have an excused absence for 2 quizzes, your average will be based on the 11 quizzes you should have taken. In other words, the two zeros for the quizzes without an excused absence will be averaged into your final quiz grade.

Final determination of whether an absence is excused rests with your professor. Unless the absence is due to a long-term situation verified by Campus Life, you must request (via email) the dropping of a missed quiz no later than 1 week after the date it was given, otherwise you will receive a zero for that quiz.

Each quiz will be either 10 multiple choice questions or 1-3 short answer questions. This is a change from past semesters and the result of student feedback, so please do not blame us. Short answer questions create much more work for us, which is why we were using multiple choice questions.

Please remember that the reason for dropping one quiz is to allow you to better handle an unexpected absence or an inability to properly prepare for one quiz. In our experience with this course, not preparing for quizzes and completely missing quizzes due to lack of attendance are the major factors causing students to receive final course grades below what they either expected or desired.

Lecture Final

All lecture final exams will be comprehensive and count 10 percent of your grade. There are two possible final formats, 1) a final made up of multiple choice and short answer questions taken directly from the unit quizzes, and 2) a final containing 5 essay questions (20 points each). Most students will be given a final using format number one. However, each instructor can at their discretion give all students in their class that have missed more than 4 quizzes or have an overall quiz average below 60 a final using format number two. All make-up finals, regardless of the reason for taking it at a different time, will (for reasons of fairness) use format number two.

Laboratories

The laboratory experience will reinforce the lecture material by giving the student a chance to discover how the scientific method is used in the design of complex products/systems and study of technologies. All laboratories will be completed in teams of two (or more) at the assigned laboratory time. A write up (mostly fill-in-the-blank) for each lab will be due at the end the scheduled lab. The lab write up is to be your own work and points will be deducted if your essay style answers are too similar to other members of your team.

There are 12 assigned labs. Normally, the lowest lab grade will be dropped, the rest will count about 4 points each.

No make-up labs will be given unless your assigned lab section does not meet for some reason. If you miss one or more labs and have a valid excuse for any of the labs you have missed, your lab grade will be calculated on the total number of labs you should have taken. For example, if your assigned lab section completed 12 labs and you missed 2 labs and have an excused absence for 1 lab, your average will be based on the 11 labs you should have taken. In other words, the a zero for the lab to missed without an excused absence will be averaged into your final lab grade.

Lab Introduction and Final

The first lab session will consist of a lab introduction. This introduction will include some practice calculations for a standard calculator test based on the Unit 1 material. Before the first lab (second lab session), you will be given a calculator test to complete which will be worth 0.5% of your overall grade.

The lab final will primarily cover what you have learned in the lab, but this material naturally overlaps the lecture material. The lab final will be comprehensive and will consist of short answers and some discussion question. It is worth 5.5% percent of your grade.

Class Participation

Due to the nature of this course, this class will require that your body and mind show up to every class. Due to the size of the class, we may use a seating chart and you can assume that attendance is being monitored. In addition to simply being in class, you should review the website material for that day before you come to class and be prepared to ask and answer questions about the material being covered that day.

Class Schedule

The schedules provided for this class should only be viewed as a guide (i.e., we can and will change things as we see fit). The first version is given on a separate link from the web site’s main page. We will attempt to keep the schedule updated as best we can, but each professor is free to deviate from the schedules as he/she sees fit.

Academic Dishonesty

The Computer Science Department takes academic dishonesty quite seriously. Academic misconduct will not be tolerated. Such acts are detailed in the current TCU Bulletin and include: copying, using, or in any way misrepresenting another’s work as your own; substituting for another or having someone substitute for you; plagiarism; collusion; abusing resource materials; unauthorized use of computer software or hardware; fabrication and falsification; complicity in misconduct. Such conduct at a minimum results in a zero on the test or assignment, and may result in a failing grade for the course.

Students with Disabilities

Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with disabilities. If you require accommodations for a disability, please contact the Coordinator for Students with Disabilities in the Center for Academic Services, located in Sadler Hall 11. Further information can be obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU Box 297710, Fort Worth, TX 76129, or at 817-257-7486.

Adequate time must be allowed to arrange accommodations and accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the academic term for which they are seeking accommodations. Each eligible student is responsible for presenting relevant, verifiable, professional documentation and/or assessment reports to the Coordinator. Guidelines for documentation may be found at http://www.acs.tcu.edu/DISABILITY.HTM.

****Students with emergency medical information or needing special arrangements in case a building must be evacuated should discuss this information with their instructor/professor as soon as possible.****