Wikipedia talk:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Courses/Spring 2011/? (David Weil)

Course description
Much of your curriculum at the BU School of Management focuses on decision making in private organizations and the many factors that affect the performance of companies operating in different markets and environments. Those of you working in the private sector will face decisions that have consequences not only for the company, its shareholders, employees, and customers, but also for the public. These larger impacts—whether positive ones like providing economic opportunities to people or negative ones like pollution—imply that private decisions have consequences on public value. Those of you working in the public and not-for-profit sectors will face decisions that seek to benefit the “public interest,” defined as the core constituency of your not-for-profit or government agency, the people who elect you or support your organization, or a vaguely defined “public at large.” Whatever the definition, the challenge of decision-making is how to best pursue a program, initiative, or respond to a social problem in order to enhance public value.

But what is public value? How can it be measured and weighed against the costs of producing it? How do the actions of private, public, and not-for-profit organizations create or diminish public value? What guidance can an understanding of public value provide for those operating in business, government, or the non-profit world? This course will examine these questions by developing and then drawing on core tools of public policy analysis. We will then apply the ideas of policy analysis to a range of problems and situations.

Public policy analysis requires that one collect facts and evaluate them based on one or more criteria. As recent debates about issues ranging from fiscal policy to education reform to climate change illustrate, each step of the policy analysis process is controversial: the “facts” surrounding an issue are often contested and analysts frequently differ on the appropriate forms of analysis and what assumptions should underlie it. There is even more intense debate about what the appropriate criteria one should use in evaluating those outcomes. Finally, the implications of findings on recommendation raise even more controversy. The increasingly polarized nature of many public debates leads many to believe that policy analysis is inherently subjective with each side of the policy selecting their preferred experts.

A critical task is therefore to separate disagreements over facts and analysis from those about the values underlying chosen objectives and recommendations. Although this is seldom easy to do, it is an intrinsic and essential part of the public policy analysis process. We will participate in a unique initiative that will allow you to see this in action.

Assignment overview: The Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative
This course will provide students with a unique opportunity to learn and apply policy analysis methods and at the same time engage in debates about facts, analysis and implications. Along with a small number of public policy courses at other graduate schools, SMG will be a pilot participant in the Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative. Sponsored by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, this initiative engages public policy students in contributing to public policy content on Wikipedia, allowing them to subject their research and analysis to a debate involving a real-world audience of thousands of readers. As such, it will provide students a unique chance to participate in real policy debates as they apply the ideas of policy analysis to issues chosen by them.

Assignment timeline
The following describes the assignments in class specifically linked to the Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative: For a full description of readings, cases, and class topics, please consult the syllabus and the on-line materials for PL 882.

NOTE: This timeline will be revised as the semester progresses!

week 1: Jan. 25/27
 * In class
 * Overview of the course
 * Read the page "Wikipedia:Five pillars" on Wikipedia
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars

week 2: Feb. 1/3
 * In class (2/1)
 * Introduction to the Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative
 * Campus Ambassadors introduce Wikipedia
 * Basics of editing
 * Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good & bad articles
 * Tips & recommendations for best articles to work on for the class assignments
 * HANDOUT: "Creating an account" handout, "Evaluating Wikipedia Article Quality" brochure
 * HANDOUT: "Welcome to Wikipedia" brochure


 * Assignments for students (due 2/8)
 * Create a Wikipedia user account, create a user page, and add your name to the course page's list of students (on the WikiProject)
 * Contact an Online Ambassador (via his/her Wikipedia user talk page) as a mentor. Mentors will be available to offer advice and assistance as you start editing.
 * To practice the editing features of Wikipedia, leave a message for a few classmates on their user talk pages.

week 3: Feb 8 / 10
 * In class (2/10)
 * Campus Ambassadors introduce students to IRC (online chat system where students can get live support) and show students how to contact Online Ambassador mentors


 * Assignments for students (due 2/17)
 * Research and list 3-5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that your team will consider working on as your main project. Ask your Online Ambassador mentor for comments.

week 4: Feb 15 / 17
 * Assignments for students
 * Continue to reviiew possible articles on Wikipedia related to public policy area of interest

week 5: Feb 22 (NO CLASS) / 24
 * In class (2/24)
 * Editing, referencing, and interacting on Wikipedia
 * HANDOUT: "Referencing on Wikipedia" handout


 * Assignments for students (due 3/3)
 * Finalize your topic and the associated article(s) you will work on and list it on the course page. Compile a bibliography of relevant sources, and begin researching the topic.

week 6: March 1/3
 * In class (or Friday lab section)
 * Campus Ambassadors talk about Wikipedia sandboxes and Wikipedia culture/etiquette
 * Campus Ambassadors hold question-and-answer session with students


 * Assignments for students (due 3/10)
 * Write a 3-4 paragraph summary version of your article (with citations) in your Wikipedia sandbox
 * Begin working with Online Ambassador mentor to polish your short starter article and fix any major transgressions of Wikipedia norms.
 * Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.

week 7: March 8 / 10
 * Assignments for students (due 3/10)
 * Move your sandbox article into Wikipedia's main space (live articles)
 * Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.


 * HANDOUT: "Moving article from sandbox into main space" handout

SPRING BREAK: March 15 / 17

week 8: March 22 / 24
 * Discuss off-line with Campus Ambassadors / On-Line Mentors
 * Article ratings on Wikipedia & how to get there
 * Uploading images onto Wikipedia articles

week 9: March 29 / 31
 * Assignments for students (due 3/14)
 * Peer-review two classmates' articles:
 * Leave suggestions and comments on those classmates' article discussion pages.
 * Copy-edit peers' articles.

week 10: April 5 / 7
 * Assignments for students (due 4/14)
 * Revise your article based on peers' feedback.
 * Nominate your article for "Good Article" status.
 * Prepare memo about your Wikipedia-editing experiences and implications on policy analysis debates.

week 11: April 12 / 14
 * In class (4/14)
 * Students give in-class presentations about their experiences editing Wikipedia.


 * Assignments for students (due 4/28)
 * Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.
 * Draft memo including evaluative criteria and policy recommendations.
 * Prepare presentations for Policy Workshops

week 12: April 19 (April 21 is holiday)
 * In class
 * Student team presentations of projects in Policy Workshops.

week 13 / 14: April 26 / 28 and May 3
 * In class
 * Student team presentations of projects in Policy Workshops.

Students
This is a list of the students in your class (or rather their Wikipedia usernames), along with their Wikipedia articles (which students will select at the appropriate time).
 * - Noise pollution in the United States
 * - Pesticide regulation in the United States