Research the speculations on where the state-of-the-art will be in the near future for one of the following technologies. Your paper should include a description of the state-of-the-art in your technology, a discussion of where the sources that you read believe the technology is heading in the near future, and a discussion of how this technology will affect the choices you would make if you were making purchase recommendations for a client. Although there is room for personal opinion in your paper, you must justify your conclusions.
Firewall policies and methodologies Intrusion Detection Routing protocols Wireless network quality of services Compare layer 2 wireless network with layer 2 wired-line network Comparing transport layer protocols – more than TCP and UDP Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) Network virtualization Video and Voice over Internet (VVoIP) or Voice over Internet (VoIP) Cellular network infrastructure Big Data Fog Computing Cloud Computing The Internet of Everything (IoE) Network management Disaster Recovery Quality of Services (QoS) at different layers Cyber security
Details on the Individual Research Paper:
1. Length and Style: The body of an analytic research paper should be 10 pages in length and typed using the APA Guide. Student projects distill fundamental issues, discuss the various available solutions, discuss the benefits and limitations of the available solutions, and provide a new solution and justification. Student papers must state a thesis, and based on the research, attempt to prove or disprove that thesis. An adequate literature search will include a few books and journal articles (or other relevant documents). A search of Internet documentation is required. Students should develop a conclusion which synthesizes the literature in such a way as to demonstrate new knowledge.
Guidelines for the format of the paper are as follows:
The paper should be 10-12 pages of text in length. (This minimum and maximum length should not include the title page, separate figures and tables, or the list of references); The paper should include a one paragraph abstract, an introduction, and a conclusion – think as if you were writing for a professional journal; The paper should use APA format (double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, one inch margins, page numbers with running head in upper right corner, section titles, citations, and references in accordance with the APA standard). Some notes about APA format:
The Graduate School uses the fifth edition of the Publications Manual of the APA as its standard. The fourth edition used conventions that were common to copy editors and proof readers who were dealing with manuscripts; for instance we would underline certain section titles to indicate that the final version would be be in italics. Other conventions had tables and figures attached at the end of the paper, because until proofs were prepared for final printing, the editors did not know where graphics would fit on the page. In the fifth edition, the APA has finally recognized that most of us now have direct access to desktop publishing software, so we can put things in italics directly. (They still want us to stick tables and figures at the end, but for purposes of this class you can place them in line with the text if you wish). Other differences deal with the way we list references: the fourth edition had us indent the first line of a reference, but in the fifth edition, the first line is left-adjusted, and the following lines are indented. The fifth edition also has enhanced the instructions for how to cite electronic references. Pages 306-320 of the fifth edition show a sample paper with annotations. You can get additional information from the APA web site at
http://www.apastyle.organd the UMUC Library site
2. Term Paper Process: Students are required to use the structured approach to project construction to aid them in completing a successful paper. Students should consider the following are milestones — they are not required for submission nor graded, but should help students keep their work organized:
Week 3: Paper Title and Thesis (the proposition that you intend to support). Week 5: Bibliography (a variety of sources, not just web documents.) Week 8: Paper Progress – a brief description (abstract) of 200 to 300 words indicating the paper’s scope (the nature and extent of your coverage) – hierarchical structure of topics (outline down to second level.) The Finalized Research Paper is due for submission and grading at the end of Week 11.
3. Evaluation Criteria and Feedback: The litmus test of a good research project is: “Does my research project provide the professor with new insight on my topic?” An e-mail evaluation of the paper will be provided along with the final grade.
Paper grades will be determined as follows:
Minimum and maximum length – 10% (note that these are specific limits!) Conformance to APA format – 10% Depth of research – 40% (based on number and “authority” of references). Limit the use of Web references and “commercial magazines” like InformationWeek. Try to find “peer-reviewed” articles from sources like IEEE and ACM journals or from top-tier journals like Harvard Business Review. (Not that these are necessarily better, but in the academic world they are more respected and tend to be more thoroughly researched). Many IEEE and ACM journals, as well as various conference proceedings, are available through the UMUC electronic library. Quality of paper – 40% (including development and presentation of subject, spelling, and grammar). 4. Standards for Papers: (Repeated from the UMUC Policies Entry.) Effective managers and leaders are also effective communicators. Written communication is an important element of the total communication process. The Graduate School recognizes and expects exemplary writing to be the norm for course work. All individual and group papers must demonstrate graduate level writing ability and comply with the format requirements of the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition). Careful attention should be given to source citations, proper listing of references, and the presentation of tables and graphs. Format and graphics, however, are not always transmitted well over the Internet: there are dozens of ways in which hardware, software and networks may be incompatible. A student may mail an additional copy of his/ her research paper to the professor by Postal Service when graphics present a problem.
5. Policy and Academic Integrity (Plagiarism): (Repeated from the UMUC Policies Entry.)
Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional presentation of another person’s idea or product as one’s own. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to the following: copying verbatim all or part of another’s written work; using phrases, charts, figures, illustrations, or mathematical or scientific solutions without citing the source; and paraphrasing ideas, conclusions, or research without citing the source. Students can avoid unintentional plagiarism by carefully accepted scholarly practices. Notes taken for papers and research projects should accurately record sources of material to be cited, quoted, paraphrased, or summarized, and papers should acknowledge these sources in footnotes. The penalties on plagiarism include a zero or a grade “F” on the work in question, a grade “F” in the course, suspension with a file letter, suspension with a transcript notation, or expulsion.
Some notes about plagiarism:
As we all know, plagiarism occurs when an author copies or paraphrases someone else’s work and presents it as their own without citing the original author. Most accidental cases of plagiarism encountered at UMUC arise when: (1) a student forgets to include a reference for source material; (2) a student loses track of sources and forgets to cite a reference or two (or cites the reference incorrectly); (3) a student “pastes” information from the Internet directly into a paper thinking that since there is no author, the source does not need to be cited. All of these cases more often than not occur when a student gets into a “time crunch” and gets sloppy or desperate. So plan ahead and be careful as you prepare your paper. Remember that penalties for plagiarism can be quite severe – ranging up to dismissal from the program. Also be aware that the resources available to instructors for detecting cases of plagiarism are growing quite sophisticated. Additional information on UMUC policies in this area is available under Academic Policies in our course Syllabus.
Also note that any graded assignments must be entirely each student’s own work and original for this course. Work prepared for other courses or use of material obtained for this course from other students, past or present, is expressly prohibited and can result in a grade of zero for an assignment and/or course failure.
