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Readings in
Fire Service Management

FSM 350-3

FACULTY:

Fred L. Wilson, Ph.D.
4022 Townview Lane
San Angelo, TX 76901
(325) 223-0085
e-mail: fwilson@airmail.net

FACULTY CONTACT:

The easiest and most efficient means of contacting your faculty for this course, Fred Wilson, is through e-mail. However, you may telephone, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 AM and 10 PM Central. In most instances, e-mail and telephone messages will be answered within 24 hours. However, some situations may require more time for a response.

If at all possible, completed assignments should be sent to fwilson@airmail.net as an e-mail attachment. Prior to attaching your assignment to e-mail, save it as a MS Word document (.doc). If you are not using MS Word, please contact the instructor immediately.

All assignments must be received by Fred Wilson (actually in his hands) no later than the prescribed due date. Assignments received after the prescribed due date will be strictly reduced in grade as per instructions in this syllabus.

Assignment due dates are Fridays. Assignments will be graded as soon as possible. You will receive feedback on the assignments by e mail. Your marked papers will be delivered to the SIUC office at Goodfellow to be given to you in hard copy.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to library resources, electronic media resources, and formal academic writing styles common to Fire Service Management research. Introduction to basic theories, concepts, and practices pertinent to Fire Service Management. May be independent study.

PREREQUISITE:

FSM 300 and Fire Service Management Major or consent of department

PREREQUISITE TO:

FSM 450 Analysis of Trends in the Fire Service Industry.

TEXTBOOKS:

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Aaron, J. E. , (2001). The Little, Brown compact handbook (3rd ed. or later). New York: Addison-Wesley.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Objective

Percent of Topical Coverage
The student will use written and electronic media resources to find, select, and document a bibliography that includes books, government documents, journal articles, periodical articles, fire science industry produced information, fire science industry association produced information, and newspaper articles on assigned topics of interest to the fire science industry. 30%
The student will prepare two organizational (topical) outlines. One each for a comparative review article and a persuasive article to be produced by the student using references included in the above bibliography. 15%
The student will analyze, write, and document one comparative and one persuasive review article based on the faculty approved organizational outlines. 45%
The student will use the technical, writing style, and documentation of the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association when producing the bibliography and writing the two articles. 10%
The student will research and write both a descriptive and a comparative review article that analyzes management theories, concepts, and practices. 15%
The student will produce written reports that meet the technical, documentation, and writing style requirements of formal academic works. 10%

STUDENT ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment Possible
Points		 Assignment Due Dates
Assignment #1: Complete a Fire Service Management bibliography 100 3rd Week
Assignment #2: Two review article outlines. One for a comparative article, the other for a persuasive article 100 7th Week
Assignment #3: A comparative review article on a faculty approved topic 100 11th Week
Assignment #4: A persuasive review article on a faculty approved topic 200 13th Week

After completing this Independent Study course, please go to the SIU Website Student Evaluations to complete an evaluation for this course. This site is maintained at SIUC and not by your instructor.

GRADING:

General guidelines for grading follow below. Some things you should be extremely careful about:
  1. When an abstract is required, follow the APA guidelines to the letter;
  2. Check and recheck your spelling;
  3. The References list must begin on a new page and no source should be listed that is not cited in the body of the paper;
  4. Page numbers must be included with citations in the body of the paper;
  5. Proofread your paper to avoid careless grammatical errors.

1. Grading Criteria for:

Assignment #1: The bibliography is worth up to 100 grade points. It must be complete and must comply with the criteria and procedures of the APA. One-half grade point (.50) will be deducted for each error.

Assignment #2: The two outlines are worth a total of 100 grade points. One-half grade point (.50) will be deducted for each error.

Assignment #3 and Assignment #4: The two articles are worth up to 150 grade points each. The following indicates the number of grade points that might be deducted for failure to achieve the criteria for each paper.

2. Grading Criteria* for Assignment #3 and Assignment #4

Grammar & SyntaxTechnical (Management)APA RulesWriting (7 "Cs")Overall On Time
1010101010+2 (due date)
999990 (1 day late)
88888-2 (2-3 days late)
77777-4 (4-5 days late)
66666-8 (5-8 days late)
55555-16 (9-14 days late)
Grade is the sum of the highlighted numbers, minus penalties. Percentage is double the grade points. Example: Total points = 47. Grade = 94

*Penalties for plagiarism can be quite severe and range from an "F" for the course to suspension from the University.

3. Extra Credit

Five points will be awarded extra credit for sending me your e-mail address by email to fwilson@airmail.net. On occasion other optional extra credit assignments may be sent to those who provide me with their e-mail addresses.

4. Grading scale:

Total PointsGrade
92-100A
89-91Grey
82-88B
79-81Grey
72-78C
69-71Grey
60-68D
Below 60F
Grey area grade will be assigned after review of all work submitted. It may be lower or higher, according to the instructor's overall evaluation

5. ADA Statement for Students Requiring Special Accommodations:

As per Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the American Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, if accommodations are needed, inform your instructor as soon as possible.

6. Assigment of grade of INCOMPLETE:

A grade of INCOMPLETE may be assigned when, for reasons beyond their control, students engaged in passing work are unable to complete all class assignments. Students re required to apply, in writing, to the faculty member for an Incomplete not less than two weeks prior to the last class day of the course. Students are also required to contact the instructor by phone, email, or FAX to inform the instructor that they (the students)cannot finish all assignments and will be requesting an INCOMPLETE. This contact will NOT replace the written request. Students who fail to inform the instructor and fail to request the incomplete in writing will recive the grade earned for the course or a WF, whichever is most appropriate. Requesting an incomplete is not a guarantee that it will be granted, since assignment of any grade is at the discretion of the instructor. Students must provide cogent reasons why they cannot complete the assignments and why it is beyond their control.

The above paragraph is persuant to direction of Judith A. Rawls, Director OCAP (February 18, 2004).

The above paragraph is persuant to direction of Judith A. Rawls, Director OCAP (February 18, 2004).

Due Dates:

Assignments may be sent as an e-mail attachment; the student may personally send the assignment via regular postal mail or any other surface carrier; or, assignments may be presented to the local SIUC office for mailing via regular, first-class mail service. Assignments that are FAXed will not be accepted. Students relying on surface mail delivery of assignments must place the assignment in the mail a minimum of seven calendar days prior to the prescribed due date. The local SIUC office is not authorized to mail assignments by other than regular U. S. Post Office first-class service which requires a minimum of seven days for delivery.

The date on which the assignment is received (in the hands of) by the faculty member will determine the date the assignment was submitted for grade. I date each file received. I much prefer you submit as an e-mail attachment. I then date the paper on the time it was sent. If you mail your assignment (and I ernestly hope you do not) you must allow a minimum of seven days mailing time for assignments to reach me by the prescribed due date.

Any student's Assignment #4 that is not in the faculty member's hands by the prescribed due date will be assigned a grade of zero.

Due Date Extensions:

Students who experience unique, unusual, emergency and/or totally unexpected situations that prevent them from working on Assignments #1, Assignments #2, or Assignments #3 may request an extension of a due date. Such requests will be granted only if the request is made in writing (e-mail messages are acceptable, FAX is not), is received prior to the due date, and the reason for the request is beyond the control of the student. Approval of such requests is not automatic and is subject to the faculty's best judgment. The maximum extension permitted is 14 calendar days beyond the prescribed due date. Assignments received more than 14 days past the prescribed due date will be assigned a grade of zero. There is no allowance for extending the due date for Assignment #4.

After completing this Independent Study course, please go to the SIU Website Student Evaluations to complete an evaluation for this course. This site is maintained at SIUC and not by your instructor.

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Contact me at: fwilson@airmail.net. Last Revised Jan 1, 2009