Module description
THIS MODULE IS OPEN ONLY TO STUDENTS STUDYING ABROAD AT KING’S COLLEGE LONDON FROM ONE OF THE FOLLOWING EXCHANGE PARTNERS:
• Università di Pisa
• Libera Universita di Lingue e Comunicazione IULM
• Universita delgi Studi di Siena
• Julius Maximilian University of Wurzburg
The Digital Asset and Media Management in Practice module introduces students to a range of related themes that frame the practice of Digital Asset and Media Management as organisational response to digital innovation.
In week one the students are presented with an overview of the module, including an explanation of key concepts, such as DAM practice, DAM systems and system architecture.
In week two we explore System Architectures and the role of Users in system design processes (e.g. so-called lead users, the importance of end user testing etc.).
In week three we consider the challenges organisations face in attempting to manage every-increasing amounts of data and digital assets. Specifically, we investigate the relationship between data, information, and content and introduce relevant concepts, such as information architecture.
In week four we focus on the role of DAM in Enterprise and Business Environments, drawing on a broad range of case studies that encompass for-profits (e.g. Apple, Guardian Media Group, BBC) and nonprofit organisations (e.g. Tate Gallery, British Museum, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Bridgeman Art Library)
In week five students consider DAM practice through the lens of Disruptive Innovation Theory (e.g. Christensen, 1997; Danneels, 2004). In this lecture, we investigate anomalies associated with innovation theory in the context of DAM practice and a dynamic technological landscape in which institutional logics are constantly shifting.
In week six we welcome a DAM practitioner from a relevant industry sector. In 2017, Jeremey Garside (head of IT at the London Symphony Orchestra) conducted a Q&A session with students who had the opportunity to ask questions related to the design and implementation of DAM systems and the development of a DAM strategy more generally. In preparation for this session, students investigate how the LSO became the first orchestra in the world to launch its own record label (LSO Live) in response to the collapse of the traditional recorded music industry.
In week seven we focus on system requirements and specification analysis for DAM. In the seminars students develop a requirements specification for a system (e.g. image library or music archive).
In week eight we explore the themes of Distributed DAM and Interoperability, which brings into focus the logics that define intra-organisational and inter-organisational relationships and how these logics may shift in periods of radical technological change, leading to organisational-level change.
In week nine students are introduced to the related topics of linked data and open data. Specifically, we consider the challenges that some organisations (e.g. educational institutions, public libraries etc.) face in making their context open and free in an increasingly commercialised Networked world.
In week ten we discuss the assignment question options that are presented to students in week 4, from which they choose one.
Assessment details
Coursework
1 x 4,000-word critical analysis
Teaching pattern
The module will be taught via ten one-hour lectures and ten one-hour seminars.