CSC-1200 – Ethics in Computing
DEpartment of Computer Science – Louisiana State University
Location: Session I: 129 Allen, Wednesday 12:40-1:30
Session II: 155 Coates, Wednesday 2:40-3:30
Instructor: Prof. Konstantin Busch
Office: Coates 286
Office Hours: Monday & Thursday 1:30-2:30pm
1.
(8/24/2011)
Introduction (Intro.ppt)
2.
(8/31/2011)
Unwrapping the Gift (Chapter1.ppt)
3.
(9/7/2011)
Privacy (Chapter2.ppt)
4.
(9/14/2011)
Privacy (Chapter2.ppt)
5.
(9/21/2011)
Freedom of Speech (Chapter3.ppt)
6.
(9/28/2011)
Freedom of Speech (Chapter3.ppt)
7.
(10/5/2011)
Midterm Examination
8.
(10/12/2011)
Intellectual Property (Chapter4.ppt)
9.
(10/19/2011)
Intellectual Property (Chapter4.ppt)
10.
(10/26/2011)
Crime (Chapter5.ppt)
11.
(11/02/2011)
Crime (Chapter5.ppt)
12.
(11/9/2011)
Professional Ethics (Chapter9.ppt)
13.
(11/16/2011) Professional Ethics (Chapter9.ppt)
14.
(11/30/2011) Professional Ethics (Chapter9.ppt)
Student presentations:
1.
(11/16/2011) groups 1, 2, 3, 4
2.
(11/30/2011) groups
5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Each homework consists of 2 parts. Here are instructions for how to prepare
each part:
a.
This
is a small essay question. You should provide your answer
in a .doc file using 14 point Times New Roman font,
and at least 250 words but
no more than 1 page. Your answer should be
of adequate depth and breadth, free of grammatical errors
and should present clearly your thoughts.
Upload your document on the
assignment link in Moodle.
b.
Write a small
one paragraph summary of a
news article. The paragraph should
include the link to the
original article. Post your paragraph
in the discussion forum provided on the Moodle page. The title of your post should clearly describe the topic of your paragraph.
Avoid duplication of information (check other posts in forum before you upload
your paragraph). In case of
duplication try to present
an alternative point of view of the same article. Alternatively, you may comment on other postings on the blog, and enhance the content of those postings.
Due: Wednesday September 14
a.
Give an example inspired from computing systems of a positive and negative right which conflict with each other. Discuss the issues involved.
b.
Find a news article on the web related
to privacy issues in computing
and prepare a small one paragraph summary.
Due: Wednesday September 28
a.
Suppose
that the Government enforces a new law that mandates to take a DNA sample from
every newborn and store this information on a computer database. Consider
the ethical aspects of this
law with an emphasis on privacy issues. Discuss both the benefits and negative
implications of the law.
b.
Find a news article on the web related
to freedom of speech issues in computing
and prepare a small one paragraph summary.
Due: Wednesday October 19
a.
Discuss how freedom of
speech on Internet has affected local community standards. Discuss both positive and negative
aspects.
b.
Find a news article on the web related
to intellectual property
and prepare a small one paragraph summary.
The term paper will be prepared with a collaboration of student groups consisting of 4-5 members. Each group is free to choose any paper topic related to ethics in computing. However, each group topic must be unique. The group members should identify interesting related subtopics concerning the main topic. Each group member will work on their subtopic in one section of the paper where they prepare an essay of at least 1000 words (and at most 3 pages). The group members will assemble the sections in a complete paper with an introduction section of 1 page that motivates the main topic and summarizes the subtopic essays. The paper should cite appropriately any referenced material from webpages or publications.
The groups have already been formed and can be found in Moodle. Each student belongs to a group with the identification “class X – group Y”, where X is either 1 or 2 and indicates the class section of the group members, and Y indicates the actual group ID. You can find your group identification when you go to Moodle and click “Student/Users” and then click the “Sections” dropdown menu. Members of the group can easily communicate with each other through email when choosing the “compose Email” option in Moodle and then selecting the group members.
Deadlines:
·
November
2
Topic of each group term-paper must be chosen and posted on the respective forum in Moodle. Each member of the group should indicate the subtopic of their section. The topic should be unique for each group.
·
November
9
First version of paper due: at least 500 words for each section, and includes a draft of the introduction.
·
November
28
Peer Reviews due: members of group x will review the paper of group x + 1 (group 9 will review group 1), and provide constructive comments that will help to improve the reviewed paper. The review must include comments for each section of the paper.
·
December
2
Final paper due: must be submitted and prepared according to the reviews (at least 1000 words for each section). It must include a response to the reviews, explaining how they handled in the final version the reviewer comments.
Each group will prepare a 5 minutes presentation in class related to the term paper. The presentation should start with a 1-slide introduction to the topic and the subtopics. Each group member will present one slide for their subtopic. During the presentation, the audience will provide comments for the talks.
Presentation PowerPoint template: Presentation.ppt