CIS 601: Social and Ethical Issues in Computing
Description
Social, ethical, and legal issues facing computing professionals;
ethical principles; case studies.
Level, Credits, Class Time Distribution, Prerequisites
| Level |
Credits |
Class Time Distribution |
Prerequisites |
|
U G |
1 |
One 75-minute session;
discussions, presentations,
and formal debates |
CIS 560 |
Quarters Offered, General Information, Exclusions, Cross-Listings, etc.
- Wi, Sp
- Enrollment limit: 30
Objectives
- Be familiar with analyzing ethical issues facing
computing professionals;
- Be familiar with analyzing legal issues facing computing professionals;
- Be familiar with selected issues in the social impact of computing;
- Be familiar with making oral presentations and participation in debates;
- Be familiar with constructively discussing controversial topics;
- Be familiar with writing a paper that expresses and defends an opinion.
Texts
- K.W. Boyer, Ethics and computing, IEEE Computer Society Press.
| Relationship to ABET Criterion 3 |
Relationship to CSE Program Objectives |
| a |
b |
c |
d |
e |
f |
g |
h |
i |
j |
k |
| X |
X |
|
X |
X |
XXX |
XXX |
XXX |
XX |
XXX |
XX |
|
| 1a |
1b |
1c |
2a |
2b |
3a |
3b |
3c |
4a |
4b |
| |
|
|
|
X |
XXX |
XXX |
XXX |
XXX |
XXX |
|
Typical Topics
| No. of Weeks |
Topics |
|
1 |
Ethics in general, Rational Discussion |
|
1 |
Ethics for computing professionals; ACM code |
|
1 |
Privacy in general |
|
1 |
Privacy at the work site |
|
1 |
Encription issues and politics |
|
1 |
Obligations to users, employers, co-workers, and society. |
|
2 |
Intellectual property rights |
|
1 |
Conflicts of interest |
|
1 |
Open source software movement |
Grading Plan
| Papers |
40% |
| Oral Presentations |
40% |
| Class Participation |
25% |
Preparer Information and Date:
Syllabus prepared by John Josephson, last modified April 30, 1999.