Comp 317/417: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues in Computing

Important: Mailing List

You must explicitly subscribe to the mailing list for this course. You are expected to be familiar with the information exchanged on the mailing list. In particular, any official class announcements will be made only through the mailing list. Please be sure to visit the mailing list archives for announcements made prior to your subscribing.

General Info

• Class schedule: Wednesday 17:45-21:45 (suggested breaks 19:00-19:10 and 20:30-20:40), first 8-week session (30 Aug, 6 Sep, 13 Sep, 20 Sep, 27 Sep, 4 Oct, 11 Oct, and 18 Oct)
• Class location: Water Tower Campus, Room LT-412 (lab)
• Instructor contact information
• Office hour
• Mailing list
• Catalog description: 317 417
• Prerequisites: none
• Ground rules (including policies on late submissions and grade disputes)
• Required text(s). (The official university policy is to recommend the campus bookstore, where I have submitted book requests for this class. I have also submitted book requests to Beck's Book Store. You may choose to purchase your books at the campus bookstore or at a provider of your choosing.)
  • Halbert and Ingulli, CyberEthics (2nd ed.), Thomson/South-Western 2005, ISBN 0-324-26105-5
• Recommended text.
  • Baase, A Gift of Fire (2nd ed.), Prentice-Hall 2003, ISBN 0-13-008215-5
• Grading (final):
  • Two papers (individual): 30%
  • Three quizzes (individual): 30%
  • In-class activities (individual and group): 10%
  • In-class final group presentation: 25%
  • Mailing list participation: 5%
  • Late projects cannot be accepted without severe penalties.
  • You may talk about the projects with your fellow students, but you must not share code or any other written material.

Objectives

• Familiarity with current social, legal, and ethical issues in computing
• An understanding of conceptual social, legal, and ethical frameworks
• Ability to apply the frameworks to the issues