East Carolina University
Department of Computer Science
CSCI 4900
Ethical and Professional Issues in Computer Science
Standard Syllabus
1 credits |
Prepared by Venkat Gudivada, June 2018 |
Catalog entry
To be taken by CSCI seniors in final semester. Departmental
assessment and professional, ethical, legal, security, and social
issues and responsibilities related to the practice of computer
science.
Course summary
The impact of computing innovation touches every field and
people in all walks of life. It has transformed industries ranging
from taxi services to car manufacturing and autonomous
navigation. The computing discipline is one of the greatest
engines of opportunity as well as the most disruptive technology
transforming entire industries beyond recognition.
It is critical for computing professionals to be knowledgeable
about the impact of computing on individuals, organizations, and
society so that they can make decisions that are ethical and
socially responsible. Furthermore, given the rapid advances in the
field, computing professionals need to stay abreast of the
developments to remain current and relevant.
Course topics
-
Ethics and the professions
-
Ethics and ethical analysis
-
Social context of computing
-
ACM and IEEE codes of ethics and professional conduct
-
Anonymity, security, privacy, and civil liberties
-
Cyberspace, cyberethics, and social networking
-
ETS Major Field Test (MFT)
-
Intellectual property rights, patents, and software piracy
-
Computing systems risks and liabilities
-
Computer crimes and forensics
-
Computing innovations and entrepreneurship
-
Continuing education and professional development; transitioning from a student to computing professional
Student learning outcomes
-
Determine the local and global impacts of a proposed computing
system on individuals, organizations, and society at large.
-
Apply the relevant ACM and IEEE codes of ethics and professional
conduct principles to a given situation in the development,
testing, maintenance, and operation of a computing system.
-
Elaborate on the legal implications of issues related copyright, intellectual property, patents, software piracy.
-
Describe at a conceptual level the current industry practices
that address security, privacy, and identity theft issues in
computing systems.
Textbook
Migga Kizza (2017), Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age (6th ed.).
Springer: New York, NY. ISBN: 978-3319707112.
Other required material
- Claire Ingram, Robin Teigland, and Emmanuelle
Vaast. "Solving the Puzzle of Crowdfunding: Where Technology
Affordances and Institutional Entrepreneurship Collide." In:
2014 47th Hawaii International Conference on System
Sciences (2014), pp. 4556-4567.
- Brian M. Gaff and Alyssa Harvey Dawson. "Working with Your
Legal Department." In: Computer 46.9 (2013), pp. 17-19. ISSN:
0018-9162.
- Brian M. Gaff and Greg Hendershott. "So, You Want to Start a
Software Company?" In: Computer 46.10 (2013), pp. 17-19. ISSN:
0018-9162.
- Vladimir Getov. "Computing Laws: Origins, Standing, and
Impact." In: Computer 46.12 (2013), pp. 24-25. ISSN:
0018-9162.
- Holger M. Kienle and Hausi A. Muller. "Legal aspects of web
systems." In: 2013 15th IEEE International Symposium on Web
Systems Evolution (WSE) (2013), pp. 97-102. ISSN:
2160-6153.
- Brian M. Gaff and Karl P. Fryzel. "Starting a Business:
Which Entity Structure Is Best for You?" In: Computer 45.10
(2012), pp. 10-12.
- Iheanyi Nwankwo, Stefanie Hanold, and Nikolaus Forgo. "Legal
and ethical issues in integrating and sharing databases for
translational medical research within the EU." In: 13th IEEE
International Conference on BioInformatics and BioEngineering
(2012), pp. 428-433.
- M.J. de C. Henshaw, C.E. Siemieniuch, and
M.A. Sinclair. "Aiding Designers, Operators and Regulators to
Deal with Legal and Ethical Considerations in the Design and Use
of Lethal Autonomous Systems." In: 2013 Fourth International
Conference on Emerging Security Technologies 0 (2010),
pp. 148-152.
- Wen Ling-Yu and Chen Li-Chen. "The Factors Influencing the
Contribution of Continuing Education toward Workforces —
Professional Development and Human Capital Investment." In:
International Conference on Genetic and Evolutionary Computing
(2010), pp. 477-480.
Grading
Course grade is based on the following components:
Activity |
Weight (%) |
Assignments (paper-and-pencil) |
60 |
Midterm exam |
20 |
Final exam |
20 |
Grade meanings
Grade |
Meaning |
A |
Achievement substantially exceeds basic course expectations |
A− |
|
B+ |
|
B |
Achievement exceeds basic course expectations |
B− |
|
B+ |
|
C |
Achievement adequately meets basic course expectations |
C− |
|
D+ |
|
D |
Achievement falls below basic course expectations |
D− |
|
F |
Failure – achievement does not justify credit for course |