East Carolina University
Department of Computer Science

CSCI 4900
Ethical and Professional Issues in Computer Science
Standard Syllabus

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

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:

Grade meanings