1. Department of Computer Science City College of New York City College of New York Spring 2006 Copyright © 2006 by Abbe Mowshowitz CSc 375 SOCIAL ISSUES IN COMPUTING

2. COURSE OVERVIEW A.Organization Readings assigned for each topic Two class sessions per topic Course reader available in CSc Dept. office (NAC 8/206) Read material before class Outline main points as study guide

3. COURSE OVERVIEW B.Grading Midterm 20% Final 40% Term project 30% Class participation 10% Exams cover readings & lectures. Short answer & essay questions.

4. COURSE OVERVIEW C.Project: individual Choose subject related to any topic covered in the course Subject should be specialized, i.e., not too broad Write a paper of 2500 words on the chosen subject

5. COURSE OVERVIEW C.Project (cont.) Include a bibliography following format described on last page of course reader Bibliography must contain at least three scholarly articles Cite references in the body of the paper when appropriate

6. COURSE OVERVIEW D. Aims and Content 1. Aims Raise awareness of computer professionals’ social responsibilities Present major arguments on controversial issues Provide conceptual tools for analyzing issues

7. COURSE OVERVIEW D. Aims and Content 2. Justification Engineering ethics is part of engineering curriculum ABET requires inclusion of ethical & social issues in computer science courses Pervasive influence of computers and importance of professionals’ decisions

8. COURSE OVERVIEW D. Aims and Content 3. Content Six parts Covering major contemporary social issues in computing

9. COURSE OVERVIEW D.3. Content a. Responsibilities of Computer Professionals Topic 1. Accountability for software and systems (proper functioning of control programs for medical instruments; safety of robots; fault tolerance of securities trading systems; installation of appropriate safeguards) Topic 2. Ethical behavior in organizations (norms of employee behavior; policies to promote ethical skills; ‘ethical space’; codes of ethics)

10. COURSE OVERVIEW D.3. Content b. Workplace and enterprise Topic 3. Jobs (employment projections; worker productivity; outsourcing) Topic 4. Working life (stress; workplace monitoring; rights and responsibilities of employers and employees) Topic 5. Virtual organization (characteristics; switching model; socio-technical foundations; implications)

11. COURSE OVERVIEW D.3. Content c. Constraints and Vulnerability Topic 6. Constraints on development and deployment of computer systems (classification of constraints; examples from industry) Topic 7. Vulnerability in the information society (critical infrastructure; threats; risk assessment; security vs. freedom)

12. COURSE OVERVIEW D.3. Content d. Privacy and Politics Topic 8. Computers and privacy (society vs. individual; nature of threat to personal privacy; fair information practice; legislation) Topic 9. Marketing and the Internet (profiling and targeting; tracking consumer behavior) Topic 10. Information technology and democracy (censorship; electronic voting and citizen participation; Internet governance)

13. COURSE OVERVIEW D.3. Content e. Digital Libraries and social services Topic 11. Digital libraries (citizenship and access to information; preservation of information; quality of information on the Web; information haves and have-nots) Topic 12. Computers in education and health care (distance learning; virtual classroom; apatient management; telemedicine)

14. COURSE OVERVIEW D.3. Content f. Human Relations Topic 13. Virtual communities (types of virtual communities; economics and politics of virtual communities) Topic 14. Human machines (humans vs. machines; challenge to human identity; living with robots)