A survey course that reviews social issues and the ethical impact of information technology throughout the world. The course examines the policy issues that relate to the use of information technology, such as persona, privacy, rights of access, security, transborder information flow and confidentiality.
Notes on this section: This section of CMSC 304 will focus more broadly on social, legal, and ethical issues surrounding computing, its applications, and its effect on society. Topics may include the history of computing, intellectual property and ownership, security and privacy, free speech and censorship, environmental impact and green computing, accessibility, work issues including automation and working conditions, entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.
There will be assigned reading for each class, generally web articles and other excerpts. Students will be expected to contribute to an online class reading journal in which students reflect on (and discuss) the assigned reading, class discussions, and course topics.
Class participation in discussions and lectures is expected and will be a significant part of the grade. Your grade in this area will be based on attendance, attentiveness, preparedness, contributions to the in-class discussions, and assigned exercises and activities (some of which may have a written component to be completed after the class). Many of the in-class activities will be conducted in small groups or teams. Team grades will be factored into each student's overall grade, with an adjustment for students who show exceptional leadership/contribution or who fail to make a sustained contribution to the group activities.
There will be three written analysis papers (both individual and group-based), a midterm, a final research paper, and an oral presentation.
For extra credit, students may attend entrepreneurship events, lectures on relevant topics, or other preapproved events, and write a 1-2 page essay about their impressions and what they learned. Extra credit assignments should be polished and well written. Each assignment is worth extra credit equal to 1% of the overall class grade; up to two such assignments may be submitted (for a total of 3% extra credit).
Course grades will be based on the following weighting.| Online reading journal | 15% |
| Class participation, attendance, and in-class exercises | 30% |
| Midterm exam | 15% |
| Ethical analyses papers | 15% |
| In-class presentation | 5% |
| Final research paper | 20% |
| Extra credit | (up to 3%) |
All written assignments must be typed or very legibly handwritten, and must be proofread with reasonable attention to spelling, clarity, and grammar. It is disrespectful to the instructor to submit an illegible or poorly prepared assignment. Illegible assignments and assignments with large numbers of typographical and grammatical errors will be returned without a grade; to receive a grade, the assignment must be resubmitted in legible form by the next class period. Only one such resubmission will be permitted per student per semester.
Although this is not a writing class, success in any discipline requires the ability to effectively communicate one's thoughts. If you have difficulty writing, whether because English is not your first language, or because you haven't taken many writing classes in your undergraduate program, I highly suggest that you take advantage of UMBC's writing center, in the main library. (Phone: 410-455-3126. URL: http://umbc.edu/lrc/writing_center.html. Hours: Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.) This is a free tutoring service that will help you prepare essays and papers for any course.
Most assignments must be submitted in hardcopy, and late work is considered submitted when I receive it, which means that if you cannot hand it to me personally, you should email me the assignment as a placeholder, and then give me a hardcopy at the next opportunity. Please try to print your assignments early, since students sometimes have trouble with the library printers, and "The printer wasn't working" is not an acceptable excuse. At a minimum, for such an assignment to receive full credit, you must email it to me before the deadline and then provide a hardcopy as soon as possible. I reserve the right to assign a late penalty in these cases, particularly if this issue comes up repeatedly for a particular student.
In an effort to encourage good time management, I will generally grant one one-week extension per student, over the course of the semester, if requested in advance and with a clear explanation (other projects due, work-related travel, outside commitments). Last-minute requests for extensions will generally be denied, since the purpose of the extensions is to plan ahead for "crunch times."
Other than the case of an approved extension, the late penalty will apply unless there are extraordinary circumstances---such as an extended illness or death in the family (these cases must be documented and cleared with the instructor).
"By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the responsibilities of an active participant in UMBC's scholarly community in which everyone's academic work and behavior are held to the highest standards of honesty. Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and helping others to commit these acts are all forms of academic dishonesty, and they are wrong. Academic misconduct could result in disciplinary action that may include, but is not limited to, suspension or dismissal. To read the full Student Academic Conduct Policy, consult the UMBC Student Handbook, the Faculty Handbook, or the UMBC Policies section of the UMBC Directory."
Cheating in any form will not be tolerated. In particular, all submitted work must be your own work. You may discuss the projects and readings with anyone. In particular, students are encouraged to work in small groups (up to 5 students working together) to discuss the assignments. However, unless an assignment is explicitly a group-based assignment, the work you submit must be completed by yourself, independently of the other students in the group. That is, when you write the actual answers, you should be writing in your own words, not just copying down a group answer word for word. Furthermore, if you work in a study group, you must indicate this on your submission. If you do not include such a statement, the course staff will assume you worked entirely independently. Any indication of collaboration with other students in this case will be considered a violation of the academic honesty policy.
Written answers, including your contributions to the online reading journal, your research paper and all drafts, all individual written assignments, and the midterm exam, must be your own work. If you wish to quote a source (including assigned readings), you must do so explicitly at the point of the quotation, with proper citation. Plagiarism of any source, including another student's work, is not acceptable.
The same policy applies to group work: all group answers must be the work of the group, and no material should be taken from any other source (including other students or groups in the class) without proper quoting and citations.
Providing another student with answers, or helping them to cheat, is an equally serious violation of the principles of academic honesty. A student who commits such an offense is subject to the same penalties as the student who cheated.
Any violation of the academic honesty policy will result in a minimum penalty of a zero grade for that assignment. In addition, in order to pass the course, the student will be required to recomplete the assignment honestly. Consequences for more serious infractions of this policy, or for second offenses, may include, but are not limited to, receiving a failing grade in the course or being suspended or expelled from the university.