CMSC 304: Ethical and Social Issues in Information Technology
Fall 2014

Important Web Pages

Class Schedule Page
Class Piazza Page

Students are responsible for information that is on these pages and covered in class. The schedule page will include information about assignments and topics covered in class, and the Piazza discussion forum is how we will turn in reading journals and have some class discussions.

Instructor

Dr. Cynthia Matuszek
cmat@umbc.edu
ITE 331
Office hours: Tuesday 2:00-3:00PM, Wednesday 1:00-2:00pm, or by appointment.

Teaching Assistants:
Zhanna Magda, iw70930@umbc.edu — Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 10:00am-11:00am; ITE 240
Kevin Chu, kchu2@umbc.edu — Office hours: Monday 1:00pm-3:00pm; ITE 240

Wait lists and permission to register: Please see the department policy.

Schedule

The course meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:00pm-8:15pm in ENGR 231.
The course schedule is subject to change.

Catalog Description

Catalog Description: 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.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be able to:
  1. Define ethical reasoning as it relates to computer science, and apply ethical principles to the profession of computer science.
  2. Understand key legal concepts related to computing and its use, including patent protection, digital copyright, cybersecurity, and software licensing.
  3. Understand the ACM Code of Ethics and the Software Engineering Code of Ethics and how these documents relate to theoretical ethical principles and professional and social responsibilities.
  4. Be able to identify and differentiate between ethical, social, and legal issues, and recognize their importance for CS professionals.
  5. Analyze cases and issues using ethical principles, professional standards, legal standards, economic consequences, and social effects.
  6. Given an issue or problem of ethical, social, legal, and/or economic relevance to the computing profession, analyze the relevant information, formulate an opinion, defend this opinion clearly in a written document or oral presentation, and understand and explain opposing perspectives.

Additional Course Information

Prerequisites

  1. CMSC 202 and permission of the course instructor. Preference will be given to CS majors and minors.

Required Textbook

Sara Baase, A Gift of Fire (4/e), Prentice Hall, 2008 (ISBN: 0132492679).

Communication

As you will learn, I am a strong believer in two-way communication. I expect all students to participate in classroom discussions, both by asking questions and by expressing opinions. In return, I will make myself available to answer questions, listen to concerns, and talk to any student about topics related to the class (or not). I welcome your feedback throughout the semester about how the course is going.

In addition to regular office hours, I maintain a semi-open-door policy: you should feel to stop by to ask questions, or just say hello, whenever my door is open (which it generally will be unless I am out of the office, in a meeting, or deep in thought). If the door is partially ajar, feel free to interrupt if you have a pressing concern.  If the door is closed, please do not knock unless it is a genuine emergency.

Coursework and Grading

There will be assigned reading for each class from the course textbook, as well as additional articles and 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 three such assignments may be submitted (for a total of 3% extra credit). Course grades will be based on the following:

Class participation, attendance, and in-class exercises 30%
Online reading journal 10%
Midterm exam 20%
Ethical analyses 15%
In-class presentation(s) 5%
Final research paper 20%
Extra credit (up to 3%)

Grading Policy

In general, for written assignments, the approximate distribution of how your grade will be allocated is:
  1. 80% for content (well thought out and well reasoned discussion and analysis).
  2. 10% for readability: correct grammar and spelling, readable formatting or handwriting.
  3. 10% for elegance: well expressed thoughts in a well structured essay.
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://www.umbc.edu/lrc/writing center.htm. 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.

Late Policy

Work is expected to be turned in on time. In general, assignments are due at 9pm on the due date, typically a day or two before the next class. Late work will be assessed a penalty as follows: Most assignments must be submitted online; not having internet access at the time it is due is not an excuse. If the turnin service is down or you have other problems, you should email me the assignment as a placeholder. Depending on the problem, 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).

Academic Honesty

Make sure you have read and understood the Class Academic Honesty Policy. I take academic integrity very seriously, and you are responsible for knowing what that means.