Catalog entry

Senior Assessment (1)
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.

Class meeting frequency

Class meetings: 150 minutes per week.

Course summary

This course provides various aspects of issues in relation to ethics, moral and legal for the use of computers as a stand-alone and networked environment. The course will also provide cultural and some international perspectives on computer ethics. The students are required to complete several assignments, a team debate project and a late mid-term examination.

Textbook

G. Stamatellos, Computer Ethics: A Global Perspective, 2007, ISBN: 9780763740849.

Other Required Material

M.J. Quinn, Ethics for the Information Age, 3rd Ed, ISBN-10: 0321375262, Addison-Wesley, 2006.

Topics

• Computer ethics and issues
• Computer crime and security
• Privacy and anonymity
• Intellectual property
• Social impacts
• Case studies: business, education, health, entertainment, politics, etc.

Course Outcomes

• Understand ethical, moral and legal issues of computer use in stand-alone and networked environments.
• Issues such as IP, copyright, legislative and international views and cultural perspectives on computer ethics.
• Use several case studies and understand the relativity of these issues.
• Apply some these principles in practice, where possible.

Grading

Grading will be based on several assignments (60%), debate (10%) and a late midterm exam (30%). Absence for more than four classes will lead to an F grade in the course.

Grade cutoffs are 90% for an A, 80% for a B, 70% for a C and 60% for a D.