(Last update: March 17 2009)
Week |
Date |
Topic |
Assigned Reading |
Events |
Presenters |
Notes. |
1 |
Jan 6 |
Introduction to course. Introduction to issues and problems. Benefits of computers. |
A Gift of Fire, Chapter 1. |
Syllabus handed out |
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Part I: Web
2.0 issues. |
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2 |
Jan 13 |
Ethical Theories. Intellectual Property and Copyright Law. Music and Video Sharing. |
AGF, 1.4., Ch.4. |
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3 |
Jan 20 |
Intellectual Property and Copyright Law ctd. The social web: Use and abuse of Facebook, Blogs, Wikis. |
AGF, 7.1, 7.2 |
Quiz #1 |
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4 |
Jan 27 |
The social web
ctd. Computer Crime. Hacking, online scams, and other computer crimes. |
AGF, Ch.5. |
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Part II:
Computers and Civil Liberties |
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5 |
Feb 3 |
Freedom of Speech:
Offensive speech, spam, sensitive information. |
AGF, Ch.3 |
|
Ali, Ivan. |
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6 |
Feb 10 |
Web Censorship. Anonymity and Access. Privacy: introduction. |
AGF, Ch.4.4-4.5, 7.3, 7.4.1-7.4.2 |
|
Danky Hung. |
Feb 17 is break |
7 |
Feb 24 |
Privacy: new threats and issues. Consumer data and privacy. Internet issues. Government use of and personal data. Surveillance technologies. |
AGF, 2.4-2.5, 3.1-3.2. |
Midterm |
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8 |
March 3 |
Privacy ctd. Technical methods of privacy protection. Philosophical and legal views of privacy. Policies for privacy protection; encryption and private communcation. |
AGF, 2.1-2.3 |
|
Alex, Jim, Andrew. |
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Part III: Computers in the Economy |
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9 |
March 10 |
Computers and the
Work environment. Telecommuting, Employee Monitoring. |
AGF, Chapter 6. |
Paper draft due. Comments due Sat. March 14. |
Hao Chun, Branden. |
|
10 |
March 17 |
Computers and
Employment. Offshoring and outsourcing. |
AGF, Ch. 6, Ch. 8. |
Final paper version due. |
Ryan Quiring. |
|
11 |
March 24 |
Computer errors
and failures. Responsibility for failures. |
AGF, Ch.8., Ch.9.1, 9.2 |
|
Vicky. |
Last quiz. |
12 |
March 31 |
Evaluating Technology. The scope of computer technology. Could there be
threats from intelligent machines? |
AGF, Ch.7.4, 7.5.
|
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No quiz. |
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April 7 |
Review for final exam. Attendance is optional. From 5:30 to about 6:30 pm,
in classroom. |
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April 9 |
Final Exam,
7-10 pm, AQ 3182. |
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Feb 17, mid-term
break. April 6, classes end