Ethical Issues in Software Design Computer Science 263

Chuck Huff	11:45 - 1:10Tues 12:45 - 2:05 Thurs HH 301	current as of 2/6/08
Holland Hall 303, 646-3169		Mail to the Prof
Office Hours: send email for an appointment.		Mail to the class

Links to Course Items

• STS Initial Worksheet for teams
• The methods page
• Links to advice on giving presentations.
• Links to teamwork advice

Welcome to the ethics course in the Computer science major. I plan for this class to introduce you to the real social and ethical issues that surround almost any software project. The point is not to ponder ethical conundrums, but to develop knowledge and skills that will help you address ethical issues as a software professional.

Readings

The primary text for this class is in process. Bill Frey, a philosopher and Jose Cruz, a computer scientist, both at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, and I have a text under contract with Jones & Bartlett (HFC in schedule). In process means that you will be seeing some chapters that are in their fourth or fifth draft (based on student feedback), other chapters that are hot off the wordprocessor. Your responses to the text will shape subsequent versions.

Two smaller books will also be assigned. Schuurman's book on Vocation (VOC in schedule) is included to help you think about what meaning you might find in your career. Collins & Pinch on The Golem (GOL in schedule) is a quick introduction to the science and technology studies literature. There will be a few additional short readings (e.g. on organizational climate and on teamwork) that I will hand out or point you to on the web.

Finally, you have a handbook of user research methods, from Mike Kuniavsky (OUE in schedule). This is a highly praised summary of the sorts of methods that are useful in determining user needs. You will find these methods to be essential to the performance of your team project, but also useful in many other roles you will play when you become a software designer.

The main event: Team STA Projects

The class will together be analyzing the ethical and social issues for several different clients. This is a complex website with multiple purposes, multiple users communities, and multiple content providers. You will be assigned to teams that will each undertake an independent socio-technical analysis of some portion of the project being developed. There will be a series of 6 products that your team will produce over the term, culminating in a written report and oral presentation of your recommendations to your contact person. Your grade on this project will be a combination of team member ratings of your work, a rating given by the client (in this case, your contact person), and the grade given by the instructor (that's me).

Concept Exams

There will be a take home concept exam that you will take as a team. The exam will be based on a set of basic and intermediate concepts that are covered in the various readings. You will show your understanding of these concepts by making a presentationin class to inform the rest of class about the concepts.. Presentations are due at the time noted on the schedule. Thus the exam is a team take-home, and you can use any resources to answer the questions. I will provide a detailed rubric that explains my expectations for complete answers.

Grading

Late Policy

Late papers will be reduced according to the following schedule: up to 24 hrs late = -5%, between 1 & 3 days late = -25%, 3 days to 1 week late = -50%. Papers beyond a week late will not be accepted. Grace is available if the lateness is the result of an oversight or accident on the part of one of the members of your group. Negotiation is possible based on hardship. It is your responsibility to keep track of time and to turn your paper in. I will not track you down. Lateness for a product, a class presentation, or an appointment for the client is very serious.

Disability Accomodation

If you have a documented disability that will impact your work in this class, please contact me to discuss your needs. Additionally, you will need to register with Student Disability Services located at the Academic Support Center. All such discussions will be confidential.

Schedule

Note that some unassigned days remain toward the end of the schedule. I am sure we will use them as we renegotiate the class schedule.

Disclaimer