CS 401/501 Contemporary Issues in CS

Total Credits: 1 cr

Course Coordinator: Axel Krings

URL: http://www2.cs.uidaho.edu/~krings/CS401/index.html

Current Catalog Description: Ethical, legal, and intellectual property issues; current research topics; and other issues of importance to the professional computer scientist. Graded P/F.

Textbook: None.

References: Reference material is often provided by the speaker and is specific to the presented topic. The course web site shows the speaker schedule as well as important information regarding class participation and how to attain a passing grade.

Course Goals: The course provides students with a greater understanding of computer science through discussion of social and ethical issues surrounding the work of a CS professional, as well as the limits and impacts of computing. Students are exposed to a variety of research topics and current research activities in the community and the department.. In addition, the class aims to prepare the student for a professional career in general, addressing topics such as job hunting, retirement planning, and workplace issues.

Prerequisites by Topic: Senior standing, so that the students will be able to understand the technical aspects of various talks.

Major Topics Covered in the Course:

• Privacy, security, legal issues ( 3 hours) (SP4, SP6)
• Computing ethics, IEEE and ACM code of conduct ( 2 hours) (SP4)
• Privacy, security, legal issues ( 3 hours) (SP4, SP6)
• Social implications of use and misuse of computing systems (1 hour) (SP2, SP4, SP5)
• EO, AA, and workplace issues (bias, harassment) ( 2 hours) (SP4)
• Bioinformatics ( 2 hours)
• Software engineering, simulation, and formal methods applications ( 2 hours)
• Job hunting and retirement planning ( 1 hours)
• Current research trends within the department ( 2 hours)

Laboratory projects (specify number of weeks on each): None.

Estimated Curriculum Category Content:

Area	Core	Advanced	Area	Core	Advanced
Algorithms			Data Structures
Software Design			Prog. Languages
Computer Arch			Other		1 cr

Oral and Written Communications: Each student is required to write one essay on social issues and one essay on ethical issues in computing. The essay must clearly present the issue being discussed using a writing style appropriate for an audience of peers (other CS students). Each student must write two reviews of attended talks. Some of the speakers in this seminar are student speakers or speakers that would like feedback on their talks. These types of talks are specially marked in the online schedule and announced as such by the instructor. The student must complete a speaker review sheet and submit a summary for each talk they review.

Social and Ethical Issues: Each student is required to write one essay on social issues and one essay on ethical issues in computer science.

Theoretical Content: Varies by speaker and talk.

Problem Analysis: The students have to identify social and ethical issues within CS and clearly express these issues and their opinions. In addition, the identification of key points within each talk is necessary to complete the talk summaries.

Solution Design: None.

Course Outcomes: The following list documents the course outcomes and crossreferences them to the BSCS program outcomes. The letter at the beginning of each reference identifies the program outcome supported. The numbers sequentially identify the course outcome for this course. After completing CS zzz a student should know or be able to:

• Communicate awareness of the existence of professional organizations like the IEEE and ACM. (e-1)
• Communicate awareness of the existence of professional standards for ethical conduct. (e-2)
• Understand that ethical standards vary across cultures and organizations. (e-3)
• Understand that computing technology is changing cultures and organizations. (e-4)
• Understand the computing technology creates and is accompanied by social responsibility. (e-5)
• Speak or write about ethical dilemmas presented by computing technology. (f-1)
• Speak or write about social issues created by new computing technologies. (f-2)
• Discuss the impact of computing technologies on ethical concerns and social issues. (g-1)
• Document and discuss and how system design and implementation choices will affect ethical mores and social responsibility. (g-2)
• Critique, by writing or speech, the presentation of new research ideas or technological advances. (g-3)
• That professional organizations exist to promote fair, ethical, and socially responsible uses of computing technology. (h-1)
• Understand that professional computing societies are voluntary and have established and expected codes of conduct. (h-2)
• Understand that professional societies provide support for life-long education and commitment to responsible actions. (h-3)
• Critique, by writing or speech, the presentation of new research ideas or technological advances. (i-1)
• Provide examples of how computing technology can be applied to the natural and/or social sciences. (k-1)