Handout 1

COMP/CSED 317/417: So ial & Ethi al Issues in Computing (Se tion 001)
Spring 2006 Course Information & Syllabus
Instru tor: R. I. Greenberg
Department of Mathemati al and Computer S ien es
Loyola University
820 N. Mi higan Ave., Chi ago, Illinois 60611-2147
Phone: (312)915-7981 Email: rig s.lu .edu Home page: http://www. s.lu .edu/~rig
Le tures: Thursday 4:15{6:45pm in 25EP-105.
Sometimes le ture notes or a summary may be available on the web. Other than that, if you have to miss a
lass, get notes from another student; mine are typi ally pie ed together from more than one pla e with a lot
of meta omments, whi h makes it hard for anybody but me to follow them. Also get opies of any missed
handouts (available on the web site). The handouts are numbered sequentially, starting with handout 0. On
handout 0, you need to ll in some information and return it to me promptly so you an be on the email list
and get a ess to the web site for the ourse.
OÆ e Hours: In LT-512E: Mon./Wed./Thurs. 2:30{3:30pm.
These are the guaranteed times to nd me ex ept as announ ed in advan e. You should also feel free to look
for me at other times or make appointments.
Course Obje tives: This ourse will fo us on some key areas related to omputing te hnologies in whi h
legal and ethi al issues ommonly arise, e.g., priva y, en ryption, freedom of spee h, intelle tual property,
omputer rime, omputer/software reliability and safety. Forays into broader areas of business law and
professional ethi s are also likely. The dis ussion of these subje ts will in lude both some philosophi al
perspe tives su h as utilitarianism versus deontologi al ethi s, and, also, on rete analysis of provisions of
existing and proposed law.
Prerequisites: None.
Textbook: Required: Sara Baase. A Gift of Fire: So ial, Legal, and Ethi al Issues for Computers and the

Internet . Prenti e-Hall, se ond edition, 2003.

Re ommended: Robert W. Emerson. Business Law (Barron's Business Review Series) . Barron's
Edu ational Series, 4th edition, 2004.
Course Requirements: The ourse grade will be based on the following ontributions: term paper 30%
midterm exam 20%, nal exam 30%, other assignments (in luding lass parti ipation) 20%
Homework: Only homework turned in by the due date is guaranteed to be graded. Any spe ial ir um-
stan es that ause diÆ ulty in meeting the deadlines should be brought to the attention of the instru tor
in advan e. Homework must be handed in at the beginning of lass, sin e solutions may be handed out in
the same lass on o asion. Homework turned in to my mailbox will generally not be graded, sin e I do not
he k the box ontinually and annot generally verify that homework was turned in before solutions were
distributed or dis ussed in lass. If you annot turn in homework in person, you should put it under the
door of my oÆ e.
Exams: The midterm exams, tentatively s heduled for week 8 and ??, are 75 minutes long. The nal exam
is s heduled for 4:15{6:15 on Thursday, May 11.
Collaboration: No ollaboration is permitted on exams. Other work is to be ompleted individually or
in small groups as spe ied. On written assignments, plagiarism, in luding unintentionally failing to ite
sour es properly is a serious violation. See http://www. s.lu .edu/~rig/ ourses/plagiarism.html.
Tentative Course Outline and Approximate S hedule:
Re ommended readings from the text are shown on a weekly basis. (When sele ted se tions or subse tions
are listed, it is assumed that you will in lude the introdu tion of the orresponding hapter or se tion.)
TBA

1. (1/19) Administrivia. Introdu tion.

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3. (2/2)
4. (2/9)
5. (2/16)
6. (2/23)
7. (3/2)
8. (3/16) Exam I on
9. (3/23)
10. (3/30)
11. (4/6)
12. (4/20)
13. (4/27)
14. (5/4)