Introduction

As part of this course, you will be responsible for completing a research project (which will include a report approximately 20 pages long and a presentation approximately 15 minutes long) which addresses some current debate in the area of information processing and its social implications. Your work should

1. present a significant problem in the integration of computing into society;
2. describe the current state of knowledge related to this problem (with supporting evidence); and
3. suggest two or more options for dealing with the problem.

You must work in a group of 3 or 4 students. You may choose your own topic as long as the instructor approves it. Some suggestions to get you thinking:

• Censorship vs. first amendment rights on the Internet: are restrictions on content necessary and/or appropriate? Should they be mandatory or voluntary?
• The National Information Infrastructure: do the positive social implications outweigh the negative?
• Information technology in the medical field: do the conveniences and promises of a national medical database outweigh the possible privacy concerns?
• Electronic banking: do the conveniences outweigh the privacy and security concerns?
• Computers and children's education: are the promises of a better education with the use of computers accurate? How can they be balanced with financial concerns, concerns about student access to inappropriate material on the Internet?
• Military applications of computing: are they worth the dangers of autonomous decision making?
• Uses of computers in law enforcement: do the benefits outweigh the negatives?
• Intellectual property protection: what is the appropriate level of protection for computer software and/or material on the Internet?
• Computers in the workplace: what have computers done to the quality of work in a specific employment setting? Are they "deskilling" the workforce or providing more interesting jobs for workers? Do computers in the workplace affect the balance of power between employer and employee?
• Information technology in the political process: does the positive potential of computerized polling, voting etc. (including more citizen involvement) outweighs the risks of a computerized democracy?
• Computers and developing countries: will computers narrow or widen the power gap between rich and poor nations?
• Computers and the environment: will the potential for computers to reduce the need for paper, gas consumption for commuting, etc. make more of a positive environmental impact than the potentially damaging effects on the environment of the manufacturing process or the health threats of working with computers?
• Cryptography: do the arguments for regulation outweigh those against?
• Ethics codes and licensing for computer professionals: how does CS compare to other professions? Should there be a licensing process required for computer professionals? Should there be a required code of ethics?

The delivery of your paper will be broken down into the following subparts:

Group sign-up and preliminary topic: Thursday, September 16

Outline and partial bibliography: Thursday, September 23

Draft 1: Thursday, September 30

Presentations: Monday, October 11 and Thursday, October 14.

Final Paper: Thursday, October 14

You must use a variety of sources, online articles, discussion groups, journal articles, books, magazine articles, personal interviews, government documents, etc. Your final handin should be a folder that includes the final report, and all other material, which has been a part of the incremental handin (first draft and tutor comments and partial bibliography submitted earlier in the term).

Each group will give a presentation during the last week of class. Your group should devise a format to cover the controversy surrounding your topic as well as important contextual background information. Your presentation could take many forms; using a case study example, role playing, a trial format or other creative approaches or a more traditional presentation are all acceptable as long as you have worked out an effective way to present your topic to the class. All members of the group must participate in the presentation.

The structure of the paper should include:

• an introduction, which presents the objective of the paper;
• a body, that discusses the issues; and
• a conclusion, which summarizes the discussion.

The flow of the paper should:

• clearly and succinctly identify the issues,
• develop logical and comprehensive arguments that are well supported, and
• present a well-reasoned conclusion reinforcing the main idea.

There must be a set of references listed at the end of the essay. Each reference must be cited in the body.