MATH/CMSC 350: ETHICAL ISSUES IN MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE
Professor, office, and hours:
Dr. Robert P. Webber
East Ruffner 332, MF 2:00 3:30, T 1:30 3:00, and
by appointment or coincidence
Phone 395-2192
Email webberrp@longwood.edu
Text: Tavani, Ethics
& Technology, Second Editon. Wiley, 2007.
Goals for the course:
·
Understand major ethical theories
·
Be able to identify
and analyze ethical dilemmas that arise in applications of mathematics and
computer science
·
Be able to
describe and analyze the ethical implications of applying ones academic
knowledge of mathematics or computer science in professional situations
·
Be able to lead a
class analysis and discussion about an ethical dilemma
Description of the course: The course description is given in the
college catalog. This is a writing and a speaking intensive course.
Tentative outline and schedule: All chapter references are to Tavanis
book.
Week
|
Dates
|
Sections and topics
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
Jan 15 - 18 |
Chapters 1,2: Introduction; ethics and morality |
|
2 |
Jan 22 25 |
Chapter 2: Major ethical theories |
|
3 |
Jan 28 - Feb 1 |
Chapter 3: Logical arguments and critical thinking skills |
|
4 |
Feb 4 8 |
Chapter 4: Professional ethics |
|
5 |
Feb 11 15 |
Chapters 5, 6: Privacy issues; security |
|
6 |
Feb 18 22 |
Chapters 6, 7: Security; cybercrime |
|
7 |
Feb 25 29 |
Chapter 8: Property issues (copyrights, patents) |
|
8 |
Mar 3 7 |
Chapter 8: Property issues (copyleft, patenting algorithms) |
|
|
|
Spring break
|
|
9 |
Mar 17-21 |
Chapter 9: Commerce and speech issues |
|
10 |
Mar 24 28 |
Chapters 10, 11: Social issues |
|
11 |
Mar 31 Apr 4 |
Notes: Uses and misuses of statistics; math education issues |
|
12 |
Apr 7 11 |
Student presentations of ethical cases to the class |
|
13 |
Apr 14 18 |
Student presentations of ethical cases to the class |
|
14 |
Apr 21 25 |
Student presentations of ethical cases to the class |
|
15 |
TBA |
Final exam |
Course requirements:
Three papers @15% . . . . . . .
45%
Quizzes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10%
Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%
Class participation . . . . . . . . . 10%
Final exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
Class presentation: Each student will present an ethical dilemma
and lead the class in a discussion and analysis of it according to guidelines
presented in class. Scenarios may be
taken from books, from web sites suggested by the teacher, or students may
develop their own. Presentations will
last approximately 15 minutes per student, and we will count on doing three
presentations per period.
Each student will sign up in advance for a date and time slot. The student is responsible for distributing
an announcement of the topic and a short reading list to the entire class the
class day before the scheduled presentation. The reading list should give a text page
describing the scenario and/or articles, newspaper clippings, and the like
about the topic. The rest of the
students are responsible for reading the items on the list before the class
presentation. The teacher will assist
you with duplicating and putting items on reserve in the library as
needed. A grading rubric for your class
presentation will be distributed.
Quizzes: These will be brief and will be given at the
beginning of class on the first day scheduled for the chapter. The quizzes are designed to test whether you
have read the chapter before we discuss it.
Class participation: You are expected to actively participate in
the discussions during class. This will
not be a lecture course. Much of the
material will be taught through the class discussions.
Papers: Three papers will be assigned in this
course. Each paper will be given a due
date. Your paper will be due by the beginning
of class on the assigned day. A paper
that is late for any reason will be penalized 25%
for each class day it is late.
The first paper will be on the major ethical theories and will be
assigned at the end of Chapter 2. The
second paper will concern property rights and will be assigned at the end of
Chapter 8. The third paper will be a writeup of your class presentation, describing the scenario
and your analysis of it. You should
include your thoughts about what went right and what went wrong in your
presentation. It will be due by the
beginning of class in the period after your presentation.
For a grading rubric, click
here. For the departmental style
sheet, showing how to do citations, click
here.
Attendance: Expected at all classes. Class discussion is a very important part of
this course, and good discussion is not possible with participants. Your attendance is important for the success
of the entire class, as well as for your success.
Honor code: The teacher subscribes to the Longwood honor
code and assumes that you do, too. All
graded work in this course is closed book unless specifically authorized
otherwise. Any infraction of the honor
code will be dealt with harshly. In
particular, conviction of an honor offense involving this course will mean an
automatic course grade of F, in addition to any penalties imposed by the