CS4345-SQ97-term paper
Peter A. Freeman

"Computerization in Society"

Term Paper

A critical skill for a technologist in today's world is the ability to study a complex subject in a coherent and organized manner. This skill must be accompanied, however, by the ability to communicate to others the essence of what is learned in a study. When the subject of study is loosely defined and there is no "correct" answer (as is usually the case with respect to impacts), the process of study and the process of communication are often intertwined.

A major piece of your work in this class will be a term-long study of a subject and communication of what you have learned via a paper at the end of the term. In effect, within the limitations of time, effort, and so on, you will become an "expert" this quarter in one particular subject.

TASK DEFINITION

Assume you are working for a major information technology company such as Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, ATT, or one of a hundred other companies. You have been with the company for five years and have just been chosen for a select program to train future executives for the company. For the next two years you will spend several months each on a number of assignments around the company.

Your first assignment is to corporate headquarters, as a junior staff member in the office of the CEO. Imagine that she is on an industry committee that is exploring the impacts of a particular technology. She will be making a report before this committee on one of the topics listed below. Your CEO has asked you to prepare a paper giving the background information needed for her presentation and to summarize your two-month part-time study in a fifteen minute presentation to her.

Because the industry committee is debating a number of aspects of this technology, your CEO's assignment has been framed in the form of a proposed resolution that the committee is being asked to adopt. Her task (and thus, yours) is to present a convincing case for or against the resolution. In the spirit of a balanced consideration, however, she must develop a balanced and rational argument

Here are the resolutions you may choose from:

A. Resolved: That congress should pass legislation abolishing all patent protection for software, relying solely on copyright protection.

B. Resolved: That the federal government should have "back door" access to any encryption schemes.

C. Resolved: That there should be free access by all to the Internet and World-Wide Web.

D. Resolved: That software developers should be held personally accountable for any physical or economic damage resulting from errors they caused.

E. Resolved: That electronic communication, on balance, is a great asset and benefit to human communication.

F. Resolved: That private sector, or government, databases should be restricted to a single well defined purpose (e.g. maintaining criminal records or maintaining credit history) and it should not be permitted to link databases.

G. Resolved: That the positive economic impacts of automation on the lives of everyone will far outweigh the negative impacts and that an economic utopia is just around the corner.

You may choose another topic of your own definition or modify one of these, subject to instructor approval.

SPECIFICATIONS

For the term paper, you are to write a 15-20 page position paper on one of the resolutions in the above list. You should design your paper as if it were a report written for the CEO of your company. Your paper must include the following topics:

• A summary of the ethical and social issues that fall under the resolution.

• A set of examples drawn from real incidents to give the committee a more tangible sense of those examples.

• A clear discussion and explanation of your position with supporting evidence as to why this position is beneficial to society at large.

• An analysis of how the ethical issues raised in this area affect individual computer professionals.

• A discussion of how this proposed legislation will affect your company. If different, clearly differentiate between how it is good for society at large, but may be good or bad for the company.

You must support your position with citations, quotes, and references to accepted authorities.

SCHEDULE

April 17	Initial choice of topic	1-paragraph description
May 15	Précis	1 page
May 29	Initial draft of report	5 pages minimum
June 6	Paper due for seniors
June 9	Paper due