WEEK 10: Computers in the Workplace – chapter 6 Gift of Fire Oct. 27/28
Mon/Tues chapter 6
Topics &
Questions a) Do computers increase efficiency in the workplace? Do they eliminate jobs? a) Should employers monitor their employees? How does it affect productivity and morale? what about privacy rights? i.
details of performance, e.g. keystrokes, customer service calls, and retail clerk operations ii.
location and performance of scattered employees iii.
e-mail, blogging, & Web use iv.
could add discussion of cell phone use while driving for work purposes – some work places are telling their employees not to do it because they’re getting sued when the employee is in an accident… b) Is telecommuting affecting the physical population distribution (people moving back to the small towns)? Is this good or bad/why? c) The impact on employment – job losses as well as the creation of new jobs; changing skill levels; the impact of offshoring; getting a job – do you know employers search for info about you online? d) Employee crime – embezzlement easier to do and easier to hide with computers; many cases of information theft and computer sabotage
STS
Component a) How computers and technology affect the workplace, the employee. Are employees more
productive or is their morale affected by the monitoring technologies? b) The affect on population distribution – how that is affecting society, the small towns, family c) The affect of large companies and mergers on the small, family owned businesses; more and more small businesses that operate on the Web – how is that affecting our communities?
Possible
Assignments * Of the 10 that I have, here are a couple: a) Exercise 6.18 page 345: Using the Freedom of Information Act and similar state laws, some people have requested the e-mail of governors, legislators, and past and current presidents. These requests raise the issue of whether the e-mail of government employees and elected officials is personal conversation or official government documents. What do you think? Why? b) Assignment 6.22 page 345: The ECPA does not prohibit universities from reading student e-mail on its computers, just as it does not prohibit businesses from reading employee email on company computers. Find your university’s policy about access to student computer accounts and e-mail (on university computers) by professors and university administrators. Describe and review the policy. Tell what parts you think are good and what should change. c) Class Discussion Exercise 6.28 page 346: In the first few years of the 21 st century, only about 28% of students earning college degrees in computer science were women. This is down from a peak of 38% in 1985. Why do you think relatively few women major in computer science? Have you observed or experienced any behavior in classes, computer labs, or at work that would discourage women? What characteristics or images of the field might discourage women?

d) Class Discussion Exercise 6.29 page 346: Walking through a public park on their way back to work after lunch, four employees of a large Internet services company begin clowning around and singing silly and raunchy songs. One of them captures the scene on his cell phone and later posts it on a major video site. In the video, the company logo is clearly visible on the T-shirts the employees are wearing. The company fires the employee who posted the video and has not yet decided on action against the others.
Discuss arguments for and against the firing. What disciplinary action, if any, is appropriate for the other employees?
WEEK 10: Evaluating & Controlling Technology – chapter 7 Gift of Fire Oct. 29/30
Wed/Thur chapter 7
Topics &
Questions a) Evaluating information on the Web – Wikipedia, Citizendium, Yahoo! Answers b) Writing, thinking & deciding – are computers dumbing us down? words left out of dictionary on MS Word; spell check doesn’t catch grammatical errors; does the Web encourage plagiarism? c) Computers & community – less human interaction? Internet addiction; effects of virtual communities; effects of video games, YouTube videos (of crimes), movie special effects, etc. – do these desensitize us to violence? d) Neo-Luddite view of computers, technology, & human needs e) Making decisions about technology – intelligent machines & superintelligent humans, or the end of the human race? Movies like: The Island, IRobot, and others f) Evaluating current technology with home computers – what to look for when shopping for a computer: hard drives, RAM, processors, etc.; how knowledge of these things will help you become a smarter consumer, will enable you to take advantage of future technologies, and be able to integrate the latest technologies with your system.
STS
Component a) Do communications via computers result in less human interaction? Are there anti-social
effects of computer usage? Is there such a thing as Internet addiction – what effect does it
have on society? Do all the virtual communities and social networking sites help young
people deal with problems or do they amplify their issues and make them worse? b) Does the violence from video games, videos posted online, movie special effects, etc. desensitize us and make it more appealing to young, troubled kids? Is there a relationship between the violence they see to the increase in school shootings and violent crimes committed by teens and kids? Is there even an increase in violence, or do we just hear about it more readily because of the ease and speed at which we receive news these days? c) There are some obvious benefits of technology to disabled people, but what about other, ordinary people? Does all our technology have a more negative effect on society, or positive effect? d) How does society effect what new technology comes out? If the first music players were not that popular, we probably wouldn’t see so many different kinds of MP3 players, iTunes and other music sources on the Web wouldn’t be so popular, maybe there would be no DRM restrictions on music, etc. e) What are some skills, traditions, and/or social conventions that have been, or might soon be, lost because of computer and Internet technology?

f) Natural Sciences Component: With AI, the study of neurons and electronic signals of the human brain could be applied to technology and lead to intelligent computers some day.
Some fear this could lead to computers that think and operate on their own, which would ultimately result in the end of the human race. Do you think this is possible? Likely?
Class
Exercises a) Evaluate a science fiction movie set in the near future that has some realistic aspects.
Describe a computer or technology in the movie that does not currently exist. How
possible or likely, do you think, the technology is likely to happen? How possible does
the storyline seem to be? What were the negative aspects of the technology? How about
good ones? If the movie had any sort of negative results from this technology, how could
they have been prevented? Is there anything from the movie that has come to be since the
movie was made? i.
The Island, IRobot, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Gattaca, Bladerunner, Terminator,
The Lawnmower Man, Johnny Mnemonic, Total Recall, Armageddon, Deep
Impact, Independence Day, Jurassic Park, The Matrix, Minority Report, Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Truman Show, others?
Possible
Assignments * Of the 24 that I have, here are a couple: a) Exercise 7.10 page 394: Give an example of a bad decision or poor work that you can attribute to mental laziness encouraged by computers (one not discussed in the book). b) Exercise 7.12 page 394: Some people lament the fact that young sales clerks cannot add up bills, compute (or look up) sales tax, and calculate change when the sales terminals are not functioning. To what extent have electronic calculators and computer systems destroyed our ability to do arithmetic ourselves? What are the advantages of using a calculator? What are the disadvantages of reduced arithmetic skills? Should elementary schools allow children to use calculators? Should they teach children to use calculators?
Why? c) Exercise 7.23 page 395: In the mid-1990s, approximately 70% of the computers connected to the Internet were in the United States. Does this suggest a growing gap between the “have” and “have-not” nations? Give your reasons. Try to find out what percentage of computers or Web sites are in the U.S. now. d) Exercise 7.26 page 396: Which of the Luddite criticisms of computers listed in Section
7.4.1 do you consider the most valid and significant? Why? e) Assignment 7.32 page 396: Find an article in Wikipedia (or Citizendium) on a subject that you already know a lot about. Read and review the article. Is it accurate, well done, complete? f) Assignment 7.36 page 396: Find a small, nonchain bookstore or a small travel agency (a physical business, not a Web site). Interview the owner about the impact of the Web on his or her business. Ask if other similar stores in your city have closed because of competition from e-commerce. e) Assignment 7.37 page 397: Arrange to visit an elementary school where the children use computers. Report on the types of activities and exercises for which the children used the computers. Evaluate them. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a computer for each activity you observed. Are computers necessary for the activity or its educational goal? Do you think the school uses them well?

WEEK 11: Errors, Failures & Risks – chapter 8 Gift of Fire Nov. 5/6
Fall Break Mon/Tues, Nov. 3/4
Topics &
Questions a) Computers systems that fail, crash, or never work at all because of software bugs, poor
design, political considerations or other factors, e.g. fly-by-wire airplanes, the Therac-25,
deaths of patients in hospital because of a computer virus and no backup procedure, voting
systems, stalled airports, etc. b) Billing errors, database errors, etc. – people being arrested for a stolen vehicle even though it had been recovered but the database was never updated; people being turned down for a loan because of errors on their credit reports; etc. c) Blackberry thumb and RSI
STS
Component a) Are we too dependent on computers? What happens when a computer fails? In some
cases, we can’t function (if the computer system in a supermarket goes down, they won’t
know how to ring up the items the old way); in other cases, when a computer system does
something wrong (because of a programming error or data input error) the operator insists
it can’t be wrong because it’s a computer – does common sense go out the window?
Normally, computers can be a real convenience, but how is society affected when there is a
problem with the computer system or network? b) Because technology is always evolving and affected by society, whose needs are always changing, improvements with technology are constantly being made c) Natural Sciences Component: Because of RSI (repetitive strain injury), many people develop injuries or pain in their thumbs, fingers, wrists, and arms, which sometimes results in visits to the doctor. These injuries can make ordinary activities painful or impossible and can prevent people from working.
Possible
Assignments * Of the 17 that I have, here are a couple: a) Exercises 8.2 page 445: What are two kinds of computer usage that can cause repetitive strain injury? What are two occupations where repetitive strain injury occurs, but workers are not using computers? b) Exercise 8.8 page 446: Consider the case described in Section 8.1.2 in which a school assumed a boy was a drug abuser because two schools used different disciplinary codes in their computerized records. Describe some policies or practices that can help prevent such problems. c) Exercise 8.9 page 446: A man applied for jobs at several retail stores. They all turned him down. Eventually, he learned that the stores used a database to screen applicants and it listed him as a shoplifter. A real shoplifter had given the police the innocent man’s identification from a lost wallet. Would this incident have been as likely to happen 30 years ago? Why or why not? The innocent man sued the company that maintains the database and the store where the real shoplifter was arrested. Should he win? Give reasons. d) Exercise 8.14 page 446: The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) sent visa approval notifications for two of the September 11 hijackers six months after they crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center. No one had updated the INS database to cancel the visas (which the INS had approved before September 11). This incident generated a lot of publicity embarrassing for the INS. What policy or process could have avoided this error?
Is it reasonable to expect that the INS should have prevented it?

e) Exercise 8.35 page 449: Find out which (if either) of the following views is common among eye doctors: (1) Working at a computer screen for many hours permanently weakens vision. (2) Eye strain from computer use is temporary; rest breaks, ergonomic changes, or similar techniques can relieve it.
WEEK 12: Errors, Failures & Risks – chapter 8 Gift of Fire
Mon/Tues Finish chapter 8
WEEK 12: Professional Ethics & Responsibilities – chapter 9 Gift of Fire
Nov. 10/11
Nov. 12/13
Wed/Thur Start chapter 9
Topics &
Questions a) Computer systems that fail, crash, or never work at all because of software bugs, poor
design, political considerations or other factors, e.g. fly-by-wire airplanes, the Therac-25,
deaths of patients in hospital because of a computer virus and no backup procedure, voting
systems, stalled airports, etc. d) Billing errors, database errors, etc. – people being arrested for a stolen vehicle even though it had been recovered but the database was never updated; people being turned down for a loan because of errors on their credit reports; etc. e) Blackberry thumb and RSI
STS
Component a) Are we too dependent on computers? What happens when a computer fails? In some
cases, we can’t function (if the computer system in a supermarket goes down, they won’t
know how to ring up the items the old way); in other cases, when a computer system does
something wrong (because of a programming error or data input error) the operator insists
it can’t be wrong because it’s a computer – does common sense go out the window?
Normally, computers can be a real convenience, but how is society affected when there is a
problem with the computer system or network? d) Because technology is always evolving and affected by society, whose needs are always changing, improvements with technology are constantly being made e) Natural Sciences Component: Because of RSI (repetitive strain injury), many people develop injuries or pain in their thumbs, fingers, wrists, and arms, which sometimes results in visits to the doctor. These injuries can make ordinary activities painful or impossible and can prevent people from working.
Possible
Assignments * Of the 17 that I have, here are a couple: f) Exercises 8.2 page 445: What are two kinds of computer usage that can cause repetitive strain injury? What are two occupations where repetitive strain injury occurs, but workers are not using computers? g) Exercise 8.8 page 446: Consider the case described in Section 8.1.2 in which a school assumed a boy was a drug abuser because two schools used different disciplinary codes in their computerized records. Describe some policies or practices that can help prevent such problems.

h) Exercise 8.9 page 446: A man applied for jobs at several retail stores. They all turned him down. Eventually, he learned that the stores used a database to screen applicants and it listed him as a shoplifter. A real shoplifter had given the police the innocent man’s identification from a lost wallet. Would this incident have been as likely to happen 30 years ago? Why or why not? The innocent man sued the company that maintains the database and the store where the real shoplifter was arrested. Should he win? Give reasons. i) Exercise 8.14 page 446: The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) sent visa approval notifications for two of the September 11 hijackers six months after they crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center. No one had updated the INS database to cancel the visas (which the INS had approved before September 11). This incident generated a lot of publicity embarrassing for the INS. What policy or process could have avoided this error?
Is it reasonable to expect that the INS should have prevented it? j) Exercise 8.35 page 449: Find out which (if either) of the following views is common among eye doctors: (1) Working at a computer screen for many hours permanently weakens vision. (2) Eye strain from computer use is temporary; rest breaks, ergonomic changes, or similar techniques can relieve it.
WEEK 13: Professional Ethics & Responsibilities – chapter 9 Gift of Fire Nov. 17/18
Mon/Tues Finish chapter 9
WEEK 13: Professional Ethics & Responsibilities – chapter 9 Gift of Fire Nov. 19/20
Test 3 Wed/Thurs, Nov 19/20
WEEK 14: week of Thanksgiving Break Nov. 24 & Nov. 25
Happy Thanksgiving!
WEEK 15: last week of the semester Dec. 1/3 & Dec. 2/4
Discuss grades and final exam Mon/Tues, Dec. 1/2 catch up day Wed/Thurs, Dec. 3/4