Society and Ethics in Information Technology

Course Description:

This course covers different concepts related with sociology, and social and ethical issues related with the use of Information Technology. This course also covers social context of computing, software issues and new frontiers of computer ethics.

Course Objectives:

The basic objective of this course is to provide fundamental knowledge on the concept of sociology to understand social, cultural, economic, political and technical aspects, and knowledge of different social and ethical issues related with Information Technology.

Course Contents:

Unit 1: Introduction (4 Hrs.)

• Concept and Evolution of Sociology

  History, definitions

• Applications of Sociology

  Related to IT

• Emergence of Social and Ethical Problems

  Need, Resilience, types

• Computer Ethics and Computer Ethics Education

  Need, types

• Ethics and Professions

  Difference, moral values

Unit 2: Social and cultural change (6 Hrs.)

• Process; Theories of Social Change

  Evolution, Functional, Conflict

• Factors of Social Change

  Economics, Technology, Education, Demography

• Role of Media and Communication in Social and Cultural Change

  CASE study

• Innovation and Diffusion

  CASE study

• Resistance of Social Change

  CASE study

• Technological Changes and its Consequences

  CASE study

Unit 3: Understanding development (5 Hrs.)

• Definition and Approaches of Development

  Definition, approaches

• Indicators of Development

  Types

• Features of Developing Countries

  Types

• Development Planning

  Techniques, Strategies

• Role of National and International Community and State

  CASE study

Unit 4: Process of transformation (4 Hrs.)

• Modernization

  Basic concepts

• Globalization

  Definition, Effect on morality

• Migration

  Basic concepts

• E-governance, E-commerce

  CASE study

Unit 5: Ethics and Ethical Analysis (4 Hrs.)

• Traditional Definition

  Definitions

• Ethical Theories

  Consequentialism, Deontology, Human nature, Relativism, Hedonism, Emotivism

• Functional Definition of Ethics

  Functional definition covering different sets

• Ethical Reasoning and Decision Making

  Framework for ethical decision making, making and evaluating ethical arguments

• Codes of Ethics

  Preamble, objectives

• Technology and Values

  Issues and discussion

Unit 6: Intellectual Property Rights and Computer Technology (6 Hrs.)

• Definitions

• Computer Products and Services

  Basic concepts

• Foundations of Intellectual Property

  Copyrights, Patents, Trade secrets, Trademarks, Personal identity

• Ownership

  Politics of ownership, Psychology of ownership

• Intellectual Property Crimes

  Infringement, first sale doctrine, Fair use doctrine

• Protection of Ownership Rights

  Domain, source, Duration and strategies of protection

• Protecting Computer Software

  Software piracy, Protection of software under copyright, Patent, Trademarks and Trade secretes

• Transnational Issues and Intellectual Property

  Basic concepts

Unit 7: Social Context of Computing (4 Hrs.)

• Introduction; Digital Divide

  Access, Technology, Human capacity, Infrastructure, Enabling Environments

• Obstacles to Overcome the Digital Divide

  Techniques

• ICT in the Workplace

  IntroElectronic office, Office on wheels and wings, Virtual workplace, Quiet revolution : Telecommuters and Telecommutinguction

• Employee Monitoring

  Workplace privacy and surveillance, Electronic monitoring

• Workplace, Employee, Health, and Productivity

  Ergonomics

Unit 8: Software Issues (5 Hrs.)

• Definitions

  Standards, Reliability, Security, Safety, Quality, Quality of Service

• Causes of Software Failures

  Human factors, Nature of software

• Risk; Consumer Protection

  Risk assessment and management, Risk hazards in workplace systems, Buyer and provider rights, A- service provider – user contract

• Improving Software Quality

  Techniques

• Producer Protection

  Basic concepts

Unit 9: New Frontiers for Computer Ethics (7 Hrs.)

• Artificial Intelligence and Ethics

  Basic concepts, Definitions, Requirements, Challenges

• Virtualization

  Terminologies, Types, Benefits

• Virtual Reality, and Ethics

  Types, Social and ethical implication of virtualization

• Cyberspace and Ethics

  Introduction, Concept of telepresence and immersion, Detecting attacks in cyberspace, Intellectual property rights in cyberspace

• Cyberbullying

  Legal definition, Types, Legislation, Effects and Dealing with cyberbullying

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Laboratory Work:

• 5 Case Studies that are specified in the micro syllabus
• Practical related to quality assurance, risk analysis, VR, reliability, security, safety, quality, quality of service.
  • Selenium for automation testing of functional aspects of web based applications, wide range of platforms and browsers.
  • Apache Jmeter for load testing
  • Jira for task, effort, team performance and defect tracking
  • Development of RMMM (Risk Monitoring, Management, Mitigation) plan for any scenario.

The students should write reports for 5 case studies and other practical works.

Reference Books:

1. Alex Inkles, “What is Sociology? Introduction in the Discipline & Profession”, Prentice Hall of India
2. Joseph MiggaKizza, Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age, Springer International Publishing , 6th Edition, 2017
3. Michael J. Quinn, Ethics for the Information Age, 7th Edition, Pearson Education, 2017
4. G. M. Foster, “Traditional Culture & Impact of Technological Change”
5. C.N.S. Rao, “Principle of Sociology with an Introduction of Social Thought”, S. Chand & Co. Ltd.
6. Pratley Peter, “The Essence of Business Ethics”, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi
7. A .Giddens & D. Mitchell, “Introduction to Sociology”, 3rd Ed., London, W.W. Norton & company