Social and Professional Issues of the Information Age - 2025 entry

The module aims to provide you with the tools to reflect upon your role in the interface between digital technologies and society and on the moral and ethical use of information and information systems. By taking this module, you will become aware of your legal responsibilities and rights as an IT professional and as a user of digital technologies. The module will cover ethical theories, computer law and professional codes of conduct, and will address the ways in which broader areas of law (e.g. defamation, contracts, privacy and freedom of information legislation) impact upon technology users and IT professionals.

This module will introduce you to the law regulating the use of information and digital technology. It will enhance your awareness and critical thinking skills regarding the social impact of information technology, and help you relate professional codes of conduct to ethical theories.
 

On successful completion of this module, you should be able to:


Module Specific Skills and Knowledge:

1 comprehend those aspects of information technology regulated by the law;

2 grasp the impact of information technology and related work practices on society;

3 understand how a code of conduct (such as that of the BCS) relates to practical professional dilemmas;

4 appreciate the different perspectives of different ethical theories on issues relating to information technology.

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge:

5 recognise where ethical and legal issues apply throughout the subject.

Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge:

6 relate reading materials to lecture content;

7 construct a well-structured argument;

8 question assumptions confidently, and critically evaluate competing viewpoints;

9 communicate effectively.

• History of computing;

• IT law and computer crime;

• IT ethics;

• Intellectual property and piracy;

• Privacy and data protection;

• Cryptography and society;

• Software safety and dependability;

• Societal impacts of computing technology;

• Professional codes of conduct;

• Communication skills;

• Employment skills.

Reassessment will be by coursework or written exam in the referred/deferred element only. For referred candidates, the module mark will be capped at 40%. For deferred candidates, the module mark will be uncapped.

• Basic reading:
   
  • Baase, S., A Gift of Fire: social, legal and ethical issues for computers and the Internet, 1st, Prentice Hall, 1997
  • Forrester T and Morrison P., Computer Ethics: Cautionary tales and ethical dilemmas in computing, 2nd, MIT, 1994, ISBN 978-0262560733
  • Johnson D, Computer Ethics, 3rd, Prentice Hall, 2001
  • Ludlow, P, High Noon on the Electronic Frontier: Conceptual Issues in Cyberspace, 1st, MIT, 1996, ISBN 978-0262621038
  • Ayres R., The Essence of Professional Issues in Computing, 1st, Prentice Hall, 1999
  • Quinn, Michael J., Ethics for the Information Aage, 2nd, Pearson International Edition, 2009
  • Langford, Duncan, Business Computer Ethics, Addison-Wesley, 1999, ISBN 978-0201342796
  • David, Bainbridge, Introduction to Information Technology Law, Electronic, Pearson Longman, 2008, ISBN 978-1405846660
  • Adams A, McCrindle R., Pandora's Box: Social and Professional Issues of the Information Age, Wiley, 2008, ISBN 978-0470065532 
   
  Web-based and electronic resources: 
   
  • ELE 
   

Reading list for this module: