This course seeks to increase the students' understanding of the social, ethical, and legal environment of the computing profession and of the use of computers in society. It encourages professional behavior consistent with accepted professional standards of ethics and social responsibility. It also seeks to develop the students' skills in oral and written communication in a professional context.
Upon successful completion of this course, the students should be able to:
The instructor plans to cover the following topics, but the precise set of topics covered is subject to change as the semester progresses. See the topic and assignment schedule page for a more detailed listing and schedule. (The schedule will be filled in as the semester progresses.)
The campus Emergency website http://emergency.olemiss.edu informs us about campus-related emergencies arising from weather or other circumstances. It helps us know what we should do in the event of an emergency. All should read the RebAlert text messages and emails and then respond accordingly. RebAlerts enable the University to communicate essential information to the campus community when a disaster occurs.
The instructor expects all students to participate regularly by attending class; participating in classroom discussions, quizzes, and examinations; and submitting homework assignments by their due dates. The instructor will track attendance using various measures. According to University policy (and Federal requirements), the instructor must verify that every student participates in the course during the first two weeks. Any student not participating during that period will be dropped from the course.
It is University policy to provide, on a flexible and individual basis, reasonable accommodations to students who have disabilities that may affect their ability to participate in course activities or meet course requirements. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact their instructors to discuss their individual needs for accommodations.
Students should contact the Office of Student Disability Services (http://sds.olemiss.edu/) in 234 Martindale to inquire about the services available and how to request them. Students must submit an Instructor Notification of Classroom Accommodation form to each instructor before direct classroom accommodations will be provided. This must be done on a timely basis so that appropriate accommodations can be arranged.
The academic discipline policy of the University of Mississippi will be strictly followed in this course. Violation of the policy may result in anything from failure on an assignment to expulsion from the course, depending on the severity of the violation. The student should refer to the "M" book for general definitions of academic misconduct.
The grading scale for this class is A [90..100], B [80..90), C [70..80), D [60..70), and F [0..60). However, the instructor will use the +/- grading scale to provide more fine-grained grades within these ranges.
The activities associated with this class involve individual reading, thinking, writing, and oral presentation as well as group discussion and exercises. The semester grade will be based on the following components with the given relative weights:
| Assignments and quizzes | 50% |
| Term paper | 50% |
Because the enrollment in this course has increased from about 20 students to nearly 70 over the past 3 years, the instructor is evaluating what kinds of assignments work best to achieve the course goals. So be prepared for some experimentation. Let the instructor know if you have suggestions for topics, projects, or activities.
In the past, class activities have included class discussions of the textbook chapters, development of policy statements, mock trials, debates, etc. We will adapt these as appropriate for the current class structure.
To prepare individually for the class activities, you will need to study (not just read!) the assigned materials in advance. You are encouraged to go to the library and to search the Web for other relevant materials.
Some of the activities (e.g., debates and mock trials) may require groups to prepare presentations in advance.
I hope that this class will be an enjoyable experience as well as a valuable learning experience.
All students (and groups) are expected to complete their homework assignments by their due dates. If an assignment is submitted late, a penalty of 10 percent of that assignment's grade will be assessed for each day it is late. A homework paper will not be accepted after graded papers have been returned, after a solution has been distributed, or after the final examination.
As shown on the topic and assignment schedule (not yet available), you will be given a short quiz over various topics we discuss from the textbook and other materials. Each quiz should require about 10 minutes and will cover the basic terminology and concepts for that topic. I expect a quiz to include some combination of matching, multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, and short-answer questions.
Missed quizzes cannot be made up.
There will be no other examinations in this class.
See the term paper document (available after the start of the semester) for the description of that component.
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