Al al-Bayt University	
Information Technology College	
Information Systems Department	

904380 ETHICAL, LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN COMPUTING 	

First Semester 2013/2014	

Course Catalog	
In an era where information technology changes constantly, a thoughtful response to these rapid changes requires a basic understanding of IT history, an awareness of current issues, and a familiarity with ethics. This course tries to introduce a balanced coverage of ethical problems and issues encountered by computer professionals in today’s environment. This course will cover provocative issues such as social networking, government surveillance, privacy laws, computer security and reliability, and intellectual property from all points of view. Students are asked as they face these challenges to think critically and draw their own conclusions, which ultimately prepare them to become responsible, ethical users of future technologies.

Textbook(s)	
Title	Ethics for the Information Age	
Author(s)	Michael J. Quinn	
Edition	4th  Edition	
Publisher	Prentice Hall/ Pearson Education	
Year	2011	

References	
Books	A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues for Computing Technology
Sara Baase
4th Edition, 2013
Prentice Hall/ Pearson Education
ISBN-10: 0132492679
ISBN-13: 9780132492676	

Instructor	
Name	Mohammed Kofahi	
Office Phone	6297000 ext.  3376	
Email	M_kofahi@aabu.edu.jo  . 
Power Point Slides and course syllabus are available on:
http://web2.aabu.edu.jo/staff_site/arabic/index.jsp?site_no=2123	

Class Schedule and Locations	
Section 1:
Time: 9:00 - 10:00 Sun, Tue, Thu 
Location:  (189)مق	Section 2:
Time: 12:00 - 13:00 Sun, Tue, Thu 
Location:  (188)مق	

Office Hours	
Sun 11:00 – 12:00 , Tue 10:00 – 11:00 , Thu 14:00 – 15:00 , Mon: 10:00-11:00  	

Course Objectives 	Assessment Methods	
After successfully completing this course, the student will:
•	Be familiar with some of the issues you may face as a member of a complex technological society. 
•	Be able to discuss the benefits offered by computing technology in many different areas and the risks and problems associated these technologies. 
•	Understand some social, legal, philosophical, political, constitutional and economical issues related to computers and the historical background of these issues 
•	Be able to determine the impact of the privacy laws on information security policies. 
•	Understand the issues related to intellectual freedom, intellectual property, and copyright law as they relate to electronic publishing. 
•	Be able to determine and identify ethical procedures and behaviors in the organization related to information security. 
•	Be able to identify issues of professional conduct in information technology case studies. 
•	Learn the areas most impacted by ethical decisions by professionals in the computing field and will gain skills in making such decisions. 
•	Apply theories of ethics to case situations in the context of organizational use of information technology. 
•	Understand the ethical issues associated with gathering, storing and accessing genetic information in databases. 
•	Recognize the differences in ethical codes of conduct in different cultures and countries. 	Exams
Homework and assignments
Team Project	

Evaluation	
Assessment Tool	Expected Due Date	Weight	
First Exam	Tue 22-10-2013	20%	
Second Exam	Thu 28-11-2013	20%	
Term paper, Quizzes and Participation	TBA 	10%	
Final Exam	TBA	50 % 	

Tentative Schedule	
Session	Topic	Readings	
1 -2

	Introduction, Course Syllabus and Course Requirements
Catalysts for Change
Introduction to Ethics	Syllabus 
Ch (1) 
Ch (2)	
3 -4
	Networked Communications 	Ch (3)	
4 -5
	Intellectual Property
	Ch (4)	
5	First Exam  (Tue 22-10-2013)	Chapters 1,2,3, and 4	
6 -7
	Privacy 
	Ch (5)
	
8 -9
	Computer and Network Security
	Ch (6)
	
10 -11
	Computer Reliability	Ch (7)	
11	Second Exam (Thu 28-11-2013)	Chapters 5,6, and 7	
12 
	Professional Ethics	Ch (8)

13-14 
	Work and Wealth	Ch (9)	
15
	Discussions of papers	
	
16	Final Exam 	All chapters covered	
Policies	
Attendance
	It is strongly recommended that students attend all course lectures. Also, university regulations mandate that students may not miss more than 10% of classes without valid excuses. In all cases, they may not miss more than 20% of classes.  Should they do, they will not be allowed to take course exams. 	
Homework	Students are expected to submit homework and assignments on time.	
Exams
	Exams will be close-book. Exam dates are subject to change according to departmental and university schedules. 	
Plagiarism	You should not copy other people's work and claim it is yours. Detected plagiarism will be dealt with as per university regulations. 	

Last updated 17/09/2013