As part of the new Master of Computer Science degree a range of units are being introduced at the Clayton Campus. Given that all MCS students will have a basic technical computing background but probably not have any background in issues that a computer professional has to deal with, this subject aims to introduce students to social, legal, and professional issues relating to the computing profession.

Amend assessment: 50% Exam, 50% Assignments/tests

Amend contact hours: 2 hours lectures, 1 hour tutorial per week

Initial definition of unit.

MCS elective unit.

This unit extends the scope of CSE3323. Given that the students are more mature in the Masters programme, they will be expected to delve deeper and broader into the issues introduced in lectures and discovered through their own reading. It is not expected that students who have already completed CSE3323 will take CSE5323, however there is not expected to be a need for a prohibition since there is plenty of scope for the students to cover new material. Some lectures may be shared with CSE3323, especially those involving guest lecturers.

The Master of Computer Science initiative is important for the Faculty and the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering as it establishes a coursework masters degree at the Clayton Campus that caters for students wanting a more computer science flavoured programme. This unit complements the MCS offering and would also be appropriate for other Monash masters programmes.

Students should at the end of this unit have:

Knowledge of:

Understanding of:

Abilities to analyse realistic problems likely to be encountered by computing professionals in terms of the above;

Abilities to suggest and evaluate solutions to professional problems and conflicts of interest that meet the legal and ethical obligations of a computing professional.

Students should have acquired:

After doing this unit studentrs should have acquired skills in analysing situations in which computing professionals might find themselves, identifying the key issues; and devising legally and morally acceptable ways of dealing with the situation.

After completing this unit students should have developed an appreciation of the importance of the computing professional's role as part of a problem solving team. The student should also have developed some understanding of how such teams can be structured.

A brief overview of the history of various aspects of computing technology and the related development of aspects of the computrer industry is presented. Then issues relevant to computing professionals are covered, including:

• risks of computer usage, and the professional, legal and ethical implications thereof;
• issues relating to privacy and the professional, legal and ethical implications thereof
• technical legal issues including software copyright, patent protection, and licensing;
• other aspects of protection anc control of intellectual property;
• legal, ethical and professional issues relating to computerized system development, including tendering, contracts, acceptance testing, adequate specifcation, risk analysis, etc;
• problems arising from the nature of large-scale software development within large organisations and managerial, ethical and professional responsibilities.

One 2-hour lecture per week. One 1-hour seminar/tutorial/discussion session per week.

Material will be introduced in lectures along with information about how and where additional material can be found relating to the topic. Where possible guest lecturers will be used to give an expert's view on the issues. The seminar/discussion/tutorial sessions will be used to allow students to present their own findings as well as to allow lecturer led discussion about the issues.

This unit aims to impart knowledge of professional issues rather than specific technical skills. What is desired is that students learn to think clearly and analyse complex situations in which many competing factors are present. The lectures present background material and the discussion sessions help hone the thinking and analysis skills. Case studies will be used to allow students to explore the effects of different approaches to profesional situations and problems.

Exam 50%; assignments/tests 50%.

The assignments and presentations will allow students to demonstrate their learning of the desired thinking and analysis skills while allowing them to use material of their choosing, possibly work related.

The exam will ensure that the student has learned the basic concepts and will enable some confidence that the student actually knows the material.

2 hours of lectures/week; 1 hour of seminar/discussion session/week; 9 hours reading, assignment and private study per week.

One 2-hour time slot weekly in high-tech lecture theatre (shared with CSE3323).

One 1-hour time slot weekly in a flat floor discussion room equipped with computer presentation equipment and blackboard/whiteboard.

No specific laboratory sessions required. Students will need access to the World-Wide-Web for searching for relevant material for assignments and obtaining lecturer produced material.

One lecturer to prepare material and give the lectures, and to coordinate any guest lecturers.

Lecturer will generally lead the seminar/discussion sessions as well.

• Software Title:
• Vendor:
• Version:
• OS: MS Windows XP ( ) and/or LINUX ( )
• License Details: (A valid software license certificate/s or Vendor permission must be available upon request if the software is to be installed for teaching)
• Are we currently licensed: Yes ( ) or No ( ) (If unsure, please check with your local IT support )
• If (Yes), who is the contact person for this software?:
• If (No), will the software license be arranged by: Staff member requesting the software ( ) or Technical Services* ( ) ? *If the latter is selected, please discuss your requirement/s with myself ASAP, prior to finalising your request, as there could be financial or resourcing implications.
• Is the software to be installed and accessed from a: Client/Workstation ( ), or Server ( ) ?
• Type of license: Site License ( ), Freeware ( ), FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) ( ), Shareware ( ), Lab based ( ) # of Licenses needed ____
• In what week will you commence using the software in class? Semester 1 (Week ___ ) and/or Semester 2 (Week ___ ):
• Nominated Staff For Acceptance Testing Software: (Name) (Phone) (Email)
• Additional Information: Special Requirements, Software Configuration/Installation Requirements, etc:

No specific software requirements. Access to a web browser for obtaining material and to simple text editing of word processing for producing assignments would be helpful.

Same as for CSE3323. Given that the numbers of studenst will be relatively small, this should not unduly affect the library. Most students in CSE3323 find the vast majority of their material on the WWW. The same should apply for CSE5323.

FIT

N/A

100% Faculty of Information Technology

NA

Entry to any Information Technology Masters courses