Computer Science

• Focus on solutions to computer-related problems from technology and from markets, management, and law.
• Discussion of how computers change established institutions and conventions.
• Comparison of the risks and problems of computer technology with other technologies and non-computerized alternatives.
• Historical background on many issues.
• Analysis of ethical issues facing today's computer professionals.
• Wide range of topics, including some not covered in similar texts.
• Coverage of current issues and controversies, from multiple perspectives.
• Problem-solving approach.
• Many examples from real incidents and cases.
• The Appendix features two professional codes of ethics for computer science professionals.
• Shaded "boxes" that describe examples, cases, or historical background.
• Roughly 350 exercises including review questions, essay questions, activities, and questions for class discussion. 
• • More than 130 are completely new; many others are revised and updated. 
  • The extensive amount of exercises, many of which are based on real cases, provides a wealth of options for classroom discussion, term paper topics, and further study.

   

• Additional Supplements:

  -Visit the Author Website to access instructor materials including a lecture outline, assignments, class discussion questions and more. (Available 2/08)

  - To download additional password protected instructor files, including  Power Point Slides and Test Bank click on the 'Resources' tab.

• Coverage of new phenomena on the Web - The growing relevance of amateur work, blogs, video sharing, collaborative works (such as Wikipedia), and social networking.
• New privacy topics – Includes cameras in cell phones, access to our search queries and the data we put on the Web, social networking , location tracking, high-tech surveillance systems, and some anti-terrorism programs.
• Expanded section in Chapter 2 on public records, which have become easier to search.
• Expanded sections on political campaigns and electronic voting in Chapter 3 and Chapter 8.
• New discussion of the ethics of companies aiding government censorship in undemocratic countries.
• New section on "net neutrality" in Chapter 3.
• New intellectual property topics - Chapter 4 includes coverage of video sharing, intellectual property issues for search engine practices, new business models that may ease the problem of wide-spread unauthorized copying of professional entertainment and software, and patents for technology implemented in software.
• New issues in computer and Web crime – New section on the difficult issue of determining which country’s laws should apply when individuals and businesses provide material or services on the Web that are legal in their country, but illegal in others. Chapter 5 also covers new trends in hacking, new issues about law enforcement searches of computers and an expanded discussion on identity theft.
• Expanded section on the global workforce and off shoring of jobs in Chapter 6.
• Added discussions of legacy systems to Chapter 8.
• Chapter 7 contains a new section on the quality of information on the Web.
• Chapters 1 and 7 consider issues in artificial intelligence and potential threats from intelligent robots.
• New ethical scenarios for computer professionals in Chapter 9.
• More than 130 new exercises.
• Reorganization of material:
• Moves the introduction of ethics to the first chapter.  (Professional ethics remains in the last chapter.)
• Deletes a good portion of outdated material from the former Chapter 3 (Encryption and Interception of Communications); combines it with Chapter 2, Privacy.
• Moves the former Chapter 4 to a later point in the book because the current Chapters 2-5 are more closely related.
• Reorganizes many chapters to move older material to the background or history sections.         
• Moves the ethical analysis of hiring foreign programmers from the last chapter to the section on the global workforce and off-shoring of jobs in the chapter on Work.
• Moves the section on RSI (repetitive stress injury) to the chapter "Errors, Failures, and Risk" because RSI now affects game users and personal appliance users, not just employees

Preface

 

Chapter 1 Unwrapping the Gift

1.1 The Ubiquity of Computers and the Rapid Pace of Change

1.2 New Developments and Dramatic Impacts

    1.2.1 Amateur Creative Works: Blogs and Video Sharing

    1.2.2 Connections

    1.2.3 Collaborative Efforts Among Strangers

    1.2.4 E-commerce and Free Stuff

    1.2.5 Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Motion

    1.2.6 Tools for Disabled People

    1.2.7 What Next?

1.3 An Introduction to Some Issues and Themes

    1.3.1 Issues

    1.3.2 Themes

    1.4 Ethics

    1.4.1 What Is Ethics, Anyway?

    1.4.2 A Variety of Ethical Views

    1.4.3 Some Important Distinctions

 

Chapter 2 Privacy

2.1 Privacy and Computer Technology

    2.1.1 Introduction

    2.1.2 New Technology, New Risks

    2.1.3 Terminology and Principles for Data Collection and Use

2.2 Big Brother Is Watching You

    2.2.1 Databases

    2.2.2 The Fourth Amendment, Expectation of Privacy, and Surveillance Technologies

    2.2.3 Video Surveillance

2.3 Diverse Privacy Topics

    2.3.1 Marketing, Personalization and Consumer Dossiers

    2.3.2 Location Tracking

    2.3.3 Stolen and Lost Data

    2.3.4 What We Do Ourselves

    2.3.5 Public Records: Access vs. Privacy

    2.3.6 National ID Systems

    2.3.7 Children

2.4 Protecting Privacy: Technology, Markets, Rights, and Laws

    2.4.1 Technology and Markets

    2.4.2 Rights and Law

    2.4.3 Privacy Regulations in the European Union

2.5 Communications

    2.5.1 Wiretapping and E-mail Protection

    2.5.2 Designing Communications Systems for Interception

    2.5.3 Secret Intelligence Gathering

    2.5.4 Encryption Policy

 

Chapter 3 Freedom of Speech

3.1 Changing Communications Paradigms

    3.1.1 Regulating Communications Media

    3.1.2 Free-Speech Principles   

3.2 Controlling Offensive Speech

    3.2.1 Offensive Speech: What Is It? What Is Illegal?

    3.2.2 Internet Censorship Laws and Alternatives

    3.2.3 Spam

    3.2.4 Challenging Old Regulatory Paradigms and Special Interests

    3.2.5 Posting and Selling Sensitive Material: Ethics and Social Concerns

3.3 Censorship on the Global Net

    3.3.1 The Global Impact of Censorship

    3.3.2 Yahoo and French Censorship

    3.3.3 Censorship in Other Nations

    3.3.4 Aiding Foreign Censors

3.4 Political Campaign Regulations in Cyberspace

3.5 Anonymity

    3.5.1 Common Sense and the Internet

    3.5.2 Is Anonymity Protected?

    3.5.3 Against Anonymity

3.6 Protecting Access and Innovation: Net Neutrality or Deregulation?

 

Chapter 4 Intellectual Property

4.1 Intellectual Property and Changing Technology

    4.1.1 What Is Intellectual Property?

    4.1.2 Challenges of New Technologies

4.2 Copyright Law and Significant Cases

    4.2.1 A Bit of History

    4.2.2 The Fair-Use Doctrine

    4.2.3 Significant Cases

4.3 Copying and Sharing

    4.3.1 Defensive and Aggressive Responses from the Content Industries

    4.3.2 The DMCA vs. Fair Use, Freedom of Speech, and Innovation

    4.3.3 Video Sharing

    4.3.4 New Business Models and Constructive Solutions

    4.3.5 Ethical Arguments About Copying

    4.3.6 International Piracy

4.4 Search Engines and Online Libraries   

4.5 Free Speech Issues

4.6 Free Software

    4.6.1 What Is Free Software?

    4.6.2 Should All Software Be Free?

4.7 Issues for Software Developers

    4.7.1 Patents for Software?

    4.7.2 Patents for Web Technologies

    4.7.3 Copyright and Similar Software Products

 

Chapter 5 Crime

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Hacking

    5.2.1 What is Hacking?

    5.2.2 Hacktivism, or Political Hacking

    5.2.3 The Law: Catching and Punishing Hackers

    5.2.4 Security

5.3 Identity Theft and Credit-Card Fraud

    5.3.1 Stealing Identities

    5.3.2 Responses to Identity Theft

    5.3.3 Biometrics

5.4 Scams and Forgery

    5.4.1 Auctions

    5.4.2 Click Fraud

    5.4.3 Stock Fraud

    5.4.4 Digital Forgery

5.5 Crime Fighting Versus Privacy and Civil Liberties

    5.5.1 Search and Seizure of Computers

    5.5.2 The Issue of Venue

    5.5.3 The Cybercrime Treaty

5.6 Whose Laws Rule the Web?

    5.6.1 When Digital Actions Cross Borders

    5.6.2 Arresting Foreign Visitors

    5.6.3 Libel, Speech, and Commercial Law

    5.6.4 Culture, Law, and Ethics

    5.6.5 Potential Solutions

 

Chapter 6 Work

6.1 Fears and Questions

6.2 The Impact on Employment

    6.2.1 Job Destruction and Creation

    6.2.2 Changing Skill Levels

    6.2.3 A Global Workforce

    6.2.4 Getting a Job

6.3 The Work Environment

    6.3.1 Job Dispersal and Telecommuting

    6.3.2 Changing Business Structures

6.4 Employee Monitoring

    6.4.1 Background

    6.4.2 Data Entry, Phone Work, and Retail

    6.4.3 Location Monitoring

    6.4.4 E-mail, Blogging, and Web Use

 

Chapter 7 Evaluating and Controlling Technology

7.1 Information, Knowledge, and Judgment

    7.1.1 Evaluating Information on the Web

    7.1.2 Writing, Thinking, and Deciding

    7.1.3 Computer Models

7.2 Computers and Community

7.3 The Digital Divide

7.4 Evaluations of the Impact of Computer Technology

    7.4.1 The Neo-Luddite View of Computers, Technology, and Human Needs

    7.4.2 Accomplishments of Technology

7.5 Making Decisions about Technology

    7.5.1 Questions

    7.5.2 The Difficulty of Prediction

    7.5.3 Intelligent Machines and Superintelligent Humans – Or the End of the Human Race?

    7.5.4 A Few Observations

 

Chapter 8 Errors, Failures, and Risk

8.1 Failures and Errors in Computer Systems

    8.1.1 An Overview

    8.1.2 Problems for Individuals

    8.1.3 System Failures

    8.1.4 Safety-Critical Applications

    8.1.5 Perspectives on Failure

8.2 Case Study: The Therac-25

    8.2.1 Therac-25 Radiation Overdoses

    8.2.2 Software and Design Problems

    8.2.3 Why So Many Incidents?

    8.2.4 Observations and Perspective

8.3 Increasing Reliability and Safety

    8.3.1 What Goes Wrong?

    8.3.2 Professional Techniques

    8.3.3 Law, Regulation, and Markets

8.4 Dependence, Risk, and Progress

    8.4.1 Are We Too Dependent On Computers?

    8.4.2 Risk and Progress

 

Chapter 9 Professional Ethics and Responsibilities

9.1 What Is Professional Ethics?

9.2 Ethical Guidelines for Computer Professionals

    9.2.1 Special Aspects of Professional Ethics

    9.2.2 Professional Codes of Ethics

    9.2.3 Guidelines and Professional Responsibilities

9.3 Scenarios

    9.3.1 Introduction and Methodology

    9.3.2 Protecting Personal Data

    9.3.3 Designing an E-mail System with Targeted Ads

    9.3.4 Specifications

    9.3.5 Skipping Tests

    9.3.6 Copyright Violation

    9.3.7 Going Public

    9.3.8 Release of Personal Information

    9.3.9 Conflict of Interest

    9.3.10 Kickbacks and Disclosure

    9.3.11 A Test Plan

    9.3.12 Artificial Intelligence and Sentencing Criminals

    9.3.13 A Gracious Host

 

Epilogue

A The Software Engineering Code and the ACM Code

A.1 The Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice

A.2 The ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

 

Index

 

 

Computer Ethics  (Computer Science)

Download sample chapters!
Chapter 8 - Errors, Failures, and Risk (420kb)
Chapter 9 - Professional Ethics and Responsibilities (256kb)

Sara Baase is Professor Emeritus with the Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University, where she won awards for outstanding teaching. Her textbooks in computer science have been translated into several languages. Dr. Baase received her doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues for Computing and the Internet

Third Edition   SARA BAASE

 

A Gift of Fire, Third Edition is the most comprehensive and up-to-date text on the social and ethical issues associated with computing, networking, and the Internet. Thoroughly updated to reflect the latest trends and technologies, this book will help readers understand and evaluate the crucial issues they will face as technology professionals, users, and citizens.

 

Baase offers thoughtful, in-depth coverage - and diverse viewpoints - on issues ranging from privacy to hacking, censorship to piracy of music and movies, social networking to computer crime. She helps readers consider difficult and provocative questions such as: In what form will copyright survive the revolutionin technologies for sharing? Which technology decisions should be left to the marketplace, and which require government regulation? Who's in charge when digital actions cross borders? What are the ethical responsibilities of a computer professional?

 

This book's far-reaching coverage includes:

• Impact and quality of user-supplied Web content
• Privacy and computer technology: Records of online activity, video surveillance, GPS location tracking, consumer dossiers, national ID systems, and more
• Internet censorship laws and alternatives, spam, political campaign regulation, anonymity, and Net neutrality
• Intellectual property: Copyright law, fair use, the DMCA, video sharing, software patents, free software, piracy, and new business models
• Computer crime: Identity theft, hacking, credit card fraud, online scams, auction fraud, click fraud, stock fraud, digital forgery, and more
• Computers and work: Job destruction and creation, global outsourcing, telecommuting, and employee monitoring
• Errors, failures, and risk: System failures, safety-critical applications, software design problems, and techniques for improving reliability and safety
• How societies make decisions about new technologies

About the Author

Sara Baase, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at San Diego State University, has won three Outstanding Faculty awards. Her computer science textbooks have been translated into Sapnish, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, and Korean. Dr. Baase served on the College Board's committee to develop the Advanced Placement program in Computer Science. She holds a doctorate from UC Berkeley.

Pearson Higher Education offers special pricing when you choose to package your text with other student resources. If you're interested in creating a cost-saving package for your students, browse our available packages below, or contact your Pearson Higher Education representative to create your own package.

Package ISBN-10: 013800126X | ISBN-13: 9780138001261
©2010 | Instock (Additional assembly time required)
Suggested retail price: $138.27  Buy from myPearsonStore
Net price: $103.70  (What's this?)
This package contains:

Package ISBN-10: 0135063167 | ISBN-13: 9780135063163
©2008 | Instock (Additional assembly time required)
Suggested retail price: $89.73  Buy from myPearsonStore
Net price: $67.30  (What's this?)
This package contains: