CSci 1030 Current Issues Assignments


		School of Engineering and Applied Science Department of Computer Science CSci 1030 -- Technology and Society http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~mfeldman/csci1030/summer16 Prof. Michael B. Feldman, course instructor mfeldman@gwu.edu

Current Issue Assignments #1 and #2 - 8 points each, due June 2 and June 16.

Your submitted file names must be of the form Smith-Jane-curr-issue-1.doc and Smith-Jane-curr-issue-2.doc (.docx is also OK).

Choose two of the current issues below, and write a brief paper (1000-2000 words) on each issue. You may use Internet sources in your research, but you MUST provide a complete citation of sources to receive credit. Be sure to indicate your paper's topic at the top!

Examine the role of Facebook, Twitter, and other social-network sites in recent U.S. elections.
Examine the role of Facebook, Twitter, and other social-network sites in recent foreign political upheavals.
Examine the role of cellphone cameras and social-network sites in recent police-violence incidents.
Is google getting too big? Is it getting monopolistic? See if you can find some sources on the issue, and comment.
Edward Snowden -- whistleblower? hero? traitor? What do you think, and why?
Comment on recent Supreme Court decisions on the right of police and FBI to search your cell phone.
Discuss the "net neutrality" controversy.
What is a "botnet"? Describe the concept and its effect on the Internet.
Examine 5 commercial web sites and evaluate their privacy policies using the criteria from the Online Privacy Alliance. www.privacyalliance.org
Find articles online that express different perspectives on content labeling (see e.g. the ACLU web site, www.cdt.org). Write a brief paper that lists the pros and cons of content labeling.
Investigate and describe how Internet domain names are assigned. What is ICANN's role in the process?
Examine and discuss Facebook's privacy policies.
What is the "digital divide" all about? Does it exist? Should it be remedied? If so, why and how?
Investigate the state of projects that provide a computer or tablet to all students in a school. Are these projects affecting the quality of education?
Go to the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) web site and look at the information they have on privacy legislation. Do a brief summary of the current state of privacy legislation here and abroad.
Go to the World Intellectual Property Organization (www.wipo.org) web site and write a brief summary of the status of worldwide cooperation on intellectual property issues, especially as it relates to digital media.
View the web sites of your state's Senators and House of Representatives member. Comment on the effectiveness of these sites in getting information to the public. Also visit and comment on the site of your home city or county.