Solved by a verified expert:Ethics Essay
ITECH 3203-7203 Professional Development
Topic
Online Social Networks
Due Date
Week 7 – Monday, August
27, 2012, 4:00 pm
Worth
20% (40 marks – ITECH
3203)
20% (50 marks – ITECH
7203)
Course Objectives
This assessment task relates
to the following course objectives:
·
understand
the principles of the Australian Computer Society Code of Ethics to IT
professional practice
·
value and understand the legal, social
and ethical issues involved in IT professional practice within a cultural
context
Background
According to Turban et al (2012) a social
network is a place where people create their own space, or homepage, on which
they write blogs; post pictures, videos, or music; share ideas; and link to
other Web locations they find interesting. Business-oriented social networks
(BOSN) also known as professional social networks are social networks whose
primary objective is to facilitate business. Currently the main difference
between a social network and a BOSN is the purpose of their use, although this
distinction is becoming blurred.
The size of social networking sites is
growing rapidly, with some having over 100 million members (Turban et al,
2012). Whilst the rapid expansion of BOSN’s have brought many benefits to
individuals and organisations such as marketing, advertising and communication,
there are also many issues associated with their use such as security, privacy,
misuse etc.
Requirements
In this assignment, students are required
to work in teams (3-4 members), to undertake an ethical analysis of the
benefits and risks associated with the use of social networking sites in a
community and/or business context. Your team will prepare an essay which analyses
social networks through the lens of the four ethical philosophies presented in
lectures in conjunction with the Australian Computer Society’s (ACS) code of
ethics.
When analysing online social networks,
teams should consider the following ethical dilemmas:
·
Are
the capabilities and services provided by online social networks appropriate?
·
Who should govern online social networks?
CRICOS Provider No. 00103D 2 itech 3203-7203 essay
2012-17.doc
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Ethics Essay
ITECH 3203-7203 Professional Development
·
How
can the use of online social networks benefit individuals, organisations and/or
the community?
·
What are the issues associated with the
use of online social networks for individuals, organisations and/or the
community?
For
assistance in essay writing techniques, see: http://guerin.ballarat.edu.au/aasp/is/library/assignment_research/tutorials/essaywriting/module1/index.shtml
Essays should contain the following components and be structured
as follows.
·
title
page
·
abstract
·
table of contents
·
introduction
·
ethical analysis of online social
networkso
utilitarianism
*
o deontology
*
osocial contract * ocharacter
*
·
conclusion
·
references
·
appendices
*
denotes individual student contributions,
all other sections are to be completed by the team
Writing should be
validated with concepts from other people’s work. Gather these references from
various sources such as the Internet, assigned text books and readings etc. For
assistance with in-text referencing and formatting your reference list in APA
format, see: APA citation style.
This assessment task should be completed
in two phases. In phase one each student undertakes an individual task, and in
phase two, students complete a team based task.
Individual Tasks
Each
individual member of the team is to write a section of the essay (between
1000-1500 words) on the case study provided i.e. online social networks. Each
section of the essay should have a heading which indicates the theory used and
the name of the person writing it. The opening paragraph of each section should
outline both the case study and the ethical theory to be discussed.
The body of each section should discuss
additional research undertaken on the ethical theory and the application of the
theory to the case study, in the context of the ethical dilemmas listed above.
Each individual essay is to apply only ONE of the following theoretical
perspectives:
·
Consequence-based
ethical theory (Utilitarianism)
·
Duty-based ethical theory (Deontology)
·
Rights-based ethical theory (Social
contract)
·
Virtue-based ethical theory (Character)
Additionally the ACS code of ethics
should be consulted for its contribution to the case. For the purposes of this
essay, the code should be interpreted from the viewpoint of the specific
ethical theory selected i.e. consequences, duties, rights or virtues.
Students in the same group must choose an
ethical theory different from the other members of the group. A group of 3
should omit the virtue-based ethical theory. In exceptional circumstances where
a group of 2 must be used, the consequence-based ethical theory should be
chosen by one group member and either the duty-based theory or the rights-based
theory by the other member.
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Ethics Essay
ITECH 3203-7203
Professional Development
Team Tasks
Teams
should be formalised prior to or in the week 2 tutorial. Students who are
absent from that tutorial, for any reason, will be assigned to a team by their
tutor and assigned one of the four ethical theories on which the essay is to be
based by the members of the team that are present.
This
assessment task is to be submitted by each team as a single essay, with the
individual sections appended together. The essay should include a team
abstract, a team introduction, a team conclusion and a team list of references.
A reference used in more than one section should be listed once only.
The
assessment criteria and feedback provides guidelines and a breakdown of
individual and team marks. Students are advised to read it carefully. The team
conclusion should be written after consensus has been reached by the whole team
and should begin by summarising the individual contributions. Responsibility
for creation of the abstract, team conclusion and common reference list should
be a shared responsibility and should be checked by all members of the team.
As part of the appendices, there should
be a brief list of the contributions of each member of the team in addition to
the writing of the essay. This might be meeting minutes, writing the first
draft of abstract, conclusion or list of references and/or proofreading an
essay written by another team member and/or contributing in other ways to the
work of the team.
Additional Task
for Postgraduate (ITECH 7203) Students
Write
a set of recommendations, on your overall preferred ethical approach for
solving the ethical dilemmas posed. Explore each of the various options, and
indicate why one option is preferred over another. Use references to validate
your work. Include this in the team essay as an appendix. Clearly label with
student name and identification number.
Academic Writing
and Presentation
Please refer to
the General guide for the presentation of academic work, available
electronically on the university’s website. URL: http://www.ballarat.edu.au/current-students/learning-and-study/resources/general-guide-for-the-presentation-of-academic-work.
Adhere to the academic writing standards such as correctgrammar and spelling, and presentation and layout as outlined in
the guide.
Submission
Please submit an
ELECTRONIC copy only via Moodle (Mt Helen students only). Please refer
to the “Course Description” for information regarding late assignments,
extensions, special consideration, and plagiarism. A reminder all academic
regulations can be accessed via the university’s website. URL: http://www.ballarat.edu.au/handbook
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Ethics Essay
ITECH 3203-7203 Professional Development
Assessment Criteria & Feedback
ITECH 3203 Students
Student Name
Ethics Essay
Criteria
Marking Scale
Poor
Excellent
1
………………….. 5
Individual
–
introduction & summation of
section
5
–
review of
ethical theory
5
– application of theory to ethical dilemma
5
– contribution of ACS code of ethics
5
Individual
Total
[20
marks]
20.0
Team
–
essay quality
& structure
5
–
evidence of
team participation
5
– academic writing & presentation
5
– bibliography & in-text referencing
5
Team Total
[20
marks]
20.0
Total Overall Mark
[40 marks]
40.0
Total Worth
[20%]
20.0
Comments
Marked by
Date
CRICOS Provider No. 00103D 2 itech 3203-7203 essay
2012-17.doc
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Ethics Essay
ITECH 3203-7203 Professional Development
Assessment Criteria & Feedback
ITECH 7203 Students
Student Name
Ethics Essay
Criteria
Marking Scale
Poor
Excellent
1
………………….. 5
Individual
–
introduction & summation of
section
0
–
review of
ethical theory
0
– application of theory to ethical dilemma
0
– contribution of ACS code of ethics
0
Additional
Tasks for Post-Graduate (ITECH 7203) Students:
– exploration of various solutions
0
–
set of
recommendations
0
Individual
Total
[30
marks]
0.0
Team
–
essay quality
& structure
0
–
evidence of
team participation
0
– academic writing & presentation
0
– bibliography & in-text referencing
0
Team Total
[20
marks]
0.0
Total Overall Mark
[50 marks]
0.0
Total Worth
[20%]
0.0
Comments
Marked by
Date
CRICOS Provider No. 00103D 2 itech 3203-7203 essay
2012-17.doc
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