slimick@unix.cis.pitt.edu (John C Slimick) (07/17/90)
Okay: first revision of course in social implications. (1) Instead of having each student be a seminar leader, consider the following: each student be responsible for preparing a synopsis of the article of the day (+/- 3 minutes) and the 4 to 5 discussion questions for the day for one meeting during the term. I would remain the seminar leader. (2) Have a heavy reading list in the library--currently available: "Computers and Social Change"--Judith Perrole "The Cuckoo's Egg"-- Cliff Stoll "Behind the Silicon Curtain"--Dennis Hayes "The Cult of Information"--Theodore Roszak "Parkinson's Law"--C. Northcote Parkinson "The Micro Millenium"--Chris Evans & whatever else I can find The question remains of how the students should report their readings: 1. Reviews (would someone tell me exactly what that is?) 2. Book Reports (likewise) 3. Other ideas? (3) Every student should subscribe to comp.risks (or should I merely post the letters -- but that inhibits exploring netnews) and have a discussion every other Friday (or so) on the themes running there. Are there other groups that should be read as well. (4) I am hoping for at least three outside speakers: A. Campus psychologist/counselor on meaning and value of work, as well as the impact of the loss of work. B. Long term employee of local plant (and one of our two year graduates) who started as a minimum wage hourly person yea many years ago and worked his way into an engineering slot (without a degree); I want hime to talk about the two cultures inside a plant, how automation is perceived, how unions are perceived on the topic of automation, etc. C. Long term employee of PA BELL (now retired) on the Bell System efforts on automation and how it impacted the job force. (5) I have not made up my mind which is better -- a term paper or a presentation. Help! slimick@unix.cis/pitt.edu john slimick university of pittsburgh at bradford just 4 miles from NY and high taxes.. t him to talk about the two cultures, reaction to automation,
kling@ICS.UCI.EDU (Rob Kling) (07/18/90)
Hello, In response to a recent inquiry, I'm sending some materials which describe a course about the social aspects of computerization which my colleagues and I have been offering regularly at UC-Irvine since 1973. Over the years we have tried many formats; much depends upon the size of the class. With under 12 students, a seminar format is best. When I first started teaching such courses in 1971 (to 15 students at the University of Wisconsin), I was much less structured in grading and assignments. We enroll 35 students per section at UC-Irvine, and using a seminar format is much less effective with a group of that size. We use lectures and discussions led by TAs. Until several years ago, I used to assign term papers (on topics of students choice). We now have a one-quarter project course on these topics, so the current assignments are organized to help students understand the issues in the (numerous) readings. If people are interested, I'll send (or post) the reading list from the Fall 1989. Rob Kling Department of Information & Computer Science University of California - Irvine kling@ics.uci.edu =================================================== Introduction Computerization in Society University of California, Irvine ICS131, Fall 1989 Instructor: Rob Kling -- Phone: 856-5955; email:-kling@ics.uci.edu Lecture Time: T-Th 11:00 AM -- 12:20 PM Discussion section: 2-3 or 3-4 Wed Required Materials The required text for the course is a book I am editing, Comput- erization and Controversy: Value Conflicts and Social Choices. It will be published next year by Academic Press. This quarter, it will be available as two packets of articles available through Kinkos. What is This Course About? Computer technologies are rapidly penetrating our everyday lives. As they become pervasive, they can alter the texture of our society with an intensity similar to that of the radio, automobile, jet plane, electricity, telephone, and television. The catalog description of ICS 131 reads, in part, "Introduction to computerization as a social process, exam- ines the social opportunities and problems raised by new information technology, the ways individuals and group mobilize support for their preferences, and the consequ- ences of different choices. Computerization and the quality of worklife, personal privacy, organizational productivity, unemployment, and the manageability and accountability of large systems." This course is designed to help you understand the range of impacts that computing has now and can have when it is used by business, public agencies and individuals. Since computerization raises many social issues (e.g. quality of work, unemployment, balance of social power, privacy), this course is organized as a survey. Through selected readings, discussion, lectures, and written assignments, you will become acquainted with the major issues and social dimensions of different computer technolo- gies. (I have listed the topics of the lectures and readings in the syllabus. Please read it carefully.) Computing is rapidly changing its "texture" as small machines and large scale networks become commonplace. Thus, another major goal of this course is to acquaint you with ways of thinking clearly about the social roles of computing as you live and work with it in the next decades. Why is This Course Required for ICS Students? This course is required for ICS majors. The ICS faculty believes that as technologists, we have a special need to be well informed about the social aspects of the technologies we create, develop, promote and maintain. High technologies are attractive to a large public because of their possible social effects. They are also troublesome because of their social effects. Competent Computer Scientists must understand both the opportunities and problems engendered by different forms of computerization. The Social Analysis of Computing Sequence in ICS ICS has a relatively new 3 quarter sequence of courses about the social analysis of computing which you might find specially exciting. ICS131 examines the social issues raised by widespread computerization and computer use in a social perspective. The follow-on courses teach you a variety of skills so that you can investigate the social aspects of computer development and use in specific settings -- businesses, schools, hospitals, libraries, government agencies, etc. Many students don't see the value of ICS131 and put off taking it until the Winter or Spring quarter of their senior year. But once in ICS131, most students find it unusually stimulating and valuable. They see that they can learn systematically about the ways that people and organizations do or don't computerize. The course helps provide perspective on such practical matters different ways of organizing ICS instructional labs (regimented labs versus open access terminal rooms), the advantages and dilemmas of personal computing, the risks of using inadequately tested software in high-risk systems such as air-traffic control, automated teller machine nets, etc. They then wish that they had taken it earlier in their programs. Some students wish that they had taken ICS131 in their junior years so they could have begun building on their new insights earlier in their lives. Some students also wish that they had taken it early enough to take follow-on courses like ICS132 and ICS135. ICS132 follows ICS131. In ICS132 you learn some theories of organization, how to observe and interview computer users, and how to design simple systems with relational databases. ICS135 is a project course in which you apply the skills you have learned in ICS131 and ICS132. The projects in ICS135 vary considerably in their focus. In the past two years, ICS135 projects have examined computerization in the School of Humanities, the politics of getting a supercomputer at UCI, computerization in UCI's librar- ies, the development and organization of local area nets for research teams, the development of customized high-performance databases for special workgroups, and the development and use of a public "bulletin board" for citizens of Santa Monica. ICS131 is a prerequisite for ICS132, and ICS 132 is a prerequi- site for ICS135. Next year I will be teaching the ICS131-132-135 sequence in the fall, Winter and Spring of 1989-90. If you are interested in learning more about the social worlds of computer- ization and are interested in this sequence, I recommend that you take ICS131 in the Fall, whether you are a junior or senior. Schedule of Assignments and Grading The attached schedule lists the sequence of topics and assigned readings. This course is designed to help you think critically about the role of computerization in many spheres of social life -- from economic competition to warfare, from the quality of working life to changes in schooling. I have selected sections from the main texts, High Tech Society and The Rise of the Computer State, or 2-4 other articles for each topic. They serve as an introduction which exposes you to more than one way of viewing what is important and what sense to make of it. This approach does require that you read the books and articles. You may be reading more pages each week (60-100) than in a typical computer science course. I hope that the reading is interesting and stimulating. I expect you to keep up with the readings for the class they are associated with. There will be two quizzes in the fifth and ninth weeks and two written assignments in the third and seventh weeks. These quizzes and assignments will primarily cover the required read- ings and ideas discussed in the lectures. If some key topics are discussed in both discussion sections, they may appear on a quiz. You will also be asked to prepare one "organized" set of notes for one of the lectures. (You have 2 weeks after the particular lecture to hand in the notes.) The notes will be equivalent in grade value to one quiz or written assignment. There may be some changes in the topics or readings during the quarter; I will announce these well in advance of the classes they influence. Discussion Sections You are assigned to a discussion section which serves several roles. Intellectual The discussion sections provide an important oppor- tunity to discuss the readings and ideas developed in the lec- tures. The lectures introduce you to key ideas about a particular topic. I will discuss some of the readings in the lectures. I will examine some of their there isn't enough time to discuss all of the readings in depth. Nor is there an opportunity in a lecture class of 45 students for assumptions, lines of analysis, and how they relate to each other. But each person to ask ques- tions about the readings or lectures which are puzzling. The discussion sections provide an important opportunity for you to answer questions which puzzle you and to explore ideas of special interest to you. You will benefit most as an active participant in a discussion section. Additional Activities The discussion sections provide time for raising questions about the lectures and readings, discussing the written assignments, taking and discussing the midterm, etc. TENTATIVE Schedule of Written Assignments and Exams Week # Tues (a) Thurs (b) 1 2 -- Written assignment #1 [assigned] 3 -- Written assignment #1 [due] Written assignment #2 [assigned] 4 -- Written assignment #2 [due] 5 -- 6 -- Midterm 7 -- Written assignment #3 [assigned] 8 -- Written assignment #3 [due] 9 -- Written assignment #4 [assigned] 10 -- Written assignment #4 [due] Goals for the Course The course emphasizes skills in: ** Understanding the impacts of computer use on people and social groups; ** Understanding the social issues raised by the use of comput- ing; ** Analyzing situations to identify their salient issues. ** Writing your ideas in a coherent, well structured, exposito- ry term paper. Theories of how technologies "operate" in social settings, social values, and selected facts are all relevant here. These will be studied through reading and discussion. Toward these ends, the course includes several different kinds of intellectual challenge: ** It encourages you to connect very specific technical activi- ty to a broader human context; ** It encourages you to explore your own value positions rela- tive to these issues; ** It encourages you to think carefully about computing and its social role. ** It introduces you to a variety of thinkers and scholars who have carefully studied specific issues. Thus, it acquaints you with the way some of these issues look when studied carefully (rather than just bulled about casually.). A course like ICS131 helps you increase your insight into the context and rationale of computerization. Such insight can help you deal more successfully with the variety of managers and users that you will face in industry. It may also help you become more articulate in explaining that which you do to others. Topics of the Course Computerization happens in several social arenas: ** Between individuals and computers-- what happens when (non)specialists use computing on a regu- lar basis; what is hacking about;what makes computing easy/hard for people to use as a technology? ** The work setting of computer specialists-- What prerogatives do computer specialists have in the typi- cal settings in which they work? Does calling programmers or systems analysts "professionals" have anything other than honorary significance? ** Between organizations and computerization -- What happens to organizations that automate on a large scale ? Are they more efficient, "effective," rigid, flexible? Do organizations that automate gain power in conflicts with organizations that are less automated ? ** Computerization in the larger social setting-- What happens when a society becomes as dependent on comput- er-based technologies as on other technologies such as automobiles, electricity, telephones...? ** The computing world-- What is the large scale organization of computing innova- tors, service providers, computer specialists, educators, consultants, etc? What ramifications does this organization have for non-programming users and people who are not skilled in computing who try to relate to the technology or its social organization (e.g. consumers, auditors, regula- tors)? In addition, some social issues catalyzed by computerization, such as "privacy," deal with conflicts between individuals and computer-using organizations. Style of Course This course differs from many other ICS courses since: * Human values are central rather than peripheral to our inquiry. Some of the skills you will learn in this course include understanding the interplay between value and tech- nical issues. * We emphasize understandings as much as "findings" * These understandings develop in a less sequential manner than in many science courses. Our modes of inquiry are much more concentric--the same issue is studied in several dif- ferent settings and therein takes on new meanings. I have organized the major topics into a sequence that we believe has a clear and helpful progression. However, these topics are not easily organized or kept so. ** My role is an issue raiser/refiner and resource person as well as an "information transmitter." ** We are studying some controversial topics which take the form of poorly understood dilemmas. In contrast, in much of computer science, there are, at worst, simply "tradeoffs." ** The process of reasoning through some of the situations we study is more important than the conclusions we reach. (In this way it is like a design course or programming course where exercising the skills is more important than the particular system which is designed and built.) ** Some of the class time is devoted to discussing the ideas presented in lectures, in the readings, or of particular concern to you. These discussions provide an opportunity to share our ideas, and think aloud.... a very valuable and rapidly disappearing opportunity in undergraduate classes at U.C.I. ** Many of the discussions do not reach a simple set of common- ly accepted conclusions. Rather, they conclude with a richer and possibly more complex and ambiguous view of the topics we started to discuss. This doesn't mean that they are "bull." But they do yield a different kind of understanding than that which is emphasized in most science courses. I sometimes take specific stands; but most often, we are presenting different ways of viewing a particular issue and underlining significant social aspects of computing developments. Course Work and Grading I believe that you develop your understandings of the social aspects of computerization by: ** Carefully examining your personal experiences; ** Reading or listening to analyses developed by other people who hold different points of view; ** Developing your own analyses by expressing your ideas to others through writing and discussion. This course is organized with a combination of lectures, read- ings, films, discussions, written assignments, and examinations. Usually, there will be two lectures and one discussion session each week. The attached reading list outlines the major topics and readings we will include this quarter. In addition to the readings, lectures, and discussions, there may be outside speakers, special (ungraded) exercises in class, and films. ** There will be midterm and final exams which will emphasize both the readings and lectures. ** There will be four written assignments. ** You will receive credit for participation in the discussion section and/or the bulletin board. An important note about cooperation between you and your classmates: You can discuss general ideas about your papers with your classmates. However, your written work and key ideas should be your own. The University has strong guidelines about plagiarism and cheating which we take seriously. The University guidelines are in force for this class unless we specify changes in writing. You can have your grade reduced, or even receive no credit for this course, if you violate the University's guide- lines on cheating. Grading in this course emphasizes the skills noted in this introduction. It does not depend upon whether your values and evaluation of the social opportunities and problems of different technologies agrees with mine or the TAs. I am interested in the clarity of reasoning you use to reach your conclusions, your use of evidence, your understanding of the sources you read, etc. This does not mean that "all conclusions are merely opinion" or that "all opinions are equally valid." It does mean that we are studying topics over which people do disagree about what is humanly desirable and what is less so. To get a good grade, you should not try to take positions you don't believe in simply to "agree" with me. I hope that you will use this course as an opportunity to learn about the social dimensions of computer technologies and how different developments align with your own values.