[comp.edu] more on social implications of computers course

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.