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<h1>ECS 188 Ethics Course Syllabus, Winter 2022</h1>

<p>
(Subject to change, due to Covid-19.)
</p>

<h2>Instructors:</h2>

<UL>

<li> Professor:  Norm Matloff, <a href="mailto:">matloff@cs.ucdavis.edu
</a>; OHs MW 10-11, 3053 Kemper
</li> </p>

<li> TA:  Stefan Broecker, <a href="mailto:">sabroecker@ucdavis.edu
</a>, TuTh 4-5 pm, 3106 Kemper
</li> </p>  

</UL>

<h2>Contents:</h2>

<UL>

   <li> 
   <a href="#goals">goals </a> 
   </li> </p> 

   <li> 
   <a href="#fmt">class format </a> 
   </li> </p> 

   <li> 
   <a href="#readings">readings </a> 
   </li> </p> 

   <li> 
   <a href="#inclassessays">exams</a> 
   </li> </p> 

   <li> 
   <a href="#pres">presentations</a> 
   </li> </p> 

   <li> 
   <a href="#blog">blog</a> 
   </li> </p> 

   <li> 
   <a href="#grading">grading</a> 
   </li> </p> 

</UL>

<h2><a name="goals">Goals:</a></h2>

<UL>

   <li> 
   Discuss/analyze issues that you may face in your future
   roles as engineers, and as technology-related managers, entrepreneurs
   and civil servants.
   </li> </p> 

   <li> 
   Build skill in speaking as part of a formal group.
   </li> </p>

   <li>
   Build skill in critical thinking.
   </li> </p> 

   <li>
   I hope that you will come away from this course feeling that you will
   have lasting benefit from it, not "just a requirement for the major."
   </li> </p> 


</UL>

<h2><a name="fmt">Class format:</a></h2>

<p>
<i>Lecture periods, MWF, 12:10-1:00, Olson 141:</i>
</p>

   <UL>

   <li> I will begin each lecture period by calling upon 6 or 7 
   random students (I'll use R for the selection!), asking them to 
   questions regarding the details of the assigned readings for that day
   (referred to as Random Questions below).
   <i>This will be graded.</i>
   </li> </p>

   <li> Then we will go into general discussion of the readings.  
   <i>This will be graded.</i>
   </li> </p> 

   </UL>

<p>
<i>Discussion sections, M 1:10-2, Wellman 212:</i>
</p>

   <UL>

   <li> Led by TA.
   </li> </p> 

   <li> Each student will, over the course of the quarter, give a
   brief but rather formal presentation. 
   </li> </p> 

   <li> Occasional mini-lectures by TA.
   </li> </p> 

   </UL>

<h2><a name="readings">Readings:</a></h2>

   <UL>

   <li> <a href="https://github.com/matloff/EthicsForTech">Our reading list.</a> 
   </li> </p>

   <li> This is <i>detailed</i> reading; much of it rather deep.
   It cannot be simply skimmed.  </li> </p> 

   </UL>

<h2><a name="inclassessays">Exams:</a></h2>

   <UL>

   <li> There will be two exams, one on February 7,
   and one on the last day of lecture, March 11.
   </li> </p>

   <li> You will need a laptop to write these exams, on which you have
   installed <a href="https://github.com/matloff/omsi">OMSI</a>.  It
   need not be a fancy laptop.  Hopefully we will have a dry run
   beforehand, but it is your responsibility to be ready to use the
   software correctly.
   </li> </p> 

   <li> You must have printed or electronic copies of all course
   materials.  
   </li> </p>

   <li> 
   The questions will involve the readings, class discussions and
   student presentations.  Note in particular that 
   some questions will refer to specific discussions from
   lecture periods (statements made by students or the instructor).
   </li> </p> 

   <li> The exams will be essay-style in the
   sense that you answer in English. There won't be any multiple choice,
   fill-ins, and so on. However the answers will all be fairly short,
   typically two or three sentences, and never more than a paragraph.
   </li> </p> 

   <li> <b>Ethical behavior:</b> In preparation for exams, you
   will make sure you've downloaded all materials to your laptop.
   During the exams, you will not communicate with anyone else in any
   form, and will not access (read or write) the Internet or any other
   electronic device for any reason, except to write your exam via OMSI.
   You must be physically present in the
   classroom, i.e. not logged in from elsewhere.
   </li> </p> 

   </UL>

<h2><a name="pres">Presentations:</a></h2>

   <li> Each student will give a 10-minute presentation in the
   discussion section.  
   </li> </p> 

   <li> 
   <i>The presentations will be graded, and their content 
   is subject to exam questions.</i>
   </li> </p> 

   <li> Sign up 
   <a
   href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Wjq_r90j53z53QtiPgX9Jd8lodJFoVVOJpCZbJGUbVg/edit#gid=0">here</a>
   <b>AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.</b>  State the URL which is the source of
   your presentation, and which class reading it relates to.
   </li> </p> 

<h2><a name="blog">Blog:</a></h2>

<p>
It is required that you read the 
<a href="http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/~matloff/188/Blog.html">
course blog</a> at least once per day.  All course announcements will be
made there.  Material in blog posts may also be subject to exam
questions.
</p>

<h2><a name="grading">Grading:</a></h2>

   <UL>

   <li> 
   The weighting for the grade will normally be in-class 
   participation (20% answers to my Random Questions, 20% comments
   during discussions); two exams, 20% each; oral presentation (20%).  
   <b> This weighting will change if a student repeatedly does poorly 
   in responding to the Random Questions in lecture periods, or
   had no participation in class discussions. </b>
   </li> </p> 

   <li> The criterion for good class participation is that you
   demonstrate that you have done the reading thoughtfully.  This will
   not have a very high bar set for it, but note again that the readings
   must be read in detail, not merely skimmed.  Note:
   </li> </p> 

      <UL>
      
      <li> When I ask you a Random Question, you usually get either an 
      A, B or F.  A correct answer gets an A, an attempt that is 
      wrong but showed you did the reading gets a B, and anything else 
      is an F.  In most cases, an F comes from not being in class when 
      called upon.  
      </li> </p>
      
      <li> There are no discussion participation "points."  When a student
      makes a comment, I simply record that fact.  (If it is especially
      insightful, I record that fact too.)  Again, the bar is low; just
      making 2 or 3 comments over the course of the quarter will earn
      you a B grade in this category.
      </li> </p>
      
      </UL>

   </UL>