ITS610/ICT652:

Social, Ethical and Professional Issues

Term Paper: Topics

Topic List

1. Deep Web
What is the definition and characteristics of a deep web? What is on the deep
Web? Is it illegal to be on a deep web? What is the importance of a deep web?
Is deep web dangerous?

2. Digital money.
Background: What is money? Give a brief history of different kinds of
money, including past examples that were not issued by governments. New
money: Describe Bitcoin (or another digital money system). Why do people
use it? What are its strengths and weaknesses? Consider privacy of
transactions, volatility, inflation, use by criminals, etc. and compare to
standard money.

3. Cars that drive themselves.

Study progress, safety, and social issues related to an automated system
such as self-driving vehicles.

4. Identification and biometrics.

Choose a few recent uses of biometrics or other identification technology.
Discuss benefits, actual or potential problems and abuses, and appropriate
guidelines for use of such technologies. You might want to include the
example of an identification chip that is implanted under a person's skin.

5. Children and smartphones.

How do children use smartphones? What are the benefits? What are the
problems? You might want to focus on a specific age group (young
children, teenagers) or cover a bigger range. Do benefits for children and
families outweigh risks? What software or other technologies have
developed to reduce problems?

6. Recent copyright battles for music and movies.

Report on several recent strategies used by the entertainment industries
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 (legal, technological, and business) to prevent unauthorized copying.
Evaluate the effectiveness and ethics of the methods. Describe current
controversies.

7. Violence in video/computer games.

What is the impact on the society? Report on some cases and discuss any
policies being established regarding violent games.

8. Cybercrime and senior citizens.

Everyone is taking benefits of internet to perform their day to day activities
like paying bills, online shopping, etc. However, internet users may easily
become the target of cybercrime. In this case, the most vulnerable group is
elderly people. Discuss the factors that increase the risk of cyber crime
among senior citizens and what can be done to overcome this problem.

9. Cyber-bullying
Cyber-bullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell
phones, computers, and tablets. Cyber-bullying can occur through
Whatsapp, social media, gaming and many other platforms where people
can view, participate in, or share content. What are other actions that can
be considered as cyber-bullying? What are negative consequences of
cyber-bullying? What can be done to overcome this problem?

10.Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Drop Out Issue

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is a recent development in the
educational scenario and it can be defined as online courses for large
number of participants which can be accessed by anyone and anywhere for
free using Internet connection. The number of participants enrolling to
MOOCs has increased to 101 million in 2018. However, it is estimated that
less than 10% of the learners in MOOCs completed the courses that they
have enrolled. Discuss factors contributing to this issue and ways to
overcome this problem.

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Writing Requirements

1. Work in a group of 3-4 students.

2. An essay consisting of simple opinions with no references is unacceptable. Since your

essay is based on your research, most of the facts, ideas and views in your paper will be
based on those of other people, who shall be acknowledged, cited and properly listed in
a List of References (bibliography) at the end of the essay.

3. The quality of your paper will be judged on three criteria: Content, Argument, and
Flow.
a. Content refers to the quality of the ideas and information you include in your essay,
including proper references. Do you have enough information? Is it accurate? Is it
relevant?
b. Argument refers to the clarity of your thesis, and the strength and clarity and logical
sequencing of the evidence used to demonstrate your thesis. What is your thesis?
Does your conclusion follow from your argument? Does it persuade the reader?
c. Flow is where the good writing comes in: coherence, grammar, spelling, punctuation,
sentence structure, paragraphing, and so forth. All word processing programmes
have spelling and grammar checkers; use them.

4. The term paper should be at least 6 pages in length, with at least 10 references.
Make your essay is easy to read. Ensure that you have the various facts and ideas
where they fit into the argument.

5. Please refer to the provided Term Paper Guideline for the format.