GEN 110 - Freshman Seminar: Computers and Society

Dr. R. M. Siegfried

214 Post Hall      (516)877-4482      siegfrie@adelphi.edu

Office Hours - MWF 10:00-10:50AM; Th 10:00AM-1:00PM

Course Home Page | Announcements | Syllabus | Class notes | Assigned Papers | Suggested Term Paper Topics

Potential Term Paper Topics

You will find below a list of suggested topics (that may be updated before paper term topics are due) from which you may choose. If you have a topic of your own, feel free to work on that, subject to prior approval. This condition is made solely to make sure that it is broad enough to provide enough material and limited enough to be adequately covered in your paper.

This list will be revised. While it may provide some guidance, you will receive a revised copy of this before you are asked to pick a topic.

  1. The cost of computer crime in monetary and non-monetary terms.
  2. Should (or does) the media glorify hackers?
  3. Should hacking be a crime?
  4. Can you protect your privacy in the Computer Age?
  5. Are computer criminals being treated harshly enough?
  6. How "true to life" is "The Net?" or .Sneakers.? Or any movie in which computers and computer networks play a large role?
  7. Should Microsoft have been broken into several smaller companies?
  8. Is open source software as good as commercial software?
  9. Should there be censorship in Cyberspace?
  10. Hate groups and/or hate speech on the Internet
  11. Cyberporn - is it too available? Should be it censored?
  12. Should hacking information be available on the Internet?
  13. How easy is it to hack into a computer system?
  14. Viruses - benign or not?
  15. How a computer viruses created.
  16. Intellectual Property Rights under the Law
  17. Lotus vs. Paperback Software or Lotus vs. Borland - what are the issues and how were they resolved (or other cases with "look and feel" issues)
  18. Are software patents a good thing?
  19. Can we truly rely on expert systems?
  20. Is it ethical to monitor keystrokes.
  21. Carpal tunnel syndrome and the computerized workplace.
  22. Electronic voting . is it honest (or accurate)?
  23. How accurate was the vote-counting in the Presidential Election of 2000 (or 2004) in any other election?
  24. How widespread is software (or music or movie) piracy?
  25. Is the Music (or movie) industry justified (or wise) in suing individuals
  26. How does KaZaa (or LimeWire or any other music sharing software or site) work?

You are expected to submit your choice of topic by Wednesday, September 21. On Thursday, October 18, we will discuss term topics and you will either have your topic approved or I will suggest a modified topic and will be more suitable for the scope of this course.