Research and Writing Seminar
Spring 1999
Dr. Donald G. Davis, Jr.
Readable Writing--Final Product and First Draft

Editor
Communications
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036

I whole heartedly agree with educators Judith Gal-Ezer and David Harel that good computer science educators should be familiar with material that will expand their perspectives on the field. "What (Else) Should CS Educators Know?," (September, 1998, vol. 41, no. 9), presents bibliographies that provide extensive coverage of two aspects of the field -- systems and algorithmics. May I suggest that a third aspect, "Computers, Ethics, and Society," is also critically important for CS educators to study?

Employers are interested in computer science professionals who come from the classroom equipped with the ability to learn new technologies and a basic understanding of the social aspects of technology. Both are important skills. Let's broaden the perspectives of our students by expanding the base of what CS educators need to know to include readings that embrace people-oriented computer science issues. Let's broaden the discussions to include the social aspects of computing.

Computer science professionals will each have their favorite readings to contribute to the study of the computer and society. Mine include Hiltz, S. (1993). The network nation: Human communication via computer (Rev. ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press; Kling, R. (Ed.). (1996). Computerization and controversy: Value conflicts and social choices. (2nd ed.). San Diego: Academic Press; Pool, I. (1983). Technologies of freedom. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press; Rothenberg, J. (1995). "Ensuring the longevity of digital documents." Scientific American, 272(1), 42-47; and Task Force on Archiving Digital Information. (May 1, 1996). Preserving digital information: Report of the Task Force on Archiving of Digital Information commissioned by the Commission on Preservation and Access and the Research Libraries Group. Washington, DC: Commission on Preservation and Access. These readings encompass issues of digital libraries and information sources, preservation of digital cultural resources, the privacy rights of individuals in this society, intellectual ownership of digital information, and technology and communication.

The Library and Information Science profession is grappling with these topics and I would invite CS professionals to join us in addressing and commenting on these interesting and evolving social aspects of computing.

Susan K. Soy

Doctoral Student, University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX

First Draft reviewed in class

Dear Editor,

I agree with educators Judith Gal-Ezer and David Harel that good computer science educators should be familiar with material that will expand their perspectives on the field. "What (Else) Should CS Educators Know?" presents bibliographies that provide extensive coverage of two aspects of the field -- systems and algorithmics. I suggest that a third aspect, "Computers, Ethics, and Society," is also critically important for CS educators to study. When we broaden the base of the CS educator's knowledge to include the people-oriented computer science issues, we also increase the probability that the educator will introduce students to broader perspectives that will be helpful in real world situations. This portion of the CS educator's knowledge base would include readings that delve into issues such as preservation of the digital cultural record of our time, communication and the social aspects of technology, and the interesting and controversial topics of intellectual ownership of digital information and privacy rights of individuals.

The bibliography for this topic includes:

Hiltz, S. (1993). The network nation: Human communication via computer (Rev. ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

This revised edition of an earlier work (1978) discusses topics such as distance learning, computer-mediated communication, and the virtual classroom.

Kling, R. (Ed.). (1996). Computerization and controversy: Value conflicts and social choices. (2nd ed.). San Diego: Academic Press.

This work addresses the ethical and professional responsibilities of the information and computer science professional.

Lesk, M. (1997). Practical digital libraries: Books, bytes, and bucks. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann.

Michael Lesk writes about the abstract, theoretical, and practical aspects of digital libraries.

Pool, I. (1983). Technologies of freedom. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press.

Pool tackles freedom of speech in this work and proposes that the First Amendment applies fully to all media, that anyone should be allowed to publish, that enforcement of law must be after the fact, not by prior restraint, and that in a free society, government regulation is the last recourse.

Rothenberg, J. (1995). Ensuring the longevity of digital documents. Scientific American, 272(1), 42-47.

Rothenberg begins his article by imagining his grandchildren coping with the task of reading and interpreting files on a CD-ROM long after the right equipment to read the disk has been discarded. He illustrates the vulnerability of digital information and suggests that virtual envelopes be used to preserve the contents of the file verbatim and that contextual information is needed to describe file contents and the history of the data transformation.

Task Force on Archiving Digital Information. (May 1, 1996). Preserving digital information: Report of the Task Force on Archiving of Digital Information commissioned by the Commission on Preservation and Access and the Research Libraries Group. Washington, DC: Commission on Preservation and Access.

This report states that the first line of defense against loss of valuable digital information rests with the creators, providers, and owners of digital information. It recommends the expansion of descriptive standards and practices so that the special requirements of digital preservation and access are developed and incorporated by software producers at the point of product creation.

We know that employers are interested in computer science professionals who come from the classroom equipped with the ability to learn new technologies and a basic understanding of the social aspects of technology. Let's broaden their perspectives in these areas by expanding the base of what CS educators need to know to include these readings.

Susan K. Soy
Austin, TX

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