Final Essay Autumn 2006.

Chose one of the following tasks. Write +- 10 pages.

You will need to search for and collect background material. Take notes and organize them before you start work on the essay. You must use solid argumentation.

Good structure is essential in a longer essay:
Divide it into sections, remember the introduction and conclusion, as well as all references used.

Do not hesitate to ask the teachers' advice.

Deadline: November 17th.

1) System administration.
As a system administrator you have full control over an organization's computer systems. All information that passes through the network will be readable (and modifiable) to you. It is your responsibility to keep the network running, and not abuse your privileges. Implicit in this responsibility is a great deal of trust on the part of both your employer and the individual employees who use the systems that you manage. A lack of preparation or accuracy on your part can lead to companywide downtime.

Discuss some of the ethical issues involved when working as a system administrator. Explore issues such as professional code of conduct, legal requirements, copyright rules, and how to protect yourself if asked to do something illegal.

2) Electronic voting.
Explore the pros and cons of electronic voting, and the ethical issues involved. Discuss technologies as well as various forms of electronic voting, including voting on the Internet.

3) Globalization and Computer Technology.
Discuss the following:

The Internet is seen by many people as a beneficial factor for our societies: they believe that modern communication technology can help the world to free itself from the menace of nationalism and fanaticism that we have seen develop in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Others view modern technology as a threat to local culture through the infiltration of foreign influence, imposing the opinions, views, and manners of people from developed countries over those from the rest of the world.

Another view is that global communities may form a new kind of ethics different from the traditional thinking of the West.