Motivation, Design, and Ubiquity: A Discussion of Research Ethics and Computer Science

Modern society is permeated with computers, and the software that controls them can have latent, long-term, and immediate effects that reach far beyond the actual users of these systems. This places researchers in Computer Science and Software Engineering in a critical position of influence and responsibility, more than any other field because computer systems are vital research tools for other disciplines. This essay presents several key ethical concerns and responsibilities relating to research in computing. The goal is to promote awareness and discussion of ethical issues among computer science researchers. A hypothetical case study is provided, along with questions for reflection and discussion.Comment: Written as central essay for the Computer Science module of the LANGURE model curriculum in Research Ethic

Is it Ethical to Evaluate Web-based Learning Tools using Students

In the Spring semester of 2000 we conducted a controlled and situated study evaluating web-based learning tools. While conducting this study, ethical issues concerning the relationships among research participants (students) and experimenters (instructors and graduate students), research process (informed consent, minimization of harm, competence and confidentiality) and unevaluated tool deployment within university class settings arose. In this short discussion paper we will describe several of these situations and some of the ethical questions that arose from them. Background Web-based learning tools are experiencing widespread adoption across North America at university and college campuses. Learning tool advocates suggest that the tools will improve the quality of education for students, satisfy diverse learning skills, support instructors unfamiliar with web technologies, and ensure consistency across departments and universities. However, the potential disadvantages of applying these tools are significant. Some educators are concerned that these tools are being deployed without regard for students ’ and instructors ’ well being. Meanwhile, institutions are adopting these technologies without fully understanding their impact on the institution, administrators, instructors, and students. To answer some of these questions, our research group conducted a controlled study of these tools in

Learner Generated Content Using Web 2.0 Technologies

Web 2.0 refers to the second generation of the World Wide Web and its associated technological improvements. Web 2.0 technologies are potentially very powerful tools. In this report, a thorough review of the literature concerning Web 2.0 technology is conducted. Web 2.0 is first defined and then the various webtools available for use in schools are investigated. The main types of technologies currently being used are summarised, opportunities for students to generate content are discussed and their successes are compared. The advantages of, and problems associated with, using Web 2.0 technologies in schools are explained, the factors which should be considered when using these tools in the classroom are then clarified and the policies and standards which relate to Web 2.0 technologies are explained. This action research and case study based investigation was conducted into the use of certain Web 2.0 technologies in teaching and learning in one UK secondary school Science classroom, which broadly follows a constructivist paradigm and specifically focuses on opportunities for learners to generate their own web content. The Web 2.0 tools investigated included wikis, free online website generators, commercial packages, etherpads and corkboards. Main findings highlighted that overall, the students who participated in this study largely viewed the ICT tools and Web 2.0 tools they used as being beneficial to their learning, engagement and enjoyment of their science lessons. The researcher also reports an original contribution to the knowledge whereby Key Stage 5 students generated revision websites using a free website creation tool called Yola, to improve their subject knowledge, which they then shared with their peers

Heuristics for use case descriptions.

Use cases, as part of the Unified Modelling Language, have become an industry standard. The major focus has been on the use case diagram. It is only recently that any detailed attention has been paid to the use case description. The description should be written in such a way as to make it communicable to its reader. However, this does not always appear to be the case. This thesis presents the 7 C's of Communicability as quality features of use case descriptions that make them more comprehensible. The 7 C's are derived from software engineering best practice on use case descriptions and from theories of text comprehension. To help in writing descriptions, the CP Use Case Writing Rules are proposed, a small set of guidelines derived from the 7 C's. Going beyond requirements, software engineers often employ use case descriptions to help them build initial design models of the proposed system. Despite Jacobson's claim that "objects naturally fall out of use cases", fording design-oriented classes and objects in use case descriptions is shown not to be straightforward. This thesis proposes a Question Set which allows the engineer to interrogate the description for important elements of specification and design. Experimentation shows that the CP Writing Rules furnish descriptions that are as comprehensible as those written by other guidelines proposed in the literature. It is also suggested that descriptions be written from the perspective of their intended audience. The limitations of conducting requirements engineering experiments using students are considered and it is suggested that experimenters should not expect large effects from the results. An industrial case study shows that although the CP Rules could not be applied to all events in the use case descriptions, they were applied to most and at varying levels of abstraction. The case study showed that the 7 C's did identify problems with the written descriptions. The Question Set was well received by the case study stakeholders, but it was considered time consuming. One of the overriding findings from the case study was that project time constraints would not allow the company to use the techniques suggested, although they recognised the need to do so. Automation would make industrial application of the CP Rules and 7 C's more feasible