Reminder that you have an opportunity to earn 5 points of your paper mark by giving a 5 minute "elevator pitch" presentation of your paper topic and insights, on 5 December in class. There will be a price for the best presentation. I will also hand out the prize for the best assignment 3 submission. You must be in attendance to receive your prize.
You can bring your presentation on a USB stick, your own computer, or you can email it to me if you want to use my computer.
I have marked the last assignment as well as the exam and you should all have received emails with your grades. If you wish to view and/or inspect your exam, please drop by my office during office hours, or email me for an appointment.
We have concluded the lecture and assignment portions of the course and will now turn our attention to completion of the last deliverable: the term paper. There will therefore be no more lectures in this course. Instead, we will do the following:
> I will be available in my office during the scheduled lecture times (8:30 to 9:50 on Tuesday and Thursday) for the next three sessions (November 26 and 28, and December 3) to assist anyone with their paper. Please take advantage of this to make your paper the best it can be.
> On December 5, we will have everyone present an "elevator pitch" of their paper during the scheduled lecture time (8:30 – 9:50) in Ganong 313 ( our classroom). I will award a prize for the best pitch. On that day, I will also announce the winner of the best CV from assignment 3. The winner must be in attendance to receive the prize.
I have completed preparation of the exam and it is comprised as follows: 11 Fill in the Blank (11 points); 18 Multiple Choice (18 points); 10 True or False (10 points); 2 Short Answer (10 points); and 1 Fact Scenario Analysis (8 points). Please ensure you attend the exam prep session on 19 November.
The Student Opinion Survey (SOS) is now available. Please take a moment to complete it. Your anonymous feedback is very valuable to me in continuously improving my courses!
I have now completed the Exam Checklist and am working on putting together the exam, which is scheduled for Thursday November 21, IN CLASS. Details of the make-up of the exam will be posted here next week. We will do a review of the material for the exam on Tuesday November 19 in class.
My office hours this week are by appointment only, as they are painting my office. If you need me for anything, please catch me on Teams or email me, and we will find a time and place to meet.
Assignment 2 has now been marked and you should have received an email with your grade. Reminder that assignment 3 is due by midnight November 7.
Assignment 3 is now available here.
Assignment 2 is now available here.
I fixed the submission requirements link in Assignment 1, and it is now pointing to the right spot lower on this page.
I added a link on the CS 3983 Resources page, to the Latex template with packages I often use (here is a direct link). I have also added the links Alex Goudreau provided during her guest lecture today.
Assignment 1 is now available here.
Jake van der Laan. You can email me here. Learn a bit about me from my LinkedIn profile.
Everything relating to this course will be posted on this page. Please bookmark it.
When appropriate, any adjustments or updates regarding lectures, assignments, etc. will be made by way of an email to the whole class, as well as by adding a new item to the News and Updates section above.
Please ensure you check your email regularly.
I am more than happy to chat with any student using any of the following channels:
Meet me in person at my office in Hazen Hall 302. I will be in my office every Tuesday and Thursday between 10:00 and 11:30 and from 12:30 to 14:00. Please drop by and say hi. If that does not work for you, please connect with me via Teams or email to set up another time.
Chat with me online anytime you see me as "Available" in Teams.
Email me at anytime. I will endeavour to get back to you within 24 hours.
Please don't be shy if you have questions or issues, or even if you don't, drop by and say hi. I am here to help you succeed in learning the course material and also delighted to help you in any other way that I can (like reviewing your resume!). If I can help you, you will help me live longer. Win win.
This course covers the social context of computing, professional and ethical responsibility, risks and liabilities of computer-based systems, intellectual property, privacy and civil liberties, and professional certification by the Canadian Information Processing Society.
Students are also instructed in the rudiments of research, the preparation of a technical report project plan, and will complete an academic report or paper.
(These are at a high level, and put together with Bloom's Taxonomy in mind)
Understand the role of computers in society today.
Gain an appreciation of the various risks inherent in computing and their potential effects and impacts.
Understand the various issues emanating from the increased use of AI technologies.
Understand what ethics are.
Understand why ethical behaviour is important.
Understand the key components of an ethical standard.
Gain insight into various types of ethical "conundrums".
Apply an analysis to a factual situation to identify any ethical implications.
Understand how ethics, standards and controls are managed in a corporate environment.
Be aware of available ethical resources.
Understand (at a high level) how the legal system works.
Understand basic concepts in the following areas of the law, which may be applicable to computing professionals: Civil Liberties, Patents, Trademarks, Copyright, and Industrial Design, Privacy and Data Protection, and AI regulation.
Understand what Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) standards are
Understand what a corporation is and how it functions.
Understand how incorporation offers benefits in certain instances.
Understand the purpose of taxation and the different types if taxes citizens pay.
Gain an appreciation of the importance of financial planning
Understand the various threats to computing systems, how they have evolved and continue to evolve.
Understand how the perpetrators of internet mediated crime operate.
Understand the process steps to protecting a computing system.
Gain a basic understanding of the various cybersecurity risk management frameworks and how they function.
Explain the purpose and significance of internal controls in information systems and IT environments.
Differentiate between preventive, detective, and corrective controls.
Explain the principles of designing robust internal controls.
Understand the relationship between internal controls and regulatory compliance, such as SOX or GDPR.
Recognize the importance of continuous monitoring and periodic review of controls.
Reflect on the ethical responsibilities of computer scientists in designing and maintaining internal controls.
Know where to find resources with respect to internal control best practices.
Understand what formal project management is and why it is beneficial.
Be able to identify and apply the rudimentary project management steps.
Be aware of available project management resources.
Understand what risk management is and why it is beneficial.
Understand the basic steps of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM).
Gain insight into what CIPS is.
Know what the various CIPS certifications are.
Learn the benefits of certification.
Know how to apply for certification.
Become aware of CIPS and other certification resources.
Understand how to conduct research on a topic of interest.
Be able to track your research and citations.
Know how to plan the preparation of an academic paper or report.
Understand how to organize your thinking towards writing.
Be able to use Latex, a wonderful typesetting tool.
Be able to write effectively.
12 credit hours at the 2000 level or higher.
Lectures and class discussions will be on Tuesday and Thursday morning from 8:30 to 9:50 in Ganong Hall 313.
These sessions will be in-person as a default, but we may mix it up with the occasional online meeting and/or a virtual guest speaker.
Please consult the CS 3983 Course Schedule page for details of the various meeting and deliverable deadline dates for the course. This page will be updated as we go along.
There is no required textbook for this course. There is a wealth of good stuff online, which we will rely on instead. All resources will be placed on the CS 3983 Resources page.
The material listed on the CS 3983 Resources page will constitute the source material for your learning and you should make time to read and understand it as we proceed through the course. This will lay a foundation of knowledge, with which you will then be able to complete the assignments and tests successfully.
You may also find the following writing resource useful, which is available for loan at the library:
> Writing for Computer Science, Third edition, Justin Zobel (Springer, ISBN 978-1-4471-6638-2): https://web.lib.unb.ca/reserves/index.php/viewReserves/79354
The most important skill to have as a computer science professional is the ability to problem-solve. Developing problem solving skills requires practice and effort. Problem solving capacity develops robustly only after the application of such effort over time.
Seasoned IT professionals have developed a keen intuition about how to analyze problems and implement efficient solutions, grounded in a solid understanding of key programming and software development concepts and approaches to the specific functional aspects of computing.
If you want to develop those skills and intuitions, then resist leaning on AI tools such as GPT for the problem solving aspects of your assignments.
You can, and should use these tools to get quick answers to simple questions, which help you in your learning. But don't use them to do the "thinking" for you.
If I suspect that you may have used an LLM to do a deliverable for you, I reserve the right to interview you to verify that the deliverable's content has been produced by your personal effort.
Assignments (3): 30 points
In Class Exam: 35 points
Proposal and Term Paper: 35 points
(There is no final exam)
There will be three substantive assignments worth 10 points each. They will take time to complete. Don't leave them to the last minute.
Find links to them in the site menu on the left.
Please consult the CS 3983 Course Schedule page for the due dates of assignments. Assignments must be submitted by email to the instructor, no later than 11:59 p.m. on the day they are due.
An assignment submission should be formatted as follows:
The first page contains the students name, student ID, Course identifier, assignment number and date.
Appropriate headings are used.
Responses to questions posed in the assignment are presented in a logical and easy to read manner.
The body of the submission uses a font size of 11 or 12.
All sources are properly cited with footnotes or endnotes.
All assignments must be done individually.
Points awarded for assignments are reduced by 1 point for each late day, or part thereof.
Points awarded for the term paper are reduced by 5 points for each late day, or part thereof, for up to 2 days. A term paper submitted 3 days late will receive a grade of 0 (zero).
I reserve the right to, in my sole discretion, grant extensions for due dates where doing so is justified. Students who find themselves in a situation where due to circumstances beyond their control they are not able to meet a deadline, must proactively contact me before the deadline and request an extension. No extensions will be given after a deadline has passed.
0 < 50: F
50 < 55: D
55 < 60: C
60 < 65: C+
65 < 70: B-
70 < 75: B
75 < 80: B+
80 < 85: A-
85 < 90: A
90+: A+
Students are expected to attend all scheduled class meetings.
One exam will be held in class on the date set out on the CS 3983 Course Schedule page. This exam will be composed of a number of different types of questions, including multiple choice, true or false, fill in the blank, short answers, and questions requiring the holistic application of the knowledge gained during the course.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Please consult the Undergraduate Calendar for the university’s description and policy on plagiarism: http://www.unb.ca/academics/calendar/undergraduate/current/regulations/universitywideacademicregulations/viii-academicoffences/index.html
Students must diligently ensure that they do not engage in any of the following as it relates to any of the deliverables for this course:
> Quoting verbatim or almost verbatim from any source, including all electronic sources, without acknowledgment.
> Adopting someone else’s line of thought, argument, arrangement, or supporting evidence without acknowledgment.
> Submitting someone else’s work, in whatever form without acknowledgment. Knowingly representing as one’s own work any idea of another.
Academic accommodations for students with disabilities are provided by the Student Accessibility Centre. If you are a student with a disability and would like to discuss potential academic accommodations, you are encouraged to contact Ken Craft, Student Accessibility Centre Coordinator. Ken can be reached at kcraft@unb.ca or 648-5690.
The University has a wonderful student services team, who can provide you with great support, including help with learning how to study effectively, how to manage your time, how to write a paper, etc. Check them out at https://www.unb.ca/sas/academic-success/.