Course Synopses

The course Social Informatics (SI) is a 3 credit course offered to students at year 4. It has a requirement for the following prerequisites: CSI 352 & ISS 302. The course is about Social Informatics from the following perspectives IT, ICT and computing their impacts in the discipline of computer science, information usage, management, transmission, security as it impacts on society as well as the IT and ICT tools and applications used. The course covers the following topics; Basic concepts of Social Informatics, Theoretical Frameworks models for SI in IT & ICT, Ethical issues of specific IT application systems in SI, Virtual communities, professional responsibilities and legal aspects in social informatics issues, Risk, liability, intellectual property and copyright issues in SI and Current trends and global perspectives in social and professional issues, IT management in social informatics. The course is offered for duration of 1 semester in the first semester for 3hrs per week.

To introduce students to social Informatics
To equip students with fundamental knowledge on theoretical frameworks for social and ethical analysis of IT & ICT in social informatics
To provide students with knowledge on social and ethical issues of specific IT application systems e.g. internet
To alert students of possible privacy and social safety and reliability frameworks of social informatics
To equip students with knowledge on electronic/virtual communities, professional responsibilities and legal aspects in social informatics issues
To provide students with knowledge on risk, liability, intellectual property and copyright issues in social informatics
To introduce students to current trends and global perspectives in social and professional issues, IT management in social informatics