Social and Environmental Aspects of Information Technology

Credits
3
Types
Elective
Requirements
This subject has not requirements , but it has got previous capacities
Department
ESSI
Web
https://learnsql.fib.upc.es/moodle/
In this course we debate the impact on society of new advances in Business Intelligence and Big Data. The course is structured in two parts. In the first one we focus on reading and debating on visionary papers that draw new research lines in the field of decisional systems (the so-called next Generation BI systems that are tightly related with Big Data). In the second part we focus on ethics and the impact of such approaches on society.

The spirit of the course is to promote a critical reasoning about the impact of new technological advances that most of the time are only measured in economical terms.

Objectives

  1. Acknowledge the current and future impact of next generation BI systems and Big Data on society
    Related competences:
  2. Ability to study and analyze problems in a critical mood
    Related competences:
  3. Ability to critically read texts
    Related competences:
  4. Develop critical reasoning with special focus on ethics and social impact
    Related competences:
  5. Develop soft skills to defend - criticize a predetermined position in public
    Related competences:
  6. Improve the writing skills
    Related competences:

Contents

  1. Introduction
    In this first module we will present the course, its structure and methodology.
  2. Next generation BI and Big Data Systems: What's next? Visionary ideas
    This module focuses on what is next in the area of Big Data and BI. Throughout these sessions several innovative ideas (not yet massively in use) are presented and discussed. This includes topics such as the coupling of the Semantic Web and Big Data, or user-centered solutions.
  3. Ethics and social impact of next generation BI systems and Big Data
    After presenting what will be next in the area of BI and Big Data, in this module we discuss the impact these new ideas will have on society. More specifically, we will discuss about ethics, personal data protection, hacking, licensing / patenting and IP rights.

Activities

Activity Evaluation act


Introduction

The course is introduced. We will discuss the course structure, the methodology and the evaluation.
  • Theory: The course is introduced. We will discuss the course structure, the methodology and the evaluation.
Objectives: 1
Contents:
Theory
1h
Problems
0h
Laboratory
0h
Guided learning
0h
Autonomous learning
0h

Debates on Next Generation BI and Big Data Ideas: What's Next

During these sessions the debates discussing innovative and visionary ideas on BI and Big Data will take place. You must read the available material before the debate. Then, during the debate you will assign to a group: either to defend an idea, or go against it. You may also be asked to moderate the debate. Then, the debate takes place and afterwards, each group needs to write down a report with their conclusions.
  • Problems: The debates will take place throughout 2 weeks.
  • Autonomous learning: The student is expected to read the available material to prepare the debate before the lecture. Also, the student is expected to create the summary report after the debate.
Objectives: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Contents:
Theory
0h
Problems
6h
Laboratory
0h
Guided learning
0h
Autonomous learning
14h

Debates on Ethics and social impact of next generation BI systems and Big Data

During these sessions the debates discussing innovative and visionary ideas on BI and Big Data will take place. You must read the available material before the debate. Then, during the debate you will assign to a group: either to defend an idea, or go against it. You may also be asked to moderate the debate. Then, the debate takes place and afterwards, each group needs to write down a report with their conclusions.
  • Problems: The debates will take place throughout 6 weeks.
  • Autonomous learning: The student is expected to read the available material to prepare the debate before the lecture. Also, the student is expected to create the summary report after the debate.
Objectives: 5 6 1 2 3 4
Contents:
Theory
0h
Problems
18h
Laboratory
0h
Guided learning
0h
Autonomous learning
42h

Teaching methodology

There will be 9 face-to-face sessions (the first 9 weeks of the semester). The first one introduces the course. The other will be debates. Before each debate, some material (typically papers) will be proposed for a debate during the lecture.

The students are meant to read the paper *before* the lecture.
During the lecture, there will be an organized debate (pro and against groups will be configured as well as a moderator).
After the debate, each group (pro, against and moderator) will be asked to write down their debate conclusions.

The course methodology puts the focus on three main aspects:
- Critical reasoning (with special focus on ethics and social impact),
- Develop soft skills to defend - criticize a position in public,
- Improve the writing skills summarizing an event.

Evaluation methodology

Each debate entails two main parts:
- (60%) The face-to-face debate Db (this mark is computed from the report written by the moderator group and supervised by the lecturers),
- (40%) The written conclusions Wr.

Thus, each debate mark is computed as Db*0,6 + Wr*0,4. The final mark will be computed as the average of the tenth debates.

The evaluation is done on an individual basis.

Bibliography

Basic

Complementary

Previous capacities

Basic knowledge in Business Intelligence and Big Data.