Aims and Learning Outcomes

This half-unit module aims to provide students with an understanding of the impact that information and the systems that manage it have on the ways in which information is gathered, processed, stored and disseminated in society. The course aims to look beyond the organisation, focusing on the impact and potential impact of information on society as a whole. Key issues discussed include: technological trends and social change; ethics, morality and information and policies developed by governments for the information society.

By the end of the module students will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of information on technological change; society; government and international relations, e-commerce, education, and the place of the individual.
• Identify key issues involved in the development of the "Information Society."
• Articulate personal perspectives and show a critical awareness of the positive and negative issues of the information society.

Assessment

Please refer to the page on plagiarism and the essay and report writing FAQ before attempting this assessment.

The remaining 50% of course marks will be assessed by an end-of-year examination. Sample exam questions are available here, here and here.

Lectures

All class members should read documents marked with an asterisk.

• Monday 29 Septober (UCL Week 2):
  Definitions of the information society and course overview [lecture notes].
  
  
• Monday 6 October (UCL Week 3):
  Copyrights and copywrongs [lecture notes].
  Reading: The Economy of Ideas*; Implementing the European Union Copyright Directive (introduction); Free Culture (introduction); Larry Lessig @ UCL; Copyright, Software and the Internet; A natural experiment: Do we want ‘faith-based’ IP Policy?; More rights are wrong for webcasters.
  
  
• Monday 13 October (UCL Week 4):
  Freedom of information.
  Guest speaker: Ben Worthy [lecture notes].
  Reading: National Audit Office good practice guide; Freedom of information and data protection: reconciling conflicting objectives; FOI hits the UK with a bang*; Humanitarian Disasters and Information Rights (introduction and I.3); Your Right to Know (chapter 4); Your Right to Know Handbook (chapter 2).
  
  
• Monday 20 October (UCL Week 5):
  Internet governance and standards [lecture notes].
  Reading: The Tao of the IETF.
  
  
• Monday 27 October (UCL Week 6):
  Medical information systems [lecture notes].
  Reading: The Risks of Making Assumptions about Consent*.
  
  Electronic voting [lecture notes].
  Reading: Analyzing internet voting security; A review of social and academic research into voting at UK Parliamentary general elections (chapter 4); Small vote manipulations can swing elections; Labour election fraud ‘would disgrace a banana republic’*; True Voter-Verifiable Elections (ignore grey-boxed text); The code of elections.
  
  
• Monday 10 November (UCL Week 8):
  Internet regulation.
  Guest speaker: Chris Marsden [lecture notes].
  Reading: ICANN and Internet governance; Governing Cyberspace; Report of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance; Welcome to Sealand. Now Bugger Off*; Media Regulation on the Internet.
  
  
• Monday 17 November (UCL Week 9):
  Biometrics.
  Guest speaker: Angela Sasse [lecture notes]
  Reading: The Identity Project (chapter on "Biometrics")*; Biometrics at the Frontiers (chapter 4); Challenges in Using Biometrics; The US/Mexico border crossing card; UK Passport Service Biometrics Enrolment Trial (chapter 1); Feasibility Study on Use of Biometrics in an Entitlement Scheme (sections 1-5); Make your own ID*.
  
  
• Monday 1 December (UCL Week 11):
  Software and patents.
  Guest speaker: Rufus Pollock [lectures notes].
  Reading: Geneva Declaration on the Future of the World Intellectual Property Organization*; Why software should not have owners; FFII guide to software patents; Ensuring patent laws promote innovation; The FTC report on patents and competition.
  
  
• Monday 8 December (UCL Week 12):
  Privacy and security [lecture notes].
  Reading: Mistaken Identity: Exploring the Relationship Between National Identity Cards & the Prevention of Terrorism*; The Identity Project (chapters on "Overview of the legislative proposals", "Policing and ID", "Race, Discrimination, Immigration and Policing" and "Security, Safety and the National Identity Register"); Doublespeak and the war on terror.