CSE 199: Internet, Computing, and Society

Description

The internet is changing every aspect of our lives, including how we communicate, learn, navigate, organize, work, play, and love. The internet also represents a crowning achievement of computing: a single system uniting hardware and software, theory and implementation, standards and innovation, engineering and science, protests that topple governments and stupid cat videos. This course provides an overview of the Internet. Along with its technologies, we will delve into the internets past and future, the driving forces behind it, and societal implications. The course is targeted at a general audience, but because the internet reflects contributions from many areas of computer science and computer engineering, it also provides a good overview for potential majors. Familiarity with the web and access to a personal computer are assumed, but no technical background is required.

Course Format

The course consists of 2 lectures and 1 recitation per week. There are 7 modules, and each module is for 2 weeks taught by a different CSE faculty member.

Both lecture and recitation attendance are required. Tardiness to lecture or recitation will result in grade deductions, as described in Grading, below.

Instructors

Kenneth Joseph, David Doermann, Ifeoma Nwogui, Jingjing Meng, Marina Blanton, Nasrin Akhter, Karthik Dantu.

Office hours for each instructor can be found on the course website.

Modules

Introduction

In the first two weeks, all sections discuss the history of the Internet, how the internet and computing impacts society, and the effects of diversity and identity on the field.

The Effects of Misinformation

Instructor: David Doermann

Topics discussed: The frequency, speed, method of delivery, and integrity of the information we receive have changed drastically in the past two decades. We will look at how information is weaponized and its effects on society, even if it can be proven false. How is it spread? What are the effects on various populations? What tools do we have to fight it? What do we need moving forward to ensure the integrity of the information we are exposed to?

Digital data representation and compression

Instructor: Jingjing Meng

Topics discussed: How do we represent digital contents (e.g., text, images, videos)? How do we measure the amount of information in digital contents? Why do we need to compress them? How do we compress digital data (the math and the psychology behind it)?

Data Mining

Instructor: Nasrin Akhter

Topics discussed: What is a data mining process? Why do data mining? What types of data?

Looking into the use of data mining in the past and present. Clarifying misconceptions about data mining. How to find patterns in data? How to predict future events from data? What are the issues and challenges of data mining?

Making Computing Antiracist

Instructor: Kenneth (Kenny) Joseph

Topics discussed: Many ideas about computation emerged from a desire to organize, sort, and manage people. This module will first help you to understand how this goal for computing led to a deep embedding of race into computing technology, and what the implications of that process have been. We will then ask you to work together to come up with creative solutions that help modern technology to not only be not racist, but to actively work to discourage racism. Group solutions will be judged and the best solutions will be presented in an awards ceremony to leaders in computing and the social sciences from leading companies and universities.

Infrastructure

Instructor: Karthik Dantu

Topics discussed: In this module we will learn what the underlying infrastructure of the internet is. We learn what kinds of hardware and software components there are in the Internet infrastructure. This module helps you understand how a packet of information is formed on your computer, and how it finds its way to the destination halfway across the globe, going over the details of the protocols involved in this process.

Privacy

Instructor: Marina Blanton

Topics discussed: The module treats the subject of privacy of individuals using the internet and covers topics such as what online privacy is, information collection and data breaches, privacy laws, various forms of tracking on the Web and possible defenses, anonymous communication, and mechanisms for computing with private data without revealing it.

Grading

The grading is based on four things - recitation activities, lecture questions, assignments, and attendance. In all of the grading components, 1 point carries the same weight.

Recitation Activities

● You will do activities during recitations. For example, you will write an essay to present it to other people, or you will solve a puzzle with others in your group.

● Each recitation is graded generally as follows.

○ 0 pts: No attendance

○ 1 pt: Attendance but clearly no effort for the activity

○ 2 pts: Attendance and partial effort for the activity

○ 3 pts: Attendance and full effort for the activity

○ (Following Bill Rapaports scheme: https://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/howigrade.html)

● Each activity will detail the grading rubric specific to it.

Lecture Questions

During each lecture, one or more questions will be asked to ensure that you are grasping the material. These questions will count towards your final score in the course, and will be allotted one point per question.

Assignments

For most of the weeks, there will be an assignment every week. Those assignments will be worth 3 points each, and will have a grading rubric similar to that of recitation activities. It is entirely your responsibility to know what the assignments are and do them by the deadlines.

Attendance

● We will take attendance for every recitation.

● Arriving at recitation more than five minutes late will result in a maximum recitation score of 1 point for the day.

● For every 3 classes or recitations that you miss, we will downgrade your letter grade by one (e.g., A to A-, then to B+, etc.).

● Per the universitys class attendance policy, (s)tudents may be justifiably absent from classes due to military obligations, religious observances, illness documented by a physician or other appropriate health care professional, conflicts with university-sanctioned activities documented by an appropriate university administrator, public emergencies, and documented personal or family emergencies. The student is responsible for notifying the instructor in writing with as much advance notice as possible. Instructors may determine a reasonable amount of coursework that should be completed in order to make up the students absence. Students are responsible for the prompt completion of any alternative assignments.

Breakdown

Grade	Quality Points	Percentage
A	4.0	92.0% -100.00%
A-	3.67	88.0% - 91.9%
B+	3.33	84.0% - 87.9%
B	3.00	80.0% - 83.9%
B-	2.67	76.0% - 79.9%
C+	2.33	72.0% - 75.9%
C	2.00	66.0% - 71.9%
C-	1.67	62.0% - 65.9%
D+	1.33	58.0% - 61.9%
D	1.00	50.0% - 57.9%
F	0	49.9% or below

Incompletes (I/IU)

The course follows the university undergraduate incomplete policy.

A grade of incomplete (I) indicates that additional coursework is required to fulfill the requirements of a given course. Students may only be given an I grade if they have a passing average in coursework that has been completed and have well-defined parameters to complete the course requirements that could result in a grade better than the default grade. An I grade may not be assigned to a student who did not attend the course.

Prior to the end of the semester, students must initiate the request for an I grade and receive the instructors approval. Assignment of an I grade is at the discretion of the instructor.

The instructor must specify a default letter grade at the time the I grade is submitted. A default grade is the letter grade the student will receive if no additional coursework is completed and/or a grade change form is not filed by the instructor. I grades must be completed within 12 months (see the Incomplete Grade Policy for the schedule). Individual instructors may set shorter time limits for removing an incomplete than the 12 month time limit. Upon assigning an I grade, the instructor shall provide the student specification, in writing or by electronic mail, of the requirements to be fulfilled, and shall file a copy with the appropriate departmental office. Students must not re-register for courses for which they have received an I grade.

UB Portfolio

You are completing this course as part of your UB Curriculum requirements. Please select an artifact from this course that is representative of your learning and save it in a safe location with a clear title. Your final UB Curriculum requirement, UBC 399: UB Curriculum Capstone, will require you to submit these artifacts as you process and reflect on your achievement and growth through the UB Curriculum. Artifacts include homework assignments, exams, research papers, projects, lab reports, presentations, and other coursework. For more information, see the UB Curriculum Capstone website: https://www.buffalo.edu/ubcurriculum/capstone.html.

Academic Integrity Policy

The course follows the university undergraduate academic integrity policy. Students will be asked to confirm that they have followed the policy when submitting work online, and all final papers will be uploaded to TurnItIn.com for online grading and originality checks.

Please note that as attendance is part of your grade, falsifying attendance in any fashion is a violation of academic integrity policy, and can result in an F grade in the course.

Communication & Email Policy

Students are responsible for email sent to their official University at Buffalo email address. Also, we will use the course website for all course-related communication.

Accessibility Resources

If you have any disability which requires reasonable accommodations to enable you to participate in this course, please contact the Office of Accessibility Resources, 60 Capen Hall, 645-2608, and also the instructor of this course. The office will provide you with information and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations.

Critical Campus Resources

Sexual Violence

UB is committed to providing a safe learning environment free of all forms of discrimination and sexual harassment, including sexual assault, domestic and dating violence and stalking. If you have experienced gender-based violence (intimate partner violence, attempted or completed sexual assault, harassment, coercion, stalking, etc.), UB has resources to help. This includes academic accommodations, health and counseling services, housing accommodations, helping with legal protective orders, and assistance with reporting the incident to police or other UB officials if you so choose. Please contact UBs Title IX Coordinator at 716-645-2266 for more information. For confidential assistance, you may also contact a Crisis Services Campus Advocate at 716-796-4399.

Mental Health

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. These might include strained relationships, anxiety, high levels of stress, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, health concerns, or unwanted sexual experiences. Counseling, Health Services, and Health Promotion are here to help with these or other issues you may experience. You can learn more about these programs and services by contacting:

Counseling Services:

120 Richmond Quad (North Campus), 716-645-2720

202 Michael Hall (South Campus), 716-829-5800

Health Services:

Michael Hall (South Campus), 716-829-3316

Health Promotion:

114 Student Union (North Campus), 716-645-2837

Required Textbook

All course materials will be available online.

Meeting Times & Locations

Recitation Sections

Section	Time	Location	Instructor
A1	Fr 5:20PM - 6:10PM	Talbert 106	Nasrin
A2	Fr 12:40PM - 1:30PM	OBrian 210	Alessandro
A3	Fr 10:20AM - 11:10AM	Capen 109	Dennis
A4	Th 5:35PM - 6:25PM	Park 145	Alessandro
B1	Fr 5:20PM - 6:10PM	Park 145	Doermann
B2	Th 11:10AM - 12:00PM	Academic Center 355	Marina
B3	Th 9:35AM- 10:25AM	OBrian 212	Jingjing
B4	Th 2:20PM - 3:10PM	Academic Center 351	Jingjing
C1	Fr 12:40PM - 1:30PM	Baldy 117	Kenny
C2	Fr 11:30AM - 12:20PM	OBrian 210	Dennis
C3	Th 2:20PM - 3:10PM	Academic Center 328	Karthik
C4	Th 2:20PM - 3:10PM	Academic Center 352	Ifeoma
D1	Fr 4:10PM - 5:00PM	Park 145	Doermann
D2	Th 3:55PM - 4:45PM	Capen 110	Jingjing
D3	Fr 2:20PM - 3:10PM	Park 146	Nasrin
D4	Fr 3:00PM - 3:50PM	Capen 110	Kenny
E1	Fr 5:20PM - 6:10PM	Park 146	Marina
E2	Th 5:30PM - 6:20PM	Baldy 117	Nasrin
E3	Th 4:00PM - 4:50PM	Capen 109	Karthik
E4	Fr 4:10PM - 5:00PM	Talbert 106	Nasrin
F1	Fr 10:20AM - 11:10AM	Park 146	Jingjing
F2	Fr 11:30AM - 12:20PM	Park 146	Jingjing
F3	Th 11:10AM - 12:00PM	Clemens 219	Ifeoma
F4	Th 11:10AM - 12:00PM	Capen 260	Jingjing

UB Seminar Student Learning Outcomes

Having completed a UB Seminar, students will be able to:

Learning Outcomes	Student Achievement of This Learning Outcome will be Assessed by:
1. Think critically using multiple modes of inquiry.	In-class quizzes HW assignments from all modules
2. Analyze disciplinary content to identify contexts, learn fresh perspectives, and debate and discuss problems in the field.	In-class quizzes Recitation activities for all modules
3. Understand and apply the methods of close reading, note taking, analysis, and synthesis.	HW assignments from all modules
4. Recognize and debate ethical issues and academic integrity in a variety of settings.	History and Society module HW and activities Social Media module HW and activities
5. Demonstrate proficiency in oral discourse and written communication.	HW assignments from all modules
6. Develop essential research and study skills such as time management.	History and Society module HW1 Web Design module HW
7. Use an ePortfolio for at least one assignment.	Intro module HW1 History and Society module HW2
8. Understand the academic expectations pertaining to student at the University at Buffalo and to higher learning at a research university.	In-class quizzes

ABET Student Outcomes

UBs Computer Science and Computer Engineering programs are accredited by ABET (https://www.abet.org), and CSE 199 provides the following support levels for various student outcomes. The coverage scale is as follows.

0: No coverage, 1: Introduced skill/concept, 2: Reinforced skill/concept, 3: Demonstrate mastery of skill/concept

Computer Science

For the list of student outcomes, please refer to the following websites:

https://engineering.buffalo.edu/computer-science-engineering/undergraduate/degrees-and-programs/bs-in-computer-science/accreditation-assessment.html

Outcome	1	2	3	4	5	6
Support Level	1	0	1	1	1	0

Computer Engineering

For the list of student outcomes, please refer to the following websites:

https://engineering.buffalo.edu/computer-science-engineering/undergraduate/degrees-and-programs/bs-in-computer-engineering/accreditation-assessment.html

Outcome	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Support Level	0	1	1	1	1	0	1

Things that can be incorporated:

Technology Requirement

Students will need access to a computer, digital camera (to take images of hand-done work for submission), and the Internet. Video chat capabilities are strongly recommended. If this is not possible, please contact the instructor immediately.

COVID-19

In order to support students outside of policies dictated by the university and government for COVID-19, we ask all students to communicate with the teaching staff in a timely manner as necessary.

Decorum

Email:

● It is understood that there is a large amount of email correspondence expected, please be patient with responses.

○ To expedite response times, please make sure to include CSE199 in the content of your subject line.

● All emails should be detailed enough to provide context in which course staff can support you. Emails which are not clear only serve to delay the information you need.

● Never feel bad about emailing. In a virtual world it is what needs to be done to support your success.

In general:

● Disruptive behaviors, including but not limited to: inappropriate attire, excessive talking, inappropriate comments, arriving late to class, sleeping, reading newspapers, playing with pets, using unauthorized electronic devices during class is not permitted.

○ Repetitive and/or seriously disruptive behavior will result in removal from the collaboration suit and further consequences may be applied through Student Conduct Regulations handled by the Office of Student Conduct and Advocacy. Substantial issues will be handled through the University Police Department.

● To foster a work-life balance for you and the course staff, working hours are defined as Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm plus other times designated explicitly as support time or that an appointment has been made for.

○ Outside of those working hours, response times may be delayed.

○ There is to be no mocking of times that emails or posts happen, the number of different lifestyles, commitments, and time zones make anything possible

● Meaningful and constructive dialogue is encouraged in this class and requires a degree of mutual respect, willingness to listen, and tolerance of opposing points of view.

● Respect for individual differences and alternative viewpoints will be maintained at all times in this class.

● Ones words and use of language should be temperate and within acceptable bounds of civility and decency.

● Fighting, using inappropriate terms/language, personal or physical threats or insults, damaging property, may result in your removal from class in accordance with policies and procedures outlined in university policies. Further consequences may be applied through Student Conduct Regulations handled by the Office of Student Conduct and Advocacy. Substantial issues will be handled through the University Police Department.

Diversity

The UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences considers the diversity of its students, faculty, and staff to be a strength, critical to our success. We are committed to providing a safe space and a culture of mutual respect and inclusiveness for all. We believe a community of faculty, students, and staff who bring diverse life experiences and perspectives leads to a superior working environment, and we welcome differences in race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, intellectual and physical ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and veteran status.

All people have the right to be addressed and referred to in accordance with their personal identity. In this class, we will have the chance to indicate the name that we prefer to be called and, if we choose, to identify pronouns with which we would like to be addressed...I will do my best to address and refer to all students accordingly and support classmates in doing so as well.

Copyright Policy

Materials used in connection with this course may be subject to copyright protection under Title 17 of the United States Code. Under certain Fair Use circumstances specified by law, copies may be made for private study, scholarship, or research. Electronic copies should not be shared with unauthorized users. If a user fails to comply with Fair Use restrictions, he/she may be liable for copyright infringement.

For more information on the SUNY policy of copyright ownership regarding materials in courses: http://system.suny.edu/academic-affairs/faculty/faculty-ownership/

All materials provided to you are intended for your individual use for this course. Any other uses are prohibited without written permission. This includes the work you produce in this course.