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CS103F: Ethical Foundations of Computer Science

Blog Post 2

Due Friday, February 1, 2019, by 11:59p

    For this blog post, please
  1. Create your blog:
    • You can use any platform. Here are a couple of suggestions:
    • Make the title (not the URL) of your blog:
      CS103F Spring 2019: <your group name>

      For example: CS103F Spring 2019: The Supremes

    • Your blog must have good quality group photo (300px by 300px) where you are all recognizable and look decently professional (no avatars, no pets, no cartoons!). The caption must identify each of you by name. This photo and caption must appear on every post.

  2. Consider and respond to the following ethical scenario: The #MeToo movement has been dominating headlines recently, and that movement has created a heightened consciousness about the need for "enthusiastic consent". In your blog post, please:
    • Contemplate the meaning of sexual consent, and, as you do, consider: possible definitions of consent and which of those definitions are helpful and why, situations where one of the participants may feel uncomfortable saying "no" and why, how to identify enthusiastic consent and times when that may be uncertain.
    • Consider the role and ethical decision making of two different people caught in a #MeToo situation and what rationale those people may have used to justify or support their actions (someone who keeps pushing after a "no", someone who gives a "hesitant yes", a bystander, a person who heard rumors, ...). As you do, consider the role of stereotypes and judgment in the need for consent and, as in the #MeToo movement, whether a person comes forward when they feel their coerced into sexual activity.
    • Finally, consider how technology has helped or hurt this conversation, and how your group reacts to these reports, and the ethical reasoning you used to arrive at that reaction.

    Please keep each of these pieces to approximately 100 words, and please be certain that your "ethical reasoning" includes applying our ethical frameworks.

    In constructing your post, you do want to cite your sources, and you also are expected to find at least one source additional to the ones you are provided. You are welcome to link to any relevant media (articles, videos, etc.).

    We do expect professional presentation: your spelling and grammar should be correct---you should not be using text shorthand or emojis.

    Once you have created your blog post, submit a URL to the relevant assignment on Canvas.

    These resources may be useful to you:

    3. Finally, The Ethics Centre has blog posts that may be useful as examples--they are often longer than your requirement, though. One of the recent good examples is "Why Victims Remain Silent... and Then Find Their Voice".

Thank you to Glenn Downing for the blog creation instructions!