Devry LAS432 2021 November Complete Course Latest (Full)

LAS432 Professor Information

Week 1 Discussion

Course Project Topic Selection

Over the next 8 weeks, you will complete a Course Project comprised of eight weekly assignments. Each assignment is designed to help you deeply explore and critically analyze a specific technology. You will choose your technology from one of the following areas: environmental technology, medical technology, social technology, or economic/financial technology. In your exploration of your chosen technology, you will address ethical considerations, establish historical context, and consider cultural, social, and economic implications. Therefore, it is imperative that your technology be appropriate in scope and able to be researched.

To get started this week, study the Course Project Overview page in the Introduction & Resources Module. Then begin to consider ideas for your project. What contemporary technologies are interesting or important to you? What technologies are foundational to your professional industry or community?

After generating ideas and exploring a few topics, select the technology you will use for your Course Project and conduct some exploratory research. Once you have a sense of your topic, address the following in your initial post.

What is your chosen technology? Remember to choose a specific technology (e.g., surgical robotics) rather than just reflect an area of technology (e.g., technology in medicine).

What is your purpose in writing about this technology? What do you want to learn?

What impressions and assumptions do you have about your topic? What are the benefits and risks associated with the technology? What potential impacts can you identify?

What is your research plan? Where will you go to find sources on your topic, and how will you determine the credibility of those sources?

Finally, what are some of the most significant issues associated with your technology (e.g., the potential harm to wildlife from wind farms)?

In your follow-up posts, please provide feedback to your peers that is specific and substantive - critique topic, plan, and issues associated and ask questions.  Help each other think through the topic. 

 

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Week 2 Discussion

Evaluating Ethics

The reading for this week highlights the centrality of social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, to the success of political activism movements. Citing the case of the 2011 Arab Spring, many scholars and cultural critics have suggested that the spreading of information across social media platforms created the conditions for a political movement by exposing people to new ideas, providing a forum to communicate about social injustice, and create an interest in human rights (Quinn, 2020).

Although the Arab Spring movement demonstrates the importance of social media in advocating for social change, it can also have adverse effects. As we have seen in recent years, social media platforms are often used to spread false information that can have serious consequences for democratic structures.

Consider the use of social media in the political arena. For example, social media has been an important way for social justice movements such as Black Lives Matter to help organize and facilitate conversations around the importance of systemic racialized violence and police brutality. Or the case of the Capitol Riots on January 6, 2021, where rioters willingly shared images and video of their crimes, often resulting in social and legal consequences. Although these are two examples of how social media is used to spread information, they are also powerful reminders of how collective consciousness can operate constantly connected world.

To think about this further, select a social media platform and analyze the ethical impacts. What are the strengths of the technology and how does it benefit the population? What are the weaknesses of the technology and its potential limitations? What are external factors that may contribute to the success of the technology? Finally, what external factors may pose a threat to the success or adoption of the technology? What social, political, and cultural trends may influence reception?

Your initial post should include concrete examples. Be sure to provide APA citations for any outside references used.

Note: if you have Netflix an excellent video that discusses some of the the challenges faced because of social media is Social Dilemma.  If you watch it please share your thoughts. 

 

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Week 3 Discussion

Context in the Information Age

We live in the Information Age, an era where computers and automation have transformed our daily lives. Emerging technologies are being developed at an increased rate, leading to new behaviors and perceptions of these technologies. The rapid development of these new advancements makes it difficult for society to assess their effect. To better understand these new technologies, it is helpful to frame them within an historical context (Quinn, 2020).

The readings this week explored the development of technology in relation to history. From early technological advances, such as counters and the alphabet, to the recent development of broadband internet and cloud storage, we are continuously developing new technologies to solve problems in our lives. At its core, technology is meant to make life better; however, emerging technologies can often generate new (unforeseen) problems. Although we cannot stop the creation of new technologies, we can control their adoption and make informed decisions about their use (Quinn, 2020).

The goal this week is to analyze your technology from an historical context to better understand why it developed and its influence on society. Through this historical analysis, you will gain a more complete understanding of your technology that will help you generate appropriate ethical questions that will be crucial to your analysis in this course.

In your initial post, address the following to help you begin to understand the historical context of your technology as you progress with your assignment this week.

Why was your technology originally developed? What problem was it trying to solve?

Historically, what has the impact of your technology been on society? Can you identify how different people and demographics have been affected by your technology? Has the impact been proportional?

Develop an ethical question based on your historical analysis of your technology.

 

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Week 4 Discussion

Evaluating Sources Strategically

For this week's assignment, you will complete a Literature Review. The goal of a Literature Review is to gain an understanding of the existing research and debates relevant to a particular topic or area of study and to synthesize that information though critical analysis.

To help you to succeed, this week's discussion will provide you the opportunity to share your strongest source with your fellow classmates. Here is what you need to do for your initial post.

First, provide the full source reference in APA style.

Next, summarize the source in your own words in a well-developed paragraph.

Finally, assess the source. Explain what qualities make it especially valuable.

In your follow-up posts, respond to the posts of your fellow students and build upon their ideas.

 

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Week 5 Discussion

Equity, Ethics, and Technology

The COVID-19 pandemic sent the world into a global lockdown and fueled a scientific race to find an effective vaccine to help populations and socioeconomic systems return to a sense of normalcy. Although a vaccine was developed in record-breaking time, many obstacles still inhibited swift rollout, including production capacity, supply chain, human and technological resources, and health and governmental infrastructures to deliver vaccines to people. In addition, many nations, including the United States, have seen additional barriers to vaccine distribution in marginalized populations, including ethnic minorities and lower income people. These barriers include limited technological and geographical access, misinformation, and historical mistrust due to the medical suppression of people of color.

In addition to national concerns over vaccine equity, there is also growing concern over global vaccine equity. Resource-rich and wealthy nations are now at the forefront of vaccine nationalism, which, although being responsible to its population, has done little to expand efforts to vaccinate populations in need across the globe. Together, these types of inequities produce a globally uncoordinated rollout that could end hopes of achieving herd immunity and could aid the rise of variants, altering the effectiveness of current vaccines and ultimately prolonging the pandemic. As the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen recently suggested, "A global pandemic requires a world effort to end it—none of us will be safe until everyone is safe."

Consider this in relation to the social and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. What are the equities and inequities associated with vaccine distribution? What are the pros and cons for national security, health, and local, national, and global economies? What populations are most at risk? What can be done to produce more equal access to vaccine technology? These are some guiding questions to help you develop your response, but you may approach the question of equity in multiple ways (global, ethnic, economic, geographic, etc.).

For your initial post, assess the equity of vaccine distribution and make a concrete recommendation for how to improve equity now and in the future.

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Week 6 Discussion

Codes of Ethics

For this week's assignment, you will write a code of ethics appropriate to your Course Project topic. This week's discussion supports that assignment by helping you learn about the codes of a variety of different organizations. Here is what you need to do.

Go online and find a code of ethics for a specific organization or company. Note that some organizations, such as the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), use the term code of ethics, and others, such as Google, use the term code of conduct. Before making your first post, please review the posts of your fellow students and try your best to share a code that hasn't been mentioned yet.

Provide a high-level overview of your chosen code. Explain how it is organized and share a few of the main points of emphasis. What key values does the code focus on?

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the code. What does it do well? What's missing? Does it give you any ideas for your own code?

Finally, provide the URL (web link) to your chosen code.

In your follow-up posts, respond to the posts of your fellow students and build upon their ideas.

Note: be sure you use in-text citations and references correctly

 

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Week 7 Discussion

The Big Picture - Making Strategic Recommendations

The readings this week discussed a number of prominent technological changes occurring in the workplace and analyzed their effect on the economy, society, and culture. Information technology's ability to provide computing, data, and automation at a low cost has transformed the economy, leading to organizational changes, increased efficiency, and new careers (Quinn, 2020). In addition, these changes have also fostered a shift toward globalization, which has influenced economies across the globe. Developing nations have seen an increase in jobs, their gross domestic product (GDP), and a rise in their standard of living (Quinn, 2020). Importantly, new technologies also produce outcomes that are not always beneficial. Increased access to information has led to the development of the Gig Economy, resulting in short-term, contract positions that lack stability and additional benefits (Quinn, 2020). As emerging leaders, you have to make decisions about technologies to analyze their benefits and disadvantages to make informed, ethical choices.

For your assignment this week, you are tasked with making recommendations about your chosen technology. You are moving past the analytical portion of this course and should be synthesizing the information you have developed from the previous weeks to make recommendations for your technology based on your selected ethical lens.

To help foster your thought process, consider the following questions.

What information collected during your research is important to review to ensure you are developing ethical recommendations?

What groups or populations are affected by your technology? Are there any marginalized populations influenced by your technology? How does this information influence your recommendations?

How do your decisions align with your ethical viewpoint?

 

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Week 8 Discussion

Presentation Peer Review

Due this week is your Course Project Presentation. The assignment asks you to create a narrated PowerPoint that reflects what you have learned about your chosen topic over the last 7 weeks. In an effort to ensure you develop the strongest presentation possible, this week you will participate in a peer review in which you will give and receive critical feedback.

For this peer review, you will do the following.

Submit your PowerPoint draft, with or without narration, for review by no later than end of day Wednesday. Attach your PowerPoint file in the group discussion.

Review and provide feedback on two of your peers' drafts by no later than end of day Saturday. Try to pick a different post from your peers if 2 people have already reviewed that presentation to ensure everyone receives peer feedback. Provide your reviews as a response to your peers' initial posts using the questions outlined below.

In your review, provide developed responses to the following questions.

What do you perceive is the focus and purpose of the presentation? Write it in your own words.

Do the slides balance text with visuals? If not, what recommendations can you make?

Do the slides provide meaningful content through bullet points as opposed to dense text?

Do the slides present a clear pattern of organization? Why or why not?

Is the use of credible research apparent in the presentation, and are sources correctly cited?

What did you like most about the presentation?

What is one substantive change you would make to the presentation?

 

LAS432 Professor Information

Week 2 Assignment

Course Project - Ethical SWOT Analysis

This week, you will complete an ethical SWOT analysis of the technology you have selected for your Course Project. In industry, a SWOT analysis is used to create a structured assessment of a business plan, opportunity, or action. By considering strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, a SWOT analysis is an effective tool to summarize and assess products, services, and actions. Not only does a SWOT analysis help you understand the context of a particular action or problem, but it will also set the stage for action and goal planning.

Using this methodology, you will create a SWOT analysis of the technology you are investigating for your Course Project. As part of your analysis, you will evaluate the following.

Strengths:

What are the advantages of the technology?

How will it positively impact culture and society?

What are other potential gains?

Weaknesses:

What features of the technology may hinder success?

What are the limitations of the technology?

How does the technology address issues of equity?

Opportunities:

What are external factors that may contribute to the success of the technology?

What social, political, and/or cultural trends may influence reception?

What are the opportunities for growth?

Threats:

What external factors may pose a threat to the success or adoption of the technology?

What social, political, and/or cultural trends may influence reception?

What are potential hurdles to growth?

A successful assignment will

include all four areas of the SWOT analysis;

be one to two pages in length;

be composed using Microsoft Word and using 12-point Times New Roman; and

format and cite sources using the seventh edition of APA.

Don't forget to submit your assignment for grading.

 

LAS432 Professor Information

Week 3 Assignment

Course Project - Historical Context and Ethical Questions

This week, you will consider the historical and ethical contexts of your Course Project topic. This will provide a factual foundation to help guide your analysis in the coming week.

For this assignment, complete the following.

Definition: Explain your selected technology. What is it? How does it work? What is its purpose?

Timeline: Provide a timeline of major events concerning your technology. Include major developments, regulations, successful events, controversies, or issues.

Ethical Questions: Develop three to five ethical questions that surround your selected technology. These questions will help guide your analysis in future assignments.

Ethical Lens: Identify one to two ethical theories that you think will help you further develop your analysis of your selected technology.

As part of this assignment, you must consult and cite at least three high-quality, academic sources. These sources should be from reputable publications that can be found in the DeVry Library or industry publications.

A successful assignment will

be one to two pages in length;

be composed using Microsoft Word and using 12-point Times New Roman;

include a minimum of three sources; and

include properly formatted and cited sources using the seventh edition of APA.

Don't forget to submit your assignment for grading.

 

LAS432 Professor Information

Week 4 Assignment

Course Project - Literature Review

This week, you will write a review of literature based on the technology you are investigating for your Course Project. A review of literature may be defined as an analysis of published information in a particular subject area. It has some similarities to an annotated bibliography, which you have completed in a previous class, but differs in important respects. An annotated bibliography focuses on annotations, or summaries, of sources. In contrast, a review of literature analyzes the sources, draws connections among them, and notes changes in thinking over time. A review of literature will focus on the following questions.

What are the key points of agreement among the sources?

What are the key points of disagreement among the sources?

Do any of the sources appear to be outliers? In other words, are there any sources that bring up issues, or make assertions, that the other sources do not discuss?

Which sources appear to be the most powerful or influential? Are there sources that all of the other sources deem highly authoritative?

Are there any sources whose assertions seem dubious, illogical, or unsupported by the facts?

How has thinking changed about your topic over time? Are there beliefs that have fallen out of favor?

Successful assignments will do the following.

Analyze at least five sources from reputable publications that can be found in the DeVry Library

Demonstrate points of similarities and differences, note patterns, and evaluate source quality

Be approximately 750–1,000 words in length

Be formatted per current APA standards, including a separate title page and references page

Don't forget to submit your assignment for grading.

 

LAS432 Professor Information

Week 5 Assignment

Course Project - Equity Impact Assessment

This week, you will conduct an equity impact assessment of the technology you have selected for your Course Project. The goal of this assignment is to provide a framework for removing barriers that disadvantaged people may experience in accessing and utilizing new technologies, as well as analyzing technologies through the lens of social justice and equity.

Equity is defined as the belief that all humans are created equal (Martin & Nakayama, 2020). Determinants of equity include the social, economic, geographic, political, and physical environment conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age and that are necessary for all people to thrive regardless of race, class, gender, language spoken, or sexual orientation. Inequities are created when barriers exist that prevent individuals and communities from accessing these conditions.

Your equity assessment must address the following.

Provide a two- to three-sentence goal statement for your technology. What is the intended impact?

Identify and explain groups that may be impacted by the technology. This can include, but is not limited to, low income populations, communities of color, linguistic minorities, LGBTQA+ communities, and immigrant or refugee populations.

Identify and explain regions that may be impacted by the technology. This can include, but is not limited to, urban communities, rural communities, coastal communities, industrial communities, and ethnic enclave.

Analyze potential positive and negative impact(s) or unintended consequences for three identified populations. As part of your analysis, include the following for each of the three populations you select.

Identify the population.

Describe the potential positive and negative impacts and consequences.

Propose actions to mitigate negative impacts or enhance positive impacts.

A successful assignment will

be two to three pages in length;

be composed using Microsoft Word and using 12-point Times New Roman;

include a minimum of three sources; and

be formatted and cite sources using the seventh edition of APA.

Don't forget to submit your assignment for grading.

 

LAS432 Professor Information

Week 6 Assignment

Course Project - Code of Ethics

A code of ethics may be defined as a written document providing a practical moral framework for moral decision making. Successful organizations have strong codes of ethics. For this week's assignment, you will create an organizational code of ethics appropriate to your Course Project topic. For example, if your Course Project is focused on cryptocurrency, you might create a code of ethics appropriate to a cryptocurrency mining company. If your topic is electronic stock trading, you might create a code of ethics for an electronic trading platform.

To help you to write an effective code of ethics, please review Chapter 9 Professional Ethics and carefully read pages 444–455, which provides the full text of the Software Engineering Code of Ethics as well an in-depth analysis. Your code of ethics will be shorter than the Software Engineering Code of Ethics, but it will follow the same structure.

Preamble: This is a one-paragraph explanation of the purpose of the code. Make it clear to the reader what type of organization you are.

Guiding Principles: At least six, and no more than eight, fundamental precepts that your organization will follow should be included.

Applications: For each guiding principle, provide at least three examples of what a member of your organization should do or should not do to abide by those guiding principles.

Elements of a Desired Response

Length: Approximately two pages (600 words)

Structure: Includes preamble, guiding principles, and applications for each principle

Content: Shows knowledge of workable ethical theories, such as Kantianism; utilitarianism; social contract theory; justice theory; and virtue ethics; and shows appreciation for the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The following are links to the codes of ethics of a number of famous organizations. Reading them may help you as you create your own unique code.

Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) (Links to an external site.)

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (Links to an external site.)

Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM) (Links to an external site.)

Google (Links to an external site.)

Johnson & Johnson

 

 

LAS432 Professor Information

Week 7 Assignment

Course Project – Recommendations

This week, you will begin to synthesize the information you have gathered and the analysis you have conducted of your selected technology. In order to bring your ideas together and prepare for your final presentation, you will complete a recommendation analysis.

The recommendation analysis should provide three to four concrete recommendations for how to best utilize your selected technology.

As part of your analysis, include the following.

Introduction: Explain your selected technology and provide contextual details concerning application and reach.

Thesis: Offer an argument to synthesize your ideas and provide a foundation for your recommendations and analysis.

Ethical Dilemmas: Identify and describe three to four ethical dilemmas posed by your selected technology. Include concrete examples and ethical theories to help detail your summary.

Recommendations: Offer concrete recommendations to help mediate each of the described dilemmas. Remember to consider stakeholders and resources for providing solutions.

Conclusion: Summarize your main arguments and provide avenues for further discussion.

As part of this assignment, you must consult and site at least three high-quality, academic sources. These sources should be from reputable publications that can be found in the DeVry Library or industry publications.

A successful assignment will

be three to four pages in length;

include a minimum of three academic sources;

be composed using Microsoft Word and using 12-point Times New Roman;

include a minimum of three sources; and

be formatted and cite sources using the seventh edition of APA.

Don't forget to submit your assignment for grading.

 

LAS432 Professor Information

Week 8 Assignment

Course Project - Presentation

The presentation is the final assignment of this course. The goal of this assignment is to provide you with the opportunity to show what you have learned throughout the course. As a reminder, here are the assignments you have completed so far.

Week 1: Understanding Ethics (PlayPosit Quiz)

Week 2: Ethical SWOT Analysis

Week 3: Historical Context and Ethical Questions

Week 4: Literature Review

Week 5: Equity Impact Assessment

Week 6: Code of Ethics

Week 7: Recommendations

The structure of your presentation will follow the chronological order of the assignments. Here is a suggested organization.

Title slide, including the presentation title, your name, name of the course, and the date

A discussion of your strongest ethical values

Explain which philosophies and philosophers are your greatest influences.

A high-level overview of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your chosen technology based on your ethical values

A brief history and context of your chosen technology

A reflection of what you learned from your research

An abridged assessment of the equity impact of your technology

Key points in your code of ethics

A summary of your key recommendations

A conclusion with final thoughts

References in APA style

For this presentation you will provide an audio narration of approximately 8–10 minutes. There are a variety of ways to add audio narration, but using the Record Audio feature in PowerPoint is highly recommended for its simplicity and ease of use. If you wish to use something else, please check with your instructor first.

Effective presentations will include the following elements.

Well-designed, well-balanced slides that incorporate visual aids and text harmoniously

In-slide references to sources

Clear, confident audio narration

Correct use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation

The grading rubric for this assignment is detailed below.