BCO3442 INFORMATION ETHICS AND MANAGEMENT
Assessment Three: Argumentative Essay
Introduction
This is an individually prepared assessment task. In this assessment task you are required to argue both points of view (for a topic assigned by your tutor) in a written assessment known as an argumentative essay. Your submission must present a clear and logical argument, be 2000 words in length and cite at least eight quality references to justify each of your key points. This assessment task is worth thirty per cent your final mark for this unit.
Learning objectives
After successfully completing this assessment task, you should be able to:
• Do independent research
• Demonstrate knowledge of current Information Systems issues
• Construct and communicate a logical argument
• Communicate using professional business language in written format
Requirements
This assessment task must be completed individually. It should be 2000 words in length (excluding the reference list) and provide Harvard format references for at least eight quality references that are cited appropriately within the body of your essay. Your work should contain a maximum of three direct quotations (each no greater than two to three sentences long in length). You should aim to paraphrase sources, writing the essay in your own words and including citations and corresponding reference list entries to demonstrate research. Your essay must be submitted to Turnitin and achieve a similarity index of twenty per cent or less. Please see your tutor for advice if your similarity index is greater than twenty per cent on submission to Turnitin. Note that you can resubmit your essay up until the submission deadline. Initial originality results are returned within minutes. Resubmission results can take up to twenty four hours to process.
You must include an appropriate introduction to the topic to provide context for the reader and outline the point of view that you will be arguing in the essay. The body of your essay must present both sides of the argument. It should conclude with a summary of key points, reiterating the point of view you support and summarising why you have taken this position. The essay should be written in the third person (e.g. do not use I, we or our). You should write in simple, professional business language. As noted in the marking criteria overleaf, marks are awarded for structure, clear and valid arguments, quality of research and overall presentation. The criteria awards up to a total of twenty five marks which will be scaled to thirty per cent of the final unit assessment.
Submission
This assessment task is due for submission in Week 10 (extension provided). In submitting your report to Turnitin you certify that you have read and agree to the assessment declaration.?
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Essay Topics
1. In the interests of freedom of speech, there should be no restrictions on what can be posted on the internet.
2. The notion of copyright is obsolete and requires the development of new laws.
3. Offshore outsourcing of IT is dangerous to the profession and the economy and should be severely restricted.
4. Rather than criminalising hacking, programmers should be encouraged to enhance their skills by freely engaging in hacking.
5. WikiLeaks - A Vital provider of information.
6. Legal restrictions on the downloading of music and videos from the internet should be abolished.
7. Adopting IT workplace ethics helps businesses to make a profit
8. Privacy does not really exist in today’s society
9. Businesses can promote ‘Green IT’ and still be profitable