Overview

This unit assists students in identifying and understanding issues relating to the personal and organisational application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) with particular emphasis on ethics and privacy. Students will develop a sense of professional responsibility through exploring the professional code of ethics articulated by professional accrediting bodies. Students will explore a range of social, legal, ethical and business issues that ICT professionals face in their careers.

Requisites

Corequisites
INF60007 Business Information Systems
Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 1
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
03-March-2025
01-June-2025
Last self-enrolment date
16-March-2025
Census date
31-March-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
24-April-2025
Results released date
08-July-2025
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
04-August-2025
02-November-2025
Last self-enrolment date
17-August-2025
Census date
31-August-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
19-September-2025
Results released date
09-December-2025

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Critically synthesise knowledge of ethics, ethical decision-making, privacy and socio-technical challenges faced by an ICT professional
  • Critically evaluate the role of standards, codes of conduct and legislative/regulatory obligations on the level of professionalism of the ICT industry
  • Critically analyse the impacts of business compliance imperatives and how this impacts on the work of the ICT professional
  • Critically review the roles and responsibilities of ICT professionals in organisations and society from a range of perspectives such as work-life balance, mentoring and life-long learning
  • Communicate effectively as a professional and function as an effective leader or member of a team

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
On-campus
Class		2.00 12 weeks 24
Online
Lecture		1.00 12 weeks 12
Unspecified Activities
Independent Learning		9.50 12 weeks 114
TOTAL150

OUA

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
Online
Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning		12.50 12 weeks 150
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
Brief 1Individual 30 - 40% 1,2,3,4 
ReflectionIndividual 20 - 40% 2,4 
ReportGroup 30 - 40% 1,2,3,4,5 

Content

  • Ethics including the philosophical foundations of professional ethics, data ethics and ethical policy vacuums.
  • Privacy considerations in a networked world
  • Formal codes of conduct and their impact on the work and behaviour of ICT professionals
  • ICT trends and drivers within industries and the interconnectedness between industries
  • Professionals’ roles, responsibilities, work behaviours and attitudes with a focus on the structure of ICT work as provided by the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA)
  • Gender equality, diversity, inclusion and group dynamics in the ICT domain
  • Business compliance imperatives and their impacts on the work of ICT professionals
  • Issues in both employee and contractor relationships, including responsibilities and management issues involved in providing Information Technology (IT) contracting services
  • Digital disruption and emerging technology implications for ICT professionals
  • Life-long learning and career development as it relates to sound professional practice
  • Social impacts of ICT with particular focus on end-users and consumers

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.