Things Fall Apart - Concluding the Scandal in Academia

Abstract

For several years, the authors of this paper have been providing an extended commentary on the Scandal in Academia - a fictional case-study intended for use as a teaching and discussion aid for educational practitioners looking to introduce elements of computer ethics into their curricula. Inspired by Epstein's Case of the Killer Robot, it is a full-cycle scenario involving many individuals, concepts and considerations. It touches upon the complexity and interrelations of modern computer ethics. It has been trialed and evaluated as a teaching tool by the authors and with multiple groups since then. However its utility as a general resource is limited without the academic context that supports deeper investigation of the material. It is to address this issue that the authors offer this final commentary on the Scandal, with a focus on the thirteenth and fourteenth newspaper items presented within. This paper focuses primarily on the articles Student Journalism Outs Senior Academics and Resignations All Around at University of Dunglen.