SEC301 – Information Security Managementand Governance

LawElement Assessment 2015
The coursework assignment for law is an individual essay on one of the titles listed below. The assignment accounts for 50% of the marks available for the module.
Submission

Deadline: 4pmon 11th January 2016

• You must submit your coursework via the DLE. Your submission must be made by the specified deadline.

• Coursework can be submitted at any time ahead of the deadline.

• You should give due consideration to your personal time management to ensure that coursework is submitted in plenty of time prior to the deadline.

• Please note that work submitted late without valid extenuating circumstances will be penalised. Work submitted within 24 hours after the deadline will receive a mark, but it will be capped at the normal pass mark for that module. Work submitted more than 24 hours after the official deadline will receive an automatic mark of zero.
Format:

• Submissions must be in MS Word file format.

• Font: Arial 12 point

• Margins: Microsoft Word default: (i.e. 2.54cm or 1” left, right, top and bottom)

• Character Spacing: Scale 100%; spacing and position normal

• Line Spacing: Single

• LENGTH: Maximum 2,000 words. You should also attach references, and a bibliography – these do not count towards the word limit. See the attached notes for important information regarding format and over length work.

• Work that does not comply with the above format requirements will not be marked
Assessment

Criteria

• Content: Awareness of issues; analysis of relevant law; clarity and development of argument; appropriate sources to substantiate and illustrate argument; full acknowledgment of references and sources used.

• Structure: Clarity and order of argument.

• Style: Objective style; correct spelling and grammar.
Topic
Write an essay on ONE of the following:

1. ‘A negligent software user may be as dangerous as negligently-written software, and both can result in expensive legal liability.’ Discuss in relation to any chosen problem area.

2. The security of E-Commerce lies on a shaky foundation of trust, because the legal foundation for on-line business and digital contracts is fragmented and ineffectual.’ Discuss in relation to any chosen problem area.

3. ‘Privacy is dead. Law can never give adequate protection against the intrusive eye of modern information technology.’ Discuss in relation to any chosen problem area.

4. ‘Digital technology makes computer crime more likely, detection less likely, and thus effective legal regulation exceedingly difficult.’ Discuss, with reference to any chosen area of computer crime.

5. ‘The problems of dangerous or illegal content on the internet can only be dealt with by imposing stronger legal responsibilities on Internet Service Providers and other intermediaries.’ Discuss.

6. ‘The law relating to digital copyright has ceased to be a reward for artistic creativity and is now becoming merely a tool for big business to dominate the creative industries. Legal reform is necessary.’ Discuss.

7. Choose a title of your own within the areas covered in the module’s law element. If you choose this option, you must seek approval for your proposed title from the Nicholas Gervassis, who will advise you on the suitability of your choice and consider the wording with you. Your title must have been negotiated and approved by the teaching team no later than Thursday 3 December 2015. Note that if you do NOT have a title which is approved under (7), then you MUST use the exact text of the above questions in 1 to 6.

General Advice on Your Coursework Assignment

• Most of these questions are fairly broad. You are not expected to deal with every aspect of them. It is usually better to deal with a few issues in depth than take a very general approach, which will inevitably be superficial.

• Answer the Question: Your answer must relate to the wording of the essay title you are supposed to be analysing. It is not enough to write everything you know about a particular aspect of law. Failure to address the title will result in very low marks. The marking criteria of awareness and analysis relate to this.

• The Law: Your answer is expected to have relevant and accurate legal content. You are expected to focus on United Kingdom law, but the nature of the subject encourages you to take a comparative and/or international approach as well. It may be useful to consider both United States and European law, for example. However, you must make it clear that you are aware of the relevant jurisdiction when citing sources from overseas.
Referencing:

• Your essay should be supported (where relevant) by appropriate evidence. Any such information that you present must be appropriately cited and referenced in your report – if you are unfamiliar with referencing style, then a Google search for either ‘Harvard referencing’ or ‘Chicago referencing’ will help to enlighten you.

• Although you will be expected to make significant use of printed and online literature in researching and producing your materials, it is not acceptable for you to simply cut and paste material from other sources (small quotes are acceptable, but they must be clearly indicated as being quotes and the source must be referenced appropriately).
•
• You may use either Harvard or Chicago referencing style, but make sure you are using it correctly when citing legal sources and material. Incorrect referencing will be reflected on your mark.
Overlength and Underlength Assignments:

• Underlength assignments will normally simply be marked on their merits. Their brevity may obviously affect the mark adversely.

• Overlength assignments: additional pages will not be marked (no exceptions).
This is an individual assignment. Faculty regulations on plagiarism and late submission apply.
Classification Descriptors:

These general guidelines are designed to assist you in understanding what is expected of different standards of performance. When read with the assessment criteria for the particular assessment it should provide clear information about our expectations.

Pass – Third Class (3rd) 40 – 49%
The work here is satisfactory but towards the lower end of the marks and only just satisfactory. This might also be called a ‘basic’ answer. For example, for an essay or problem based question on substantive law a third class answer would show some appreciation of the question set and applicable law but would be flawed in its failure to address all of the issues and/or not fully or accurately explaining the law.
Lower Second Class (2.2) 50- 59%
The standard of work in the 2.2 class is good – essentially the question or task has been understood or addressed competently. For example, for an essay or problem based question, the question and issues are understood and the correct law identified and explained. However, the way in which the material is used (the analysis or synthesis of the law) is lacking – often by a failure to apply the law to the question effectively.
Upper Second Class (2.1) 60 – 69%
In the 2.1 class the work may be generally described as very good. The student has really ‘got to grips’ with the question or task and has demonstrated high levels of competence. For example, for an essay or problem based question there is real evidence of a full understanding of the issues and applicable law and there is a well-reasoned attempt to answer the question addressing all of the issues. A good range of legal sources will have been included.
First Class (1st) 70%+
In general terms a first class piece of work may be described as excellent. For marks in the high 70s or above the work will be outstanding – the marker may be left asking ‘how much more could I expect of this candidate?’ The work if it is an essay or problem based question will be critical and analytical at all times; fluent and clear as well as clearly addressing all of the relevant issues with a wide range of legal sources.
Academic Offences: Warning

• Academic offences, including plagiarism, are treated very seriously in the Faculty. There have been an increasing number of cases of students breaching the University rules on academic offences (e.g. unauthorised collusion with other students, using academic work without referencing it, buying essays from the internet, or other forms of cheating.) You must comply with the University rules, as found in the University Student Handbook and the Faculty Student Handbook. You may place your degree in jeopardy if proven to have committed an academic offence. It is your responsibility as a student to make sure that you understand what constitutes an academic offence, and in particular, what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. If you still do not understand what constitutes an academic offence, please consult the Student Support Office, your personal tutor, or your programme manager.