State University of New York at Albany
ACC 680 Research Seminar in Accounting:
Computer Networking and Security
4th Quarter 2003
Class Time: T, TH 4:15-7:05; Room: BA349 (Tue)
BA223 (Thu)
|
Instructor: Kinsun Tam
(Ph.D.) Phone: (518) 442-4950 Office: BA 334 |
Email: tam@albany.edu Office Hours:
M19:05-21:05 pm Class Page:
http://www.albany.edu/faculty/tam/spring03/680 Class Newsgroup:
sunya.class.acc680 |
WELCOME
This
course requires intensive reading and research on an approved topic of special
interest in the student's field of concentration. A comprehensive report and an oral presentation are
required.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this
course, you should be able to:
·
Comprehend research
publications in your chosen field of concentration;
·
Synthesize findings
of multiple research studies and draw inferences from such findings;
·
Identify interesting
topics in your chosen field of concentration;
·
Plan for conducting
a study in your chosen field of concentration;
·
Communicate
effectively with professionals in your chosen field of concentration.
SPECIFIC CONCENTRATUION IN COMPUTER NETWORKING AND
SECURITY
ACC680
"Research Seminar in Accounting " accommodates a multitude of
concentrations. The following
particulars are intended to be for students interested in the general areas of
(1) computer networking, and (2) electronic commerce security and computer
security within the context of accounting and auditing. The technologies enabling each area will be
introduced.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THIS CONCENTRATION
By the end of this
course, you should be able to:
· Communicate effectively with systems professionals
on specification, design and implementation of accounting information systems
distributed over a network.
TEXTBOOK
Required Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach Featuring
the Internet (KR), J. Kurose and
K. Ross, Addison Wesley 2003. ISBN
0-201-97699-4. Online version of the KR
book is available at the following URLs:
http://gaia.cs.umass.edu/kurose/Contents.htm
http://wps.aw.com/aw_kurose_network_2
Recommended Java How to Program, Harvey Deitel, Paul Deitel, 4th ed (2002)
Prentice Hall. ISBN: 013341517
Multithreading
is an essential technique for implementation of network programming. Deitel and Deitel explain this technique
well in one chapter (called Multithreading).
You should refer to examples in that chapter. Threads are also covered in the tutorial page at Sun:
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/essential/threads/index.html
Since
examples of network programming in Java will be introduced in the course,
students should visit the following web page to gain a good understanding of
the materials in the first week:
http://www.javasoft.com/docs/books/tutorial/networking/index.html
EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH PAPER TOPIC
Each student should write a 15 page individual
research paper on a topic relevant to the focus of this course. The following topics are suggested. For implication of information technology on
accounting in general, refer to the AICPA web page
http://www.toptentechs.com. Do
not use any materials published before Jan 1, 2000.
1.
How is computer
networking relevant to accounting?
Review and summarize accounting research in computer networking.
2.
How is information
and computer security relevant to accounting?
Review and summarize accounting research in security.
3.
Classify and map all
AIS research onto a hierarchy. How is
computer networking and security related to this hierarchy?
4.
Review and summarize
academic literature and the public press in AIS.
5.
Write programs to
demonstrate variation of network delays at different hours of the day. Using an atomic clock server, report delays
through TCP versus UDP.
6.
Write programs to
demonstrate client-server programming for audio and video transmission using
UDP.
7.
Research on the
future of differentiated services (Diffserv) as an Internet architecture.
8.
Research on the
future developments of computer networking.
9.
Research on the
future developments of information and computer security.
10.
Design an
application layer protocol for transmitting XML business documents (e.g.
purchase order, invoice, etc).
11.
Demonstrate using
socket programming a simple protocol for transmission of purchase order.
12.
Assets can be
confirmed with certainty, but some liabilities could remain hidden until after
a business decision is made. A better
infrastructure is needed for the auditor to more accurately determine all
outstanding liabilities, and for the investor to better assess the financial
health of a company. Because a single
borrower may borrow from any lender, liability information is not centrally
stored but widely distributed.
Undeclared liabilities hidden in the records of one of thousands of
lenders could become unwelcome surprises to the investor. Communication technologies, including
network architecture and application protocol, hold the promise for an
automated system to more accurately and efficiently reconstruct the total
liability picture from widely distributed data stores. Design the network architecture and protocol
needed for this system.
13.
Other interesting
topics relevant to the focus of this course.
Approval from instructor is needed.
GRADING
This
course will consist of lectures, homework, a test, a research paper and a
presentation. Students will be graded
on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis based on performance in homework, test,
research paper, presentation, and participation in class. Homework is due and will be collected at
the beginning of class. Late
submissions will not be evaluated.
Missed homework also cannot be made up.
20
points: HW assignments
20
points: Test
50
points: Individual Research Paper and Presentation
10
points: Class Participation and Quizzes
ACADEMIC HONESTY
You MUST acknowledge your source with proper
reference when you mention someone else's work. Whether you are directly quoting or indirectly paraphrasing, you
MUST disclose the original authors. For
instance, if you use/quote/paraphrase any idea from Fama's efficient market
hypothesis, you should add (Fama, 1970) at the end of your corresponding
sentence (or paragraph). Also make sure
that you include Fama's 1970 paper in your list of reference. The same rule applies to shared information,
including computer codes, obtained from the internet or from other published
sources. For guidelines on how to cite
other researchers' work, please refer to:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/4184/#conven
The
above is the most important advice.
While you are encouraged to read other published articles, you MUST
clearly identify the portions (paragraph, sentences, etc) of the paper that
represent your own work, and the portions that represent other authors'
ideas. You must strictly observe the
codes of academic honesty.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
|
|
Topics |
Chapters |
HW |
|
Mar 20 |
ACC661 of Prof. Jagdish
Gangolly |
|
|
|
Mar 25 |
Introduction and
multithreading in Java |
Multithreading |
HW1: ThreeThreads.java
due Mar 27. |
|
Mar 27 |
Computer Network &
Internet; Application Layer |
KR 1, 2 |
HW2:
ChangeCaseClient.java and ChangeCaseServer.java due Mar 27. HW3: TaxClient.java and
TaxServer.java due Apr 3. |
|
Apr 1 |
Computer Network &
Internet; Application Layer |
KR 1, 2 |
HW4:
TaxClientThread.java and TaxServerThread.java due Apr 10. |
|
Apr 3 |
Computer Network &
Internet; Application Layer |
KR 1, 2 |
Pick a suggested
research topic, OR submit a research proposal with one short paragraph
describing the topic and another describing the scope. Topic or proposal due Apr 8. |
|
Apr 8 |
Application Layer; Transport
Layer |
KR 2, 3 |
|
|
Apr 10 |
Transport Layer;
Network Layer and Routing |
KR 3, 4 |
Submit a detailed list
of reference (Do not use materials published before Jan 1, 2000), and
a draft describing preliminary findings (each in 1 typewritten page). Due Apr 15. |
|
Apr 15 |
Network Layer and
Routing; Link Layer and LAN |
KR 4, 5 |
Writing individual
research paper |
|
Apr 17 |
NO CLASS |
|
Writing individual
research paper |
|
Apr 22 |
Link Layer and LAN;
Multimedia Networking |
KR 5, 6 |
Writing individual
research paper |
|
Apr 24 |
Security in Computer
Network |
KR 7 |
Writing individual
research paper |
|
Apr 29 |
Security in Computer
Network (policy file; browser security; synchronization of threads, network
security such as denial of services, etc); Network Management |
KR 7, 8 |
Writing individual
research paper |
|
May 1 |
Test |
|
Writing individual
research paper |
|
May 6 |
Presentation |
|
Research paper due. |