Review Questions:

 

1. What is professional ethics?

 

Professional ethics is one of the three main perspectives of a computer ethics, which can be defined and analyzed. It is also a field of applied ethics concerned with moral issues that affect computer professionals.

 

2. What is a computer professional?

 

Computer professionals are people specializing in the field the field of information technology or communications. They each have their own system of ethics, separate from ordinary ethics.

 

3. Do computer professionals have special moral responsibilities that ordinary computer users do not have? If so, what are some of those special responsibilities?

 

Yes, computer professionals indeed have more special moral responsibilities. This is because computer professionals have more access to information that could damage or harm ordinary computer users or other people.

 

4. Why is it useful to limit our discussion of moral issues affecting computer professionals to issues affecting software engineers and engineering teams, computer science instructor, and IT support professionals, as opposed to professionals such as lawyers and accountants who also use computers and why may work for computer organizations?

 

Because Software engineers and other computer professionals have different standards to what is morally right and wrong compared to other professionals like doctors and lawyers.

5. How do Gotterbarn, Miller, and Rogerson propose that we define the profession of software engineering? Who is included in a software engineering team?

 

A computer professional could be defined in a way that would exclude professionals in the fields of communicatons and library science, yet still include professionals whose computer-specific job descriptions extend beyond software engineering per se. In a software engineering team, they can be thought of those people who contribute direct participation o the analysis, specification, design, development, etc.

 

6. What are professional codes of ethics, and what functions do these codes serve?

 

Professional code of ethics are guidelines with the purpose of helping professionals make the morally right decision.

 

7. List some of the benefits of professional code of ethics. Describe some of the criticism of these professional codes.

 

The benefits of the Professional Code of Ethics are to inspire, guide, educate, and discipline members.

 

8. Why does John Ladd believe that professional codes of ethics rest on a series of errors that are both intellectual and moral? Describe the arguments he uses to support his position.

 

John Ladd has criticized ethical codes on slightly diff. grounds, arguing that these codes rest on a series of confusions that are both intellectual and moral. The role of ethics in general, he argues, is to appraise, criticize, and even defend the principles, rules, and regulations, but not to dictate or punish them.

 

9. Explain Don Gotterbarn's three-fold distinction: codes of ethics, codes of conduct, and codes of practice. Do Gotternbarn's distinctions help to eliminate any of the criticisms that have been raised against professional codes?

 

He describes code of ethics as "aspirational" because they often serve as mission statements for the profession and can thus provide vision objectives. Codes of conduct, on contrary, address the professional and the professional's attitude and behavior. Finally, code of practice relate to operational activities within a profession. I think so, yes it eliminates any of the criticisms that have been raised against professional codes.

 

10. How does the IEEE-CS/ACM Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice improve on earlier professional codes?

 

IEEE-CS/ACM use all the information about ethical and moral issues that they have gathered and think of solutions or codes to help professionals solve their own ethical dilemmas.

 

11. Do computer professionals have presumed, or prima facie, obligation to loyalty to their employers?

 

Yes, because computer professionals have an obligation of loyalty to their employers. But computer professionals also have an obligation of loyalty to society. So when a computer professional decides that his/her employer is doing something unethical that can affect other people or society as a whole it is up to the computer professional's moral judgement whether to blow the whistle or not.

 

12. Describe the arguments by Ronal Duska and John Ladd regarding employee loyalty.

 

Duska and Ladd's arguements describe the loyalty of the employers to their employees. They gave outsourcing as a scenario. Companies who refuse to outsource computer professionals are showing loyalty to their nation's computer professionals.

 

13. What exactly is whistle-blowing? Acc. to Michael Martin, what are the three general approaches that have been taken in analysis of whistle-blowing cases?

 

It is an effort by an individual to get the public's attention and shedding some light about a person's or an organization's misconduct. Michael Martin gave three general approaches:

-          Condemned as an action taken by disloyal troublemakers who on their companies and undermine teamwork based on the hierarchy of authority within the corporation.

-          Tragedy to be avoided

-          Affirmed unequivocally as an obligation that is paramount in certain circumstances where it overrides all other considerations, whatever the sacrifice involved in meeting it.

 

14. Describe De George's criteria for determining when one is required to blow the whistle as opposed to when one is permitted to do so. Are De George's criteria useful in making this disticntion? 

 

When one is permitted to blow the whistle it must be:

 

-          The harm that will be done by the product to the public is serious and considerable

-          Employees have received no satisfaction from their immediate supervisors, and they have exhausted the channels available within the corporation including going to the board of directors

-      The engineers(or employees) have made their concerns known to their superiors.

 

 

When one is required to blow the whistle it must be:

 

-          There are strong evidences that making the information public will in fact prevent the threatened serious harm.

-           Employees have documented evidence that would convince a reasonable, impartial observer that his/her view of the situation is correct and the company policy is wrong.

 

I think that the conditions given be De George are too loose because the first three conditions are already sufficient cause to blow the whistle.

 

15. In which ways do Gene James and Kenneth Alpern disagree with De George's model for whitsle-blowing?

 

Gene James and Kenneth alpern argues that De George's conditions are too lenient and have insufficent guidance in regards to sexual harrasment, violations to privacy and other acts.

 

16. Describe John Ladd's argument in defense of De George's position on whistle -blowing.

 

De Geaorge has defenders who believe that whistle-blowing should only be required in extraordinary cases. John Ladd however, believes that requiring engineers to blow the whistle in nonextraordinary cases.

 

17. Why does Helen Nisssenbaum believe that the notion of accountability has been "systematically undermindes in the computer age"? How does she distinguish between accountability and responsibility?

 

Because she believes that responsibility, legal liablity and accountability are all under the context of computers. She distinguishes accountability ad responsibility by saying that responsibility is only a part of it while accountability is a broader concept than responsibility.

 

18. What does Nissenbaum mean by "problem of many hands" in a computing context?

 

Computer software are usually developed in large organizational settings. Many individuals are involved in making a software, not just the programmer. If something goes wrong somewhere or causes harm, it is difficult to determine who to blame because of the many people involved.

 

19. Why does Nissenbaum believe that it is important to distinguish between moral accountability and legal liability?

 

Because in a computer context, it is important to distinguish both moral accountability and liabilities.

 

20. Acc. to Don Gotterbarn, what is required for a model of risk analysis to be adequate in the software development process for safety-critical systems?

 

Gotternbarn concludes that unless adequate model for software development is framed, we may be doomed to experiencing future computer malfunctions. What is required though is that it has to withstand or rather eliminate the two failure/defects in current models, which are 1. an overly narrow conception of risk and 2. a limited notion of system stakeholders.

 

 

Discussion Questions:

 

1. I think that having a professional code of ethics is better than not having one at all. By having a code of ethics professionals can have guidelines which can help determine what is right and what is wrong. But these guidelines can also confuse professionals into thinking that something is morally right because it does not violate the professional code of ethics. In the end it is still up to the person whether an action is right or wrong but I believe that having a guideline still has its advantages.

 

2. No, because each person has a different perspective of what is right and what is wrong. Therefore can never be a coherent code of ethics for professionals because what is right for one professional is not what's always right for others.

 

3. I would take the job because me and my family would be at risk if I refuse it. Also if I refuse the job somebody else would take it so I think that refusing it is useless.

 

4. I would anonymously blow the whistle. By doing so I can have a clear conscience and at the same time protect me and my family.

 

5. It would greatly affect their decision whether to blow the whistle or not because by doing so they are risk of being imprisoned.