1.      What is professional ethics?

 

Professional ethics concerns the moral issues that arise because of the specialist knowledge that professionals attain, and how the use of this knowledge should be governed when providing a service to the public. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_ethics)

 

1.     Who is a computer professional?

A computer professional is a person who knows a lot about computer but knows how to be ethical.

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

              For me, yes. We do have special responsibilities in our chosen path. We have to ensure that we are ethical despite the fact that a lot of unethical things exist in the computer world.

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

The computing profession deals with a lot of changes. It’s fast growing to the point that if you don’t study, you will be left behind. It’s useful to limit the discussion because morality is not what they do, Unlike those lawyers and doctors.

 

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

Gotternbarn, Miller, and Rogerson propose that a software engineering team can be thought of as those who contribute by direct participation to the analysis, specification, design, development, etc. Software technical writers, software quality analysis, managers and supervisors are included in a software engineering team. 

 

What are professional codes of ethics and what are the functions that this code serves?

Both ACM and IEEE codes contain general statements about what is expected and in some cases what is required, to be a member in good standing.

List some of the benefits of professional code of ethics. Describe some of the criticisms of these codes have.

they inspire, guide, educate and discipline.

 

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 that he uses to provide his position.

John Ladd says that the professional codes rest on a series of confusions that are both intellectual and moral. His three main points are:

 

 

·         The confusions that they introduce with respect to responsibilities involving micro ethics versus macro ethics.

·         Ladd believes that attaching disciplinary procedures and sanctions to codes effectively turns them into legal rules or authoritative rules of conduct rather than ethical rules.

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

Codes of conduct address the professional and the professional’s attitude and behavior and the Codes of practice relate to operational activities within the profession.

 

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

It’s partly yes and no. Some professionals do embrace their obligations and even the technology that they are using. But on the other hand, many employees have a lot of part time jobs and sometimes, they compete with their employer.

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

Ronald Duska argues that in employment contexts, the question of loyalty arises only in special relationships that are based on mutual enrichment. In a relationship that pursues self interests, the notion of loyalty does not apply. John Ladd believes that for corporations, loyalty can only be in one direction. He argues that a corporation cannot be loyal to its employee because the corporation goals must be competitively linked to benefits employees bring to corporation.

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

According to Michael Martin, the three general approaches that have been taken in the analysis of the whistle-blowing cases are:

·         Condemned as an action taken by disloyal trouble makers who rat on their companies and undermine teamwork based on the hierarchy of authority within the corporation.

·         regarded as a 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.

Describe Richard 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 distinction? Explain.

De George has offered specific conditions for when an engineer is permitted to blow the whistle and obliged to do so. The harm that will be done by the product to the public is serious and considerable.

·         The engineers have made their concerns known to their superiors

·         The engineers 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.

In which ways do Gene James and Kenneth Alpern disagree with De George’s model for whistle-blowing?

James suggests that an individual has a moral obligation to blow a whistle even when only three conditions of De George are met. Gene James believes that De George’s conditions that require blowing a whistle are too lenient. Kenneth Alpern argues that De George’s model lets engineers off too easily from their obligation to blow the whistle.

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

-  requiring engineers to blow the whistle in no extraordinary cases can be disagreeable from an ethical point of view because it demands that these individuals be moral heroes.

Why does Helen Nissenbaum believe that the notion of accountability has been systematically undetermined in the computer age? How does she distinguish between accountability and responsibility?

As far as computer is concern, accountability means “ …there will be someone, or several people to answer not only for malfunctions in life critical systems that cause or risk grave injuries and cause of infrastructure and large monetary loses.”

What does Nissenbaum mean by “the problem of many hands” in a computing context?

The problem of many hands means even though there are certain ideas that two is better than one, sometimes, problems occur because of the misunderstandings and different ideas.

 

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

Moral accountability doesn’t always mean legal. Sometimes, legal could lead to immorality.  

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

He noted that the only stakeholders typically given a consideration in risk assessment models for software development are the software developers and customers.