1.    What is professional ethics?

            Codes of conduct established by professionals to govern ethical behavior within that profession. 

 

2.    Who is a computer professional?

 

any person whose primary occupation involves the design, configuration, analysis, development, modification, testing, or security of computer 

 

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

 

 

 

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 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?

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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 that he uses to provide his position.

 

9.    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?

 

 

10.  How does IEEE-CS/ACM Software engineering code of ethics and Professional practice (SECEPP) improve on earlier professional codes?

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

13.  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?

 

14.  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.

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

17.  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?

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

20.  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?