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<HEAD>
        <TITLE>Professional ethics and Information Technology</TITLE>
        <META name="Author" content="Andrew Pollock">
        <META name="Student Number" content="4137129">
        <META name="Lab Group" content="">
</HEAD>

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        <H1>Professional ethics and Information Technology</H1>

        <H2>Introduction</H2>
        <P>
                This essay discusses the principles of ethics, both in their specific
                application to the Information Technology profession, and to their
                more general application to professional disciplines. In particular
                the Codes of Ethics of the <EM>Australian Computer Society</EM> (ACS),
                <EM>Association for Computing Machinery</EM> (ACM), and the
                <EM>Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers</EM> (IEEE) are
                examined. The <EM>Australian National University</EM> (ANU) code
                <EM>Academic Honesty in Learning and Teaching</EM> is also examined to
                highlight similarities between issues raised and those raised by the
                above-mentioned professional societies. Finally, two real-world
                scenarios will be presented and discussed within the context of
                professional ethics.
        </P>

        <H2>Generic principles</H2>
        <P>
                There are a number of generic principles common to the various Codes
                of Ethics of the professional societies examined. These principles are
                not necessarily specific to the field of Information Technology, but
                may relevant to many professional disciplines.
        </P>

        <P>
                <DL>
                        <DT><STRONG>Essential moral behaviour</STRONG></DT>
                        <DD>
                                <P>
                                        The various Codes of Ethics all contain directives regarding
                                        what one could consider basic moral behaviour. Values such as
                                        honesty, integrity, are all specifically referred to. Actions
                                        must also be in the public or community interest, which means
                                        that members of the various societies should take the wider
                                        social implications of their actions into consideration.
                                </P>

                                <P>
                                        This is the core of what makes the Code of Ethics a Code of
                                        Ethics. Basic ethical behaviour is defined in ACS Code of
                                        Ethics in section 4.1. This section specifically mentions the
                                        profession of Information Technology, however there is
                                        nothing IT specific in the rest of this item, so it could be
                                        interchangeable with the medical profession, for example.
                                </P>

                                <P>
                                        Similarly, the ACM breaks it's Code of Ethics down into three
                                        broad categories. The first, General Moral Imperatives, could
                                        equally apply to most other professions. The sections
                                        relating to intellectual property are vaguely more IT
                                        centric, however are still relevant to other professions that
                                        might involve either personal or contracted creativity.
                                </P>
                        </DD>

                        <DT><STRONG>Competence</STRONG></DT>
                        <DD>
                                <P>
                                        All the Codes of Conduct and Ethics highly value competence.
                                        This is important, as incompetent workmanship can have a poor
                                        reflection on the profession in general, regardless of what
                                        that profession is.
                                </P>

                                <P>
                                        This is closely related to ongoing professional development,
                                        which is discussed next. Competence is an intangible, and as
                                        such difficult to guage in an individual. It is really up to
                                        the individual to have some sense of self-assessment when it
                                        comes to particular work.
                                </P>
                        </DD>

                        <DT><STRONG>Professional Development</STRONG></DT>
                        <DD>
                                <P>
                                        For the same reasons as competence, ongoing professional
                                        development is of paramount importance. All the societies
                                        Codes reviewed specifically mention ongoing personal
                                        development, as well as assisting fellow members to further
                                        their development.
                                </P>

                                <P>
                                        This is a significant point of all the Codes of Ethics. There
                                        is little value in being a member of such a professional
                                        society if it does not encourage it's members to further
                                        themselves, as professional development is something that
                                        should never cease. It is also important to note that the
                                        Codes state that members should encourage and support each
                                        other in their personal development.
                                </P>
                        </DD>

                        <DT><STRONG>Fairness, equality and objectivity</STRONG></DT>
                        <DD>
                                <P>
                                        All of the societies Codes examined specifically refer to
                                        conducting oneself in an indiscriminate manner. The ACS
                                        <EM>Code of Professional Conduct and Professional
                                        Practice</EM> states: <BLOCKQUOTE>Be objective, impartial and
                                        free of conflicts of interest in the performance of your
                                        professional duties.</BLOCKQUOTE> The ACM specifically states
                                        that equality, tolerance and respect for others are important
                                        and that violations of this policy will not be tolerated, in
                                        their Code of Ethics. The IEEE's Code of Ethics also states
                                        that members agree to <BLOCKQUOTE>treat fairly all persons
                                        regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender,
                                        disability, age or national origin.</BLOCKQUOTE>
                                </P>
                        </DD>

                        <DT><STRONG>Promotion of the profession</STRONG></DT>
                        <DD>
                                <P>
                                        Again, one could substitute the name of the profession for
                                        any other, however, the ACS Code of Ethics and Code of
                                        Professional Conduct specifically mention promoting and
                                        protecting the image, and professionalism of Information
                                        Technology and the society in general.
                                </P>

                                <P>
                                        Naturally, any professional society is going to be an
                                        advocacy body for that profession. One would expect to find
                                        such promotion clauses in any professional society's Code of
                                        Ethics.
                                </P>
                        </DD>
                </DL>
        </P>

        <H2>Principles specific to Information Technology</H2>
        <P>
                There are a number of other principles stated in the various Codes of
                Conduct that are more specific to the field of Information Technology,
                because of the technical nature of the profession, or because they
                relate to technological ethical issues.
        </P>

        <P>
                <DL>
                        <DT><STRONG>Intellectual Property</STRONG></DT>
                        <DD>
                                <P>
                                        Whilst not strictly related to Information Technology, this
                                        is certainly an issue that crops up more often within this
                                        field.  The ACM Code of Ethics states that property rights
                                        including copyrights and patents should be honoured, and
                                        proper credit should be given for intellectual property. The
                                        IEEE Code of Ethics states that members should credit
                                        properly the contributions of others.  
                                </P>
                                        
                                <P>
                                        Interestingly, neither the ACS Code of Ethics or Code of
                                        Professional Conduct and Professional Practice makes a
                                        reference to "Intellectual Property", but the latter does
                                        state that information is the property of the client, and
                                        must not be distributed freely. One could argue that this
                                        covered under the section 4.7 of the ACS Code of Ethics
                                        (Honesty), whereby section 4.7.6 states <BLOCKQUOTE>I must
                                        give credit for work done by others where credit is
                                        due</BLOCKQUOTE> however, it could be argued successfully
                                        that this is not specific enough to the area of intellectual
                                        property and copyright, not prescriptive enough about when
                                        "credit is due".
                                </P>
                        </DD>

                        <DT><STRONG>Authorised access to computing resources</STRONG></DT>
                        <DD>
                                <P>
                                        The ACM Code of Conduct specifically mentions "trespassing
                                        and unauthorised use of a computer or communication system".
                                        It goes on to say that individuals have the right to restrict
                                        access insofar as it does not discriminate unethically (as
                                        discussed earlier).
                                </P>
                        </DD>

                        <DT><STRONG>Evaluating computer systems</STRONG></DT>
                        <DD>
                                <P>
                                        The ACM Code of Ethics has section 2.5 of their More Specific
                                        Professional Responsibilities, which states members must
                                        <BLOCKQUOTE>give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of
                                        computer systems and their impacts, including analysis of
                                        possible risks</BLOCKQUOTE> and goes on to state that
                                        computer professionals must be perceptive, thorough and
                                        objective when making evaluations, recommendations and
                                        presentations of system descriptions and alternatives. This
                                        is relevant to the profession of IT, because IT professionals
                                        tend to have their technical opinions viewed highly, as they
                                        are considered subject-matter experts.
                                </P>
                        </DD>
                </DL>
        </P>

        <H2>Similarities to ANU code</H2>

        <P>
                Whilst having nothing specifically to do with Information Technology,
                The ANU code on <EM>Academic Honesty in Learning and Teaching</EM> has
                a some common points to those raised in the Codes of Conduct for the
                various professional societies examined.
        </P>

        <P>
                The most significant common point is of course the moral value of
                being honest. This ANU code of practice defines academic honesty, and
                also goes on to discuss originality and plagiarism. This is identical
                in spirit to the intellectual property clause of the Codes of Ethics
                for the ACM, and the statement of "giving credit where credit is
                due" by the ACS, and properly crediting the contributions of others
                in the IEEE's Code of Ethics.
        </P>

        <P>
                The ANU code also defines the roles and responsibilities of various
                levels of academics within the University, similar to how the various
                societies Codes state that members should assist other members to
                further themselves to be better members. Similarly, University
                academics should provide guidance to students in matters of academic
                honesty.
        </P>

        <H2>Case studies</H2>

        <P>
                In conclusion two case studies will be discussed. The first, one is a
                hypothetical ANU student who attained an IT degree with a lot of
                assistance from his/her friends, doing a lot of collaboration on
                assignment work, and getting good marks for them, but average marks
                for examinations. This student then attains employment somewhere in
                Canberra.
        </P>

        <P>
                The second example is an employee working on a application project. He
                gets a brilliant idea outside of the scope of the existing project
                that he believes will make an improvement to this application, and
                other related applications. The contract he has signed states that the
                work carried out on the project belongs to this organisation he is
                working for.
        </P>

        <H3>Case study 1: The average student who had a lot of help from his friends</H3>

        <P>
                The negative consequence of this scenario is that this student has
                attained an IT degree that isn't necessarily indicative of his/her own
                abilities. This is most likely going to become evident when the
                employee is unable to conduct themselves competently in their field of
                employment.  The possible victims of this negative scenario are both
                the student/employee and the organisation employing him/her.
        </P>

        <P>
                Eventually it is going to come to the point where the employee has to
                gain sufficient competence to carry out his/her employment, or the
                employer has to cease employing the student, due to their
                incompetence. This ultimately boils down to misrepresentation, in that
                the student didn't accurately represent their competence to the
                employer in the first place.
        </P>

        <P>
                The negative repercussions could be more significant depending on the
                nature of the employment of the student. If the student was engaged in
                a role that may have a direct impact on the public, this incompetence
                could, in the worst case, directly impact on other peoples lives.
        </P>

        <H3>Case study 2: The employee with the work-related brilliant idea</H3>

        <P>
                In the case of the employee with the brilliant idea, if it is just an
                idea, the organisation he works for cannot readily claim ownership of
                it. If the employee develops anything on company time or resources,
                based on that idea, then it rightly becomes property of the
                organisation. If this is the case, and the employee wishes to take the
                idea outside of the organisation, the only ethical thing to do would
                be to seek permission from the employer to do so.  Anything less would
                constitute theft of the organisation's intellectual property.
        </P>

        <H2>Bibliography</H2>
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4	<!--
5	I declare that, except where appropriately attributed, the content of the file
6	I have submitted for this assignment is entirely my own work. It has not been
7	produced, in whole or in part, by another person. (signed) Andrew Pollock
8	-->
9	<HTML>
10
11	<HEAD>
12	<TITLE>Professional ethics and Information Technology</TITLE>
13	<META name="Author" content="Andrew Pollock">
14	<META name="Student Number" content="4137129">
15	<META name="Lab Group" content="">
16	</HEAD>
17
18	<BODY bgcolor="white">
19	<H1>Professional ethics and Information Technology</H1>
20
21	<H2>Introduction</H2>
22	<P>
23	This essay discusses the principles of ethics, both in their specific
24	application to the Information Technology profession, and to their
25	more general application to professional disciplines. In particular
26	the Codes of Ethics of the <EM>Australian Computer Society</EM> (ACS),
27	<EM>Association for Computing Machinery</EM> (ACM), and the
28	<EM>Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers</EM> (IEEE) are
29	examined. The <EM>Australian National University</EM> (ANU) code
30	<EM>Academic Honesty in Learning and Teaching</EM> is also examined to
31	highlight similarities between issues raised and those raised by the
32	above-mentioned professional societies. Finally, two real-world
33	scenarios will be presented and discussed within the context of
34	professional ethics.
35	</P>
36
37	<H2>Generic principles</H2>
38	<P>
39	There are a number of generic principles common to the various Codes
40	of Ethics of the professional societies examined. These principles are
41	not necessarily specific to the field of Information Technology, but
42	may relevant to many professional disciplines.
43	</P>
44
45	<P>
46	<DL>
47	<DT><STRONG>Essential moral behaviour</STRONG></DT>
48	<DD>
49	<P>
50	The various Codes of Ethics all contain directives regarding
51	what one could consider basic moral behaviour. Values such as
52	honesty, integrity, are all specifically referred to. Actions
53	must also be in the public or community interest, which means
54	that members of the various societies should take the wider
55	social implications of their actions into consideration.
56	</P>
57
58	<P>
59	This is the core of what makes the Code of Ethics a Code of
60	Ethics. Basic ethical behaviour is defined in ACS Code of
61	Ethics in section 4.1. This section specifically mentions the
62	profession of Information Technology, however there is
63	nothing IT specific in the rest of this item, so it could be
64	interchangeable with the medical profession, for example.
65	</P>
66
67	<P>
68	Similarly, the ACM breaks it's Code of Ethics down into three
69	broad categories. The first, General Moral Imperatives, could
70	equally apply to most other professions. The sections
71	relating to intellectual property are vaguely more IT
72	centric, however are still relevant to other professions that
73	might involve either personal or contracted creativity.
74	</P>
75	</DD>
76
77	<DT><STRONG>Competence</STRONG></DT>
78	<DD>
79	<P>
80	All the Codes of Conduct and Ethics highly value competence.
81	This is important, as incompetent workmanship can have a poor
82	reflection on the profession in general, regardless of what
83	that profession is.
84	</P>
85
86	<P>
87	This is closely related to ongoing professional development,
88	which is discussed next. Competence is an intangible, and as
89	such difficult to guage in an individual. It is really up to
90	the individual to have some sense of self-assessment when it
91	comes to particular work.
92	</P>
93	</DD>
94
95	<DT><STRONG>Professional Development</STRONG></DT>
96	<DD>
97	<P>
98	For the same reasons as competence, ongoing professional
99	development is of paramount importance. All the societies
100	Codes reviewed specifically mention ongoing personal
101	development, as well as assisting fellow members to further
102	their development.
103	</P>
104
105	<P>
106	This is a significant point of all the Codes of Ethics. There
107	is little value in being a member of such a professional
108	society if it does not encourage it's members to further
109	themselves, as professional development is something that
110	should never cease. It is also important to note that the
111	Codes state that members should encourage and support each
112	other in their personal development.
113	</P>
114	</DD>
115
116	<DT><STRONG>Fairness, equality and objectivity</STRONG></DT>
117	<DD>
118	<P>
119	All of the societies Codes examined specifically refer to
120	conducting oneself in an indiscriminate manner. The ACS
121	<EM>Code of Professional Conduct and Professional
122	Practice</EM> states: <BLOCKQUOTE>Be objective, impartial and
123	free of conflicts of interest in the performance of your
124	professional duties.</BLOCKQUOTE> The ACM specifically states
125	that equality, tolerance and respect for others are important
126	and that violations of this policy will not be tolerated, in
127	their Code of Ethics. The IEEE's Code of Ethics also states
128	that members agree to <BLOCKQUOTE>treat fairly all persons
129	regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender,
130	disability, age or national origin.</BLOCKQUOTE>
131	</P>
132	</DD>
133
134	<DT><STRONG>Promotion of the profession</STRONG></DT>
135	<DD>
136	<P>
137	Again, one could substitute the name of the profession for
138	any other, however, the ACS Code of Ethics and Code of
139	Professional Conduct specifically mention promoting and
140	protecting the image, and professionalism of Information
141	Technology and the society in general.
142	</P>
143
144	<P>
145	Naturally, any professional society is going to be an
146	advocacy body for that profession. One would expect to find
147	such promotion clauses in any professional society's Code of
148	Ethics.
149	</P>
150	</DD>
151	</DL>
152	</P>
153
154	<H2>Principles specific to Information Technology</H2>
155	<P>
156	There are a number of other principles stated in the various Codes of
157	Conduct that are more specific to the field of Information Technology,
158	because of the technical nature of the profession, or because they
159	relate to technological ethical issues.
160	</P>
161
162	<P>
163	<DL>
164	<DT><STRONG>Intellectual Property</STRONG></DT>
165	<DD>
166	<P>
167	Whilst not strictly related to Information Technology, this
168	is certainly an issue that crops up more often within this
169	field. The ACM Code of Ethics states that property rights
170	including copyrights and patents should be honoured, and
171	proper credit should be given for intellectual property. The
172	IEEE Code of Ethics states that members should credit
173	properly the contributions of others.
174	</P>
175
176	<P>
177	Interestingly, neither the ACS Code of Ethics or Code of
178	Professional Conduct and Professional Practice makes a
179	reference to "Intellectual Property", but the latter does
180	state that information is the property of the client, and
181	must not be distributed freely. One could argue that this
182	covered under the section 4.7 of the ACS Code of Ethics
183	(Honesty), whereby section 4.7.6 states <BLOCKQUOTE>I must
184	give credit for work done by others where credit is
185	due</BLOCKQUOTE> however, it could be argued successfully
186	that this is not specific enough to the area of intellectual
187	property and copyright, not prescriptive enough about when
188	"credit is due".
189	</P>
190	</DD>
191
192	<DT><STRONG>Authorised access to computing resources</STRONG></DT>
193	<DD>
194	<P>
195	The ACM Code of Conduct specifically mentions "trespassing
196	and unauthorised use of a computer or communication system".
197	It goes on to say that individuals have the right to restrict
198	access insofar as it does not discriminate unethically (as
199	discussed earlier).
200	</P>
201	</DD>
202
203	<DT><STRONG>Evaluating computer systems</STRONG></DT>
204	<DD>
205	<P>
206	The ACM Code of Ethics has section 2.5 of their More Specific
207	Professional Responsibilities, which states members must
208	<BLOCKQUOTE>give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of
209	computer systems and their impacts, including analysis of
210	possible risks</BLOCKQUOTE> and goes on to state that
211	computer professionals must be perceptive, thorough and
212	objective when making evaluations, recommendations and
213	presentations of system descriptions and alternatives. This
214	is relevant to the profession of IT, because IT professionals
215	tend to have their technical opinions viewed highly, as they
216	are considered subject-matter experts.
217	</P>
218	</DD>
219	</DL>
220	</P>
221
222	<H2>Similarities to ANU code</H2>
223
224	<P>
225	Whilst having nothing specifically to do with Information Technology,
226	The ANU code on <EM>Academic Honesty in Learning and Teaching</EM> has
227	a some common points to those raised in the Codes of Conduct for the
228	various professional societies examined.
229	</P>
230
231	<P>
232	The most significant common point is of course the moral value of
233	being honest. This ANU code of practice defines academic honesty, and
234	also goes on to discuss originality and plagiarism. This is identical
235	in spirit to the intellectual property clause of the Codes of Ethics
236	for the ACM, and the statement of "giving credit where credit is
237	due" by the ACS, and properly crediting the contributions of others
238	in the IEEE's Code of Ethics.
239	</P>
240
241	<P>
242	The ANU code also defines the roles and responsibilities of various
243	levels of academics within the University, similar to how the various
244	societies Codes state that members should assist other members to
245	further themselves to be better members. Similarly, University
246	academics should provide guidance to students in matters of academic
247	honesty.
248	</P>
249
250	<H2>Case studies</H2>
251
252	<P>
253	In conclusion two case studies will be discussed. The first, one is a
254	hypothetical ANU student who attained an IT degree with a lot of
255	assistance from his/her friends, doing a lot of collaboration on
256	assignment work, and getting good marks for them, but average marks
257	for examinations. This student then attains employment somewhere in
258	Canberra.
259	</P>
260
261	<P>
262	The second example is an employee working on a application project. He
263	gets a brilliant idea outside of the scope of the existing project
264	that he believes will make an improvement to this application, and
265	other related applications. The contract he has signed states that the
266	work carried out on the project belongs to this organisation he is
267	working for.
268	</P>
269
270	<H3>Case study 1: The average student who had a lot of help from his friends</H3>
271
272	<P>
273	The negative consequence of this scenario is that this student has
274	attained an IT degree that isn't necessarily indicative of his/her own
275	abilities. This is most likely going to become evident when the
276	employee is unable to conduct themselves competently in their field of
277	employment. The possible victims of this negative scenario are both
278	the student/employee and the organisation employing him/her.
279	</P>
280
281	<P>
282	Eventually it is going to come to the point where the employee has to
283	gain sufficient competence to carry out his/her employment, or the
284	employer has to cease employing the student, due to their
285	incompetence. This ultimately boils down to misrepresentation, in that
286	the student didn't accurately represent their competence to the
287	employer in the first place.
288	</P>
289
290	<P>
291	The negative repercussions could be more significant depending on the
292	nature of the employment of the student. If the student was engaged in
293	a role that may have a direct impact on the public, this incompetence
294	could, in the worst case, directly impact on other peoples lives.
295	</P>
296
297	<H3>Case study 2: The employee with the work-related brilliant idea</H3>
298
299	<P>
300	In the case of the employee with the brilliant idea, if it is just an
301	idea, the organisation he works for cannot readily claim ownership of
302	it. If the employee develops anything on company time or resources,
303	based on that idea, then it rightly becomes property of the
304	organisation. If this is the case, and the employee wishes to take the
305	idea outside of the organisation, the only ethical thing to do would
306	be to seek permission from the employer to do so. Anything less would
307	constitute theft of the organisation's intellectual property.
308	</P>
309
310	<H2>Bibliography</H2>
311	</BODY>
312
313	</HTML>