JAVA

CS101 Spring 2016

University of Bridgeport Term Paper: Ethics in Computing

Spring 2016

Instructor: Subrina Thompson 1/1

The Ethics of computing has been an important issue as computers have made their way into the workplace and

into our homes. The complete ACM ethics are listed at the following web site.

http://www.acm.org/constitution/code.html

There are four basic categories which define the code. They are

1. General Moral Imperatives 2. More Specific Professional Responsibilities 3. Organizational Leadership Imperatives 4. Compliance with the Code

Your assignment is to write a short scenario to demonstrate ethical and unethical actions. You will choose a

section from either General Moral Imperatives or More Specific Professional Responsibilities. Based on the

topic, create a realistic scenario in which there is an ethical issue to be dealt with. Then you should show two

possible actions to your scenario. The first option would be an ethics violation and the second should be an ethical

action. The following excerpt is from the General Moral Imperatives.

1.3 Be honest and trustworthy

“Honesty is an essential component of trust. Without trust an organization cannot function effectively. The honest

computing professional will not make deliberately false or deceptive claims about a system or system design, but will

instead provide full disclosure of all pertinent system limitations and problems.

A computer professional has a duty to be honest about his or her own qualifications, and about any circumstances that

might lead to conflicts of interest.

Membership in volunteer organizations such as ACM may at times place individuals in situations where their statements

or actions could be interpreted as carrying the "weight" of a larger group of professionals. An ACM member will exercise

care to not misrepresent ACM or positions and policies of ACM or any ACM units.”

Your scenario should be a true ethics question, and should not be a case in which a clear-cut case where something

illegal is happening. Therefore, your grade will depend on the fact that you can identify a subtle ethical question

(not an obvious one).

Your paper should be between 2 to 4 pages, single sided, double-spaced. Your grade will be based on your

understanding of the ethics rule chosen and your ability to write clearly and succinctly.