Study: Professional and Ethics Case Studies

ACS Code of Ethics Case Studies & Related Clauses to the Code of Conduct Australian Computer Society
July 2012

Title ACS Code of Ethics Case Studies & Related Clauses to the Code of Conduct

Authors
Committee on Computer Ethics Mike Bowern

Version History
Date Document Version Revision History (reason for change) Author /Reviser

July 2012

2.0

ACS Branding

Sarah Li

Approvals
Date approved Version Approved By Date in force Date of Next Review To be confirmed

17 July 2012

2.0

Ruth Graham

17 July 2012

Custodian title & e-mail address: Responsible Business Group: Distribution:

[e-mail]

Professional Standards, Learning & Development

General (no restriction on distribution)

Content Security:

Unclassified

Australian Computer Society | ACS Code of Ethics Case Studies & Related Clauses to the Code of Conduct | July 2012

Page 2

ACS CODE OF ETHICS CASE STUDIES & RELATED CLAUSES TO THE CODE OF CONDUCT
This document provides a range of case studies with references to relevant clauses of the ACS Code of Ethics. These Codes consists of a series of clauses which gradually expand on aspects of ethical behaviour relevant to professional people in the ICT industry. Clause 2.0 describes the Code of Ethics, summarised as six values: The Primacy of the Public Interest; The Enhancement of the Quality of Life; Honesty; Competence; Professional Development; and Professionalism. Clauses 2.1 through to 2.7 cover the ACS Code of Conduct, which provide a series of non-exhaustive standards explaining how the Codes apply to a member’s professional work, related to each of the six Values.

Case No. 1: Jean The Programmer [1] Summary of case Jean, a statistical database programmer, is trying to write a large statistical program needed by her company. Programmers in this company are encouraged to write about their work and to publish their algorithms in professional journals. After months of tedious programming,

References: [1] Burmeister, O.K, (2000), Applying the ACS Code of Ethics, Journal of Research and Practice in Information Technology, Vol. 32, No. 2, May. [2] Burmeister, O.K., and Weckert, J., (2003), Applying the new software engineering code of ethics to usability engineering: A study of four cases, Info, Comm & Ethics in Society, Troubadour Publishing Ltd. [3] Canberra Times, (11 July 2003), “Centrelink letter one in a million”, page 1. [4] Canberra Times, (7 April 2003), “Costly upgrade: sprinting for cover”, page 15. [5] Senator Kate Lundy (5 November 2002) “Fahey finally tells the truth: tendering process for Health’s IT Outsourcing Program was without integrity”, Media release. [6] From Barry de Ferranti (ACS) - These are real situations, modified to remove names. [7] From Richard Lucas (CSU), based on actual events [8] From Yeslam Al-Saggaf (CSU) These cases relate to issues of different customs and cultures in the workplace. [9] From Mike Bowern. (Case 30 is to generate discussion on the idea that the ACS should be run in an ethical, business-like manner) [10] From Richard Lucas (This case has been added to generate discussion on the role of the Disciplinary Committee) Note: The cases in the following reference paper also appear in Burmeister (2000), which addresses the ACS Code of Ethics. So the Burmeister paper has been cited. Anderson, R.E., Johnson, D.G., Gotterbarn, D., Perrolle, J., (1993), Communications of the ACM, February, Vol. 36, No. 2. Australian Computer Society | ACS Code of Ethics Case Studies & Related Clauses to the Code of Conduct | July 2012 Page 43