The Social Responsibility of a Software Engineer
Abstraction: The social responsibility is one of important responsibilities defined by ACM in its ethic codes for software engineer. Compare to other responsibilities, social responsibility is more remote and ambiguous. When a software engineer obtained the privilege to practice his/her right from the society, he/she is required to take corresponding responsibilities. But the definition of the responsibilities is not unified in computing professional community but heavily depended on the software engineer's personal life experience and the social environment around him/her. Meanwhile, the final social effect of software is not always straightforward. In many cases, that effect is not decided by software itself but decided by who use it and where it is used. In this article, we will discuss a case that some so-called "Hacktivists" who are trying to break down the "Great Fair Wall" in China. By analyze the arguments around this case and some concerns we may have about these arguments, we are trying to describe the difficulty a software engineer may have to face when he/she assume his/her social responsibility.
Introduction: What Are The Social Responsibility For A Software Engineer
In accordance with ACM code of ethics and professional conduct, software engineer has the social responsibility "to protect fundamental human rights and to respect the diversity of all cultures" and "computing professional must attempt to ensure that the products of their efforts will be used in socially responsible ways"[2]. A software engineer also "must be alert to, and make others aware of, any potential damage"[2] about his/her products. The responsibilities are thought as a contract signe...
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Everyday people in China are suffering from their government. From being wrongly accused to being executed for petty crimes. In a country where you cannot speak your opinions, talk poorly about government officials, speak about Chinese communist failures, or even browse the internet freely. China has kept its citizens in the void. One example is the great firewall of china, which sensors most social media and other sites. This essay will go into some individual stories of the Chinese government's unfair social injustices towards its people.
The Internet, originally arising from the American military, has grown to a main source of communication for millions around the world and has helped in creating a global village. The Internet started gaining fast acceptance in the 1990's especially in North America. Countries such as China however, still have limited access and control over the contents on the internet allowed ...
Google is the largest search engine across the globe, which has significantly transformed the use of the Internet as an information source. The influence of Google in Internet use as information source is evident in the fact that by June 2010, it accounted for more than 70 percent of total Internet searches in America. In addition to its success and profitability in the global market, Google is renowned as a highly ethical company as demonstrated in its corporate philosophy features. However, the firm’s behavior during the launch of its China-based search engine in 2006 generated huge skepticism from the United States government and several human rights organizations (Baker & Tang, p.2). Since the launch of Google’s Chinese search engine, the company complied with China’s censorship regulations by deciding to filter out terms that are considered politically sensitive. This decision attracted criticism from political leaders and human rights activists who accused Google of betraying its adopted ethical standards by ignoring the essence of freedom of expression and information access. As a result, Google faced a dilemma involving the clash between law and ethics. In the subsequent years, Google reacted to the dilemma by changing its rhetoric strategies in efforts to respond to the changing needs.
China, also, will be able to achieve economic and technological advantages by working with Google while still controlling public opinion. By restricting Google by censorship, with minimal compromises on some services, China will be able to affirm its status as an independent actor in the global marketplace as well. Work Cited:.. James S. O’Rourke IV, Brynn Harris, Allison Ogilvy: Google in China: government censorship and corporate reputation Journal of Business Strategy Vol. 28.
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This essay will discuss some of the Social, Ethical and Legal issues that an IT (Information Technology) Professional will likely face during their career in the Information Technology Sector. Furthermore, I will talk about how these issues affect professionals and how they could approach these challenges to try finding feasible solutions for them.
In the paragraphs that follow you will be introduced to the Code of Ethics as outlined by IEEE, and what it means to its members. A comprehensive summarization will be provided for each guideline along with examples of how this code has been recently violated. The vast world of technology, as ever-changing as it is, can affect almost everyone in any aspect of life. This being the case it is important that we as students and engineers adhere to the guidelines set forth by the IEEE, and commit to conduct ourselves to act in a professional and ethical manner. While this is the conduct expected to be exemplified by the members of IEEE, many organizations and firms have similar codes to which they too expect their members to follow.
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In the twenty first century, ‘Professionalism and Ethics’ has raised the standards of Information Technology and Engineering. William Wisely states that, “The engineer shall apply his specialized knowledge and skill at all times in the public interest, with honesty, integrity and honor.” While emphasizing the importance of ethics in the field of Information Technology and Engineering, Deborah G. Johnson affirms as follows: