For your final participation topic, using the above Code of Ethics, Pick at leas

Question

For your final participation topic, using the above Code of Ethics, Pick at least 2 of the 8 principles from the Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice available from the URL: http://www.acm.org/about/se-code and describe what these principles mean to you. In your write-up, summarize the principles you selected in your own words and provide at least one example of an activity or action you could take that would support the principle and one example of an activity or action that you believe would violate this principle.

Explanation / Answer

The first principle I have chosen to elaborate is

PUBLIC - Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest.

This principle strives to bring out the philanthropist side of software engineers. The first goal is to be honest and accept full responsibility for your work. This might help you abstain from developing any softwate which might tarnish your reputation when judged by the public eye. This principle also encourages you to always think about the public and keep the public before your work, your employer and also your client. It encourages you to always measure and approve of software with respect to a benchmark. It promises to keep the average quality of software high. It encourages software enginners to develop software which can be accessed by people with physical disabities, lack of resources, financial disadvantage etc. It also expects software engineer to indulge in public education concerning their discipline and in volunteering in social services.

One example that would support this principle is to widely use openware and contribute actively to it. Openware is software whose code is in a public repo and can be accessed by all. This way, one cannot capitalize on a software and start a monopoly.

One example that would violate this principle is to develop a close-sources software and charge a premium for it, something which Apple strives on. This prevents people with economic disadvantage to enjoy the fruits of top-notch technology. Unlike android, which is open sourced and easily available to the public.

The second principle is:

PRODUCT - Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible.

This refers to a niche category of the first principle I talked about. This encourages software engineers to strive for high quality and fair products. This might prevent software engineers to develop software with malign intentions and destructive purposes, like viruses, malwares etc. Softwares should always have a constructive goal. Also, this principle discourages engineers to be selfish and greedy. A software should be fairly priced, easily available, open sourced and legal. In the cut-throat competition, we often fail to adhere to none of the above characteristics. And the only victim is the public.

One example that would support this principle is to make all antiviruses free of cost. This would serve a dual purpose. Not only would it be in terms with the sub princples laid down by this principle, but also it would help eradicate software products that violate the above. A recent happening in the wake of Paris bombings deserves a worthy mention. Anonymous, as some might be aware of, is an exclusive group of elite hackers. Hackers are often considered to be people who grossly violate all principles and ethics of the mentioned code. Their sole aim is to disrupt systems of corporates and individuals alike and cause mayhem. However, this particular group vowed to track down the terrorists responsible for Paris bombings using their knowledge on the matter. It is considered to be quite the noble act.

One example that grossly violates the principle is be sloppy in your work. Not following good programming principles, not documenting your work, no proper debugging are all examples of sloppy work. Not only will it affect your career on a personal level, but degrade the quality of software in the market too. Though it is not a serious consequence, it is something that we must strive to avoid.

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