12/10/2023

Contents
Professional Practices
• Profession
• Fundamental characteristics of a profession
• Structure of computing profession
• Ethics
“The Computing • Professional Ethics
•
Profession” •
Ethical issues of Computer Science
Professional codes of conduct
• Ten Commandments of computer ethics
• Applying codes of conduct (Case Studies)

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Profession Profession
• A formal education is one where you would go to
a college or university for an actual degree.
• An informal education is simply learning a trade from
“A paid occupation, especially one that involves someone else. It’s possible to have a formal education
and an informal education.
prolonged training and a formal qualification”
• The formal education is what most employers would
prefer to see because it is easier to prove. Having
a degree in a specific field will mean that you have
certain knowledge that will translate into a better
paying job and the company that’s employing you
getting a qualified person for the job.

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Fundamental characteristics of a
Profession
profession
• An informal education is what many people end up
having. You work under someone who has a degree or • Great responsibility
has been doing it for enough years to be – Professionals deal in matters of vital importance
knowledgeable about the subject. to their clients and are therefore entrusted with
• Many car mechanics and other "trade” skills usually grave responsibilities and obligations.
have an informal education as to what they’re doing.
• Informal education can also be referred to as life – Given these essential obligations, professional
experience. After going through life for so many years, work typically involves circumstances where
you’ll naturally acquire some knowledge about carelessness, inadequate skill, or breach of ethics
different things that you may not even learn after going would be significantly damaging to the client
through a formal education. and/or his fortunes.

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Fundamental characteristics of a Fundamental characteristics of a

profession profession
• Accountability • Based on specialized, theoretical knowledge
– Professionals hold themselves ultimately – Professionals render specialized services based on
accountable for the quality of their work with the theory, knowledge, and skills that are
client. characteristic to their profession and generally
– The profession may or may not have mechanisms beyond the understanding or capability of those
in place to reinforce and ensure adherence to this outside of the profession.
principle among its members. – Sometimes, this specialization will extend to
access to the tools and technologies used in the
profession (e.g. medical equipment).

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Fundamental characteristics of a Fundamental characteristics of a

profession profession
• Institutional preparation • Ethical constraints
– Professions typically require a significant period of – Due to the other characteristics on this list, there
hands-on, practical experience in the protected is a clear requirement for ethical constraints in the
company of senior members before candidates professions.
are recognized as professionals. – Professionals are bound to a code of conduct or
– After this provisional period, ongoing education ethics specific to the distinct profession.
toward professional development is compulsory. – Professionals also aim toward a general body of
core values, which are centered upon the client's
benefit and best interests.

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Fundamental characteristics of a 10 things that define a true

profession professional
• Merit-based • Put customer satisfaction first
– In a profession, members achieve employment and • Make expertise your specialty
success based on merit rather than on corrupted ideas • Do more than expected
such as social principle, mandated support, or • Do what you say and say what you can do
extortion. • Communicate effectively
– Therefore, a professional is one who must attract • Follow exceptional guiding principles
clients and profits due to the merits of his work. • Praise your peers not yourself
– In the absence of this characteristic, issues of • Share your knowledge
responsibility, accountability, and ethical constraints • Say thank you
become irrelevant, negating any otherwise-
• Keep a smile on your face and the right attitude in your
professional characteristics. heart

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Structure of computing profession Structure of computing profession

• The computing profession has a two tier • The second level body in computing is the
structure. computing council, a chartered body which
• At the first level, there are the institutions, recognizes certain computing institutions as
that is, the chartered professional bodies, its nominated bodies.
each of which covers a single or several closely • By recognizing a computing institution means
related computing disciplines. Examples are that Computing council is satisfied with its
PIEAS, NUST, UET etc. standard of education.

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Structure of computing profession Structure of computing profession

• Computing council acts as an umbrella body • NCEAC is recognized accreditator of
and represents the interests of the computing computing programs in Pakistan.
profession as a whole.
• It ensures the quality of education students
• National Computing Education Accreditation received in universities and institutions.
Council (NCEAC) is a professional body and
constitutional federal institution for • It stimulates innovation in applied sciences,
accreditation of computing education and computing, Engineering and technology
regulation of computing profession in education.
Pakistan.

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Ethics What is Professional Ethics

• One's conduct of behavior and practice when
• Ethics is the study of right and wrong in
carrying out professional work, e.g.,
relation to human actions. It includes
consulting, researching, teaching.
– Meta-ethics: study of general principles from
which ethical systems can be built. • The principles and standards that guide
– Moral theory: ethical systems, consisting of the members of a particular profession in their
criteria to decide whether individual actions are interactions with internal & external
right and wrong. stakeholders.
– Practical ethics: application of ethical systems to
the analysis of particular situations.

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Professional Ethics Why professional ethics?

• „Professional Ethics must take into accounts: • Awareness of professional ethics is gaining
– Relations between professionals and clients importance with time.
– Relation between profession and society • Decision making process in the work place is a
– Relations among professionals complex phenomena.
– Relations between employee and employer • The professional ethics provide a way of
simplifying that decision making process.

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Ethical Issues in Computer Science Ethical Issues in Computer Science

• As software becomes pervasive in our daily lives, • This could lead to personal harm, and potentially
its values from a purely human perspective are result in loss of confidence in software and loss of
brought to light.
trust in organizations that own them.
• Ethical conduct is one such human value.
• By participating in a software development • This can adversely affect the acceptance of
process, computer scientists can influence the software as a useful product, question the
final product, namely the software itself, in credibility of computer science as a profession.
different ways including those that may be
contrary to public interest. • Computer Science professionals must concern
• In other words, they could engage in an unethical themselves primarily with the health, safety and
behavior, intentionally or un-intentionally. welfare of those who are affected by their work.

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Professional code of conduct Professional code of conduct

• One of main characteristic of profession is that • It outlines 8 principles of computing ethics: The
the professional body establishes and enforces a obligation of the computing professional to the
code of conduct on its members. – general public
• As far as computing is concerned, most code of – the client and employer
conducts established by ACM and IEEE undergo – the product
major revisions with the passage of time. – the profession
• All previous code of conducts are recently – Colleagues
replaced by “Software Engineering Code of Ethics – the engineer himself or herself
and Professional Practice” developed jointly by – the ethical management of software engineering
the ACM and IEEE Computer society. projects.

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Ten Commandments of Ten Commandments of

Computer ethics Computer ethics
• The Ten Commandments of Computer – Not use a computer to steal.
Ethics were created in 1992 by the Computer – Not use a computer to bear false witness. Don’t
Ethics Institute. spread rumors or change your email address so
– Not use a computer to harm other people. This is the that the receiver of an email believes that it came
foundation for computer ethics. from someone other than yourself.
– Not interfere with other people’s computer work. – Not copy or use proprietary software for which
Such as sending numerous thoughtless e-mails to you have not paid. Once you buy a software
larger issues like purposely sending computer viruses. system, music CD or DVD you should not make
– Not snoop around in other people’s computer files. copies of that information and distribute it to your
Don’t go looking through other people’s computer friends.
files unless given permission.

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Ten Commandments of Ten Commandments of

Computer ethics Computer ethics
– Not use other people’s computer resources – Think about the social consequences of the
without authorization or proper compensation. program you are writing or the system you are
This means do not surf the internet or print off designing.
large amounts of paper for personal use during – Use a computer in ways that ensure consideration
work hours. and respect for your fellow humans. Just because
– Not appropriate other people’s intellectual you can’t always see someone face to face doesn’t
output. Don’t upload information and take credit give you the right to offer any less respect then
for it such as music, images and text. you would offer in a personal encounter.

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Applying codes of conduct

(Case Studies)
• This section provides some examples based on
real situations regarding professional practices
in software engineering.
– Sales proposals
– Integrity and professional status.
– Public health and safety
– Conflicts of interest

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