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Computer Engineering Ethics

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Learning Outcomes

At the end of this class the course participant should be able to:  Identify some contributors to social and professional issues and relate their achievements to the knowledge area  Contrast between ethical and legal issues  Contrast between a patent, a trademark, and a copyright  Identify some ways of credentialing a person to practice computer engineering  Describe issues that contrast risk issues with safety issues  Identify some issues in computer engineering that address privacy  Describe whistle blowing and the conflicts between ethics and practice that may result from doing so  Describe how computer engineering uses or benefits from social and professional issues. 2.2 Reasons for Studying Social …show more content…

The attention given by the media to computerrelated disasters in technical systems such as the explosion of the Ariane 5 rocket in 1996 and the Therac-25 computerized radiation machine overdoses has stimulated interest in Computer Engineering Ethics. Most engineering is performed within profit-making organizations operating within a complex structure of societal and regulatory constraints. Engineering has a direct and vital impact on the quality of life of people and the services provided by engineers are required to take into consideration the safety, health and welfare of the public. Engineering Ethics is therefore of relevance to the majority of people within Computer Engineering. Research Ethics or Educational Ethics apply to those professionals in Computer Engineering who are active within research and
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education. Other branches of Ethics such as Healthcare Ethics and similar may apply to other Computer Engineering professionals. The field of Computer Engineering has its own particular ethical problems that are important to address and therefore Computer Engineering Ethics has developed as a specific field of study. It is vital to recognize that prudent ethical judgment is a crucial, integral part of professional Computer Engineering skills. 2.5 Conflicting Ethical choices in Professional Engineering Practice

The ethical choices faced by engineers today are increasingly complex. Competing and conflicting ethical demands from clients,

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