Study Questions

1. Define basic rules that software engineers should follow when they develop any piece of code. Refer to to do rules and not to do rules.

2. In your opinion, in what ways might software developers influence our world? Refer to social, environmental, and other types of influences.

3. In your opinion, in what ways might software developers influence a software user s life? How is it possible to protect users from harmful influences?

4. In your opinion, in what ways can software engineers harm their coworkers? How can such harmful behavior be avoided?

5. This question addresses the idea of ethics. You are asked to answer it according to your familiarity with the concept.

   What is ethics? What professions have a code of ethics? If you are familiar with other professions that have a code of ethics, on what fundamental rules are their codes of ethics based? What types of problems do their codes of ethics address?

6. Identify five situations in which ethical issues should be considered in software development.

   In your opinion and based on your familiarity with the notion of ethics and the situations you just described, does the community of software engineering need a code of ethics? If yes, explain why. On what principles should it be based? What topics should it address? If no, explain your opinion.

7. What special ethical problems might the Internet raise? In what sense are these issues different from other ethical situations related to software engineering?