IIIJlllllillllllllllll I ProfessionalThoughtsand Issues] Deconstructing the ACM C. Dianne Martin EECS Department The George Washington University Washington, DC 20052 diannem@sead.gwu.edu http://www.seas.gwu.edu/faculty/diannem/ C o d e of Ethics and P r o f e s s i o n a l C o n d u c t part f the .~. . l k d e v e l o pment of the new ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct approved in 1992, an analysis was done to determine the ethical standards recognized by computer practitioners at that time [3]. By comparing the existing codes of ethics from the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the Data Processing Managers Association (DPMA), and the Institute for Certification of Computer Professionals (ICCP), a number of common themes emerged as the core of ethical behavior accepted by computer practitioners. They were 1) personal integrity/claim of competence; 2) personal accountability for work; 3) responsibility to employer/client; 4) responsibility to profession; 5) confidentiality of information/privacy; 6) conflict of interest; 7) dignity /worth of people; 8) public safety, health, and welfare; 9) participation in professional societies; and 10) increase public knowledge about technology. It was encouraging
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