Ethical Dilemmas In Information Technology: A Scenario Collection

Ethical Dilemmas in Information TechnologyA Scenario CollectionYou are invited to contribute to this collectionScenario: Tom's Benign VirusTom is a medical researcher who is trying to gain a better understanding of how diseases spread. As part of his research, Tom creates a computer virus that is capable of infecting Windows PCs via email attachments. When the virus infects a PC it performs the following actions.Before doing anything else:the virus alerts the user of its presence on the infected PCthe virus explains its intended purpose (medical research) and gives full details of the experimentthe virus gives the user of the infected PC the option of either:deleting it immediately or letting it remain to complete the experimentIf the user of the infected PC agrees to the experiment:the virus remains on the PC for one weekthe virus continues to spread from the infected PC - causing no damage to any infected PCat the end of one week the virus presents the user with a short question - whose results are emailed back to Tom - and then removes itself from the infected PC.Scenario: Sally's ChoiceSally has spent the last six months working as part of a team that has developed a piece of software to control a widget grinding machine. The software is due to be completed within one week but Sally knows that it will take at least one month to fully test the software.Sally accompanies her boss, Liz, at a meeting with the client who commissioned the software. The client has just landed an important order, and is anxious that the software is delivered and installed on time. At the meeting, Sally's boss says to the client, "Sally and the rest of the team have done an excellent job on this software. It has all of the functionality you asked for and it will be delivered and installed next week. Isn't that right Sally?"Sally knows that the software may still contain bugs that could cause machine to malfunction and be dangerous to its operators.If Sally contradicts her boss in from to the client she knows it will be the end of her career with that company - a well paid job that she enjoys. What should she do?EDIT is a collaborative contribution, reusable learning object in professional ethics for computing and information technology. EDIT is built & hosted on the Google Knol platform. For more information: EDIT: A Scenario Collectionhttp://compeng.ulster.ac.uk/cie/EDITEach chapter describes a scenario that evokes an ethical issue, choice, or dilemma that results from the use of computer technology. You are invited to use and / or contribute to EDIT.