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An intention is a goal, or vision, that guides your Most often used to mean being in accord
activities, thoughts, attitudes, and choices. with fact or reality,or fidelity to an original or standard.
• Why are Intentions Important? Truth may also often be used in modern contexts to
refer to an idea of "truth to self," or authenticity.
Intentions provide a framework for you to set priorities,
use your time wisely, and align yourself with the • Is there an absolute truth?
resources you need to manifest your goals.
• The absolute in the term connotes one or more
The process of setting and working towards your of: a quality of truth that cannot be exceeded;
intentions declares to yourself, others, and the universe complete truth; unvarying and permanent truth.
that you are serious about your dreams and goals.
• It can be contrasted to relative truth or truth in
• Powerful Intentions a more ordinary sense in which a degree of
relativity is implied.
Powerful intentions are clear, represent what
you want versus what you don’t want, have a • Whistleblower
feeling associate with them and have meaning
to you. Whistle blowing means calling attention to
wrongdoing that is occurring within an organization.
During the process of setting an intention set
aside any limiting thoughts or beliefs. For The Government Accountability Project lists four
example, “I am meeting my financial ways to blow the whistle:
obligations” (limiting) versus “I am easily and
Reporting wrongdoing or a violation of the law to the
gracefully experiencing financial prosperity.”
proper authorities.
• Pure Intentions
Refusing to participate in workplace wrongdoing
Pure intentions are infused with an unconditional and
Testifying in a legal proceeding
clear knowing that the fulfillment of it will have a
Leaking evidence of wrongdoing to the media • Telling the truth is emphasized in all moral
codes, literary and philosophical works
• What does whistle blowing have to do with throughout the history
ethics?
• No surprise that engineering codes contain
• Whistle blowing has to do with ethics because it many references to honesty.
represents a person’s understanding, at a deep
level, that an action his or her organization is – NCEES (The National Council of
taking is harmful—that it interferes with Examiners for Engineering and
people’s rights or is unfair or detracts from the Surveying) Model Rules of Professional
common good. Conduct
• Whistle blowing also calls upon the virtues, • “objective and truthful in
especially courage, as standing up for principles professional reports, testimony,
can be a punishing experience. etc.
• Honesty, Integrity, and Reliability – IEEE Code of Ethics Canon 3 and Canon
7.
• Case
• “to be honest and realistic in
John is a co-op student who has a summer job stating claims on available data”
with Oil Exploration, Inc., a company that does
exploratory contract work for large oil firms. The • “to seek, accept, and offer
company drills, tests, and writes advisory reports to honest criticism of technical
clients based on the test results. John is placed in charge work”
of a field team who test-drill at various sites specified by
the customer. John has the responsibility of – ASME Code of Ethics Fund. Princ.II and
transforming rough field data into succinct reports for Fund. Can.7.
the customer. Paul, an old high school friend of John’s, is
• “being honest and impartial”
the foreperson of John’s team.
• “issue public statements in
While reviewing the field data for the last
objective and truthful manner”
drilling report, John notices that a crucial step was
omitted, one that would be impossible to correct • NSPE Code of Ethics on Honesty
without returning to the site as repeating the entire test
at great expense to the company. The omitted step – “to participate in none but honest
involved the foreperson’s adding a test chemical to the enterprise”
lubricant for the drill. The test is important because it
provides the data for deciding whether the site is worth – “require honesty, impartiality, fairness,
developing for natural gas protection. Unfortunately, and equity”
Paul forgot to add the test chemical at the last drill site.
– Fundamental Canon 3 (I.3):
John knows that Paul is likely to lose his job if his
• avoid deceptive acts in
mistake comes to light. Paul cannot afford to lose his
solicitation of professional
job at a time when the oil business is slow and his wife is
employment
expecting baby. John learns from past company data
files that the chemical additive indicates the presence of – Rules of Practice, Item II.1.d.
natural gas in approximately 1 percent of the tests.
• “Engineers shall not permit the use of
Should John withhold the information that the their name or firm name nor associate
test for natural gas was not performed from his in business ventures with any person or
superiors? Should the information be withheld from the firm which they have reason to believe
customer? is engaging in fraudulent or dishonest
business or professional practices.”
– Relevant Items in Rules of Practice (ii) communicating truth when they shouldn’t
II.2.a,b,c, II.3.a,b,c. (6),
• (other important aspects of professional (iii) allowing their judgment with regard to truth
judgement and communication) to be corrupted (7).
References to Conflicts of Interest
1. Lying
– IEEE 2nd Canon 2:
– Intentionally or knowingly convey false
• avoid conflicts of interest, can distort or misleading information.
professional judgment.
(i) A lie involves something false or misleading,
– ASCE (American Society of Civil
Engineers) Canon 3: (ii) ordinarily stated in words,
• Total honesty in social life equivalent to brutal • They were sure that the results they would
frankness. obtain after the arrival of the flow-meter would
match with their simulated data so they didn’t
• Total honesty in professional life leaves no way see anything wrong in submitting their paper to
to exercise confidentiality and protect the editor.
proprietary information.
• After the flow-meter arrived it turned out that
• However apart from reasonable exceptions the simulated output did not actually match
dishonesty and misuse of truth are wrong and with what they obtained from the flow-meter.
unacceptable.
– Results?
• From the Respect for Persons perspective
dishonesty violates the moral agency of The students;
individuals by causing them to make (or
influenced by) decisions without informed – Incorectly assumed the flow,
consent.
– Made false assumptions about the
• From the Utilitarian perspective dishonesty can response of the professor to their
undermine the mutual trust among the scientific actions,
community hence informed decision making,
– The paper was withdrawn from the
thus impeding the development of technology.
journal, and they sent an apology letter
• Honesty on Campus to the journal,
• Three senior year students came up with an – Copies of the letter were placed in their
intelligent gauge which continuously measures files,
petrol consumption (before the use of
– Received “F” in the senior design
Information Technology in automobiles). But to
(graduation project)
prove the workability of the gauge they needed
a flow meter to measure the oil input to the – Graduation delayed 6 months.
engine.
• Integrity in Engineering Research and Testing
• Their supervisor impressed by the design
ordered the purchase of a flow-meter and • Varieties of dishonesty in Science and
encouraged the students to draft an article. Engineering
– The students did not ask permission – Cooking: retaining only those results
from the professor to use his name. which fit into the theory.
– The flow-meter hadn’t arrived yet, so – Forging: inventing some or all research
the paper was not ready for submission. data which are reported without
properly carrying out experimentation.
– The students in their excitement
without telling their professor had – Plagiarism: using intellectual property of
finished the article in absence of the others without proper permission or
flow-meter. They had to invent some credit.
simulated data to be used as their test
results and submitted their findings (as – Multiple authorship of a research article
if complete) as a paper to a journal can become a controversial issue.
editor.
Examples of improper co-authoring • Integrity in the Use of Intellectual Property
include: (cont.)
– Integrity in the Use of Intellectual – The owner retains the copyright for 50
Property years after his/her death. Copyrights
protect the ownership of the ideas, but
• Intellectual Property is the outcome of Mental not the ideas themselves. These ideas
Labor. Intellectual Property can be protected by: can be referred with proper citation or
used with permission from the owner.
– Trade secrets.
– Sample Cases on Integrity in the Use of
– Patents. Intellectual Property
– Trademarks. • Case 1: Bill (Eng. Manager) has developed
innovative production techniques at
– Copyrights.
Roadrubber. He receives a senior management
– Line drawing approach can be very position by a competing company Slippery Tire.
helpful to resolve whether an act Bill had signed an agreement with Roadrubber
constitutes breach of Intellectual not to use any of the ideas he developed or
Property rights or not. learned there for a duration of two years after
he quits Roadrubber. After a few months of his
– Integrity in the Use of Intellectual employment at Slippery he is asked to reveal
Property (cont.) some of the secret processes used by
Roadrubber.
• Trade secrets
• This is an attempt to steal information from a
– Formulas, patterns, devices or compiled rival company. There are reasons to suspect that
information used in business to gain Bill was offered this job for the sole purpose of
advantage over the competitors. Trade getting hold of the production secrets of
secrets aren’t in the public domain Roadrubber. This is a clear violation of NSPE
because trade secrets aren’t protected ‘Professional Obligations’ III.1.d: “Engineers shall
by patents. not attempt to attract an engineer from another
employer by false or misleading pretenses.”
– Patents
• Not all cases are as clear as the one above.
– Documents issued by the government to
allow the owner of the patent to • Sample Cases on Integrity in the Use of
exclude others making use of that Intellectual Property (cont.)
information for 20 years of time.
Secrecy not necessary! • Case 2: Betty (an engineer) has developed some
useful production at Roadrubber. She moves to
– To obtain a patent, the invention must a non-competing company Rubberboat. Betty
be new, useful and non-obvious. comes up with a new process at Rubberboat but
she realizes that this new process is based on
her earlier work at Roadrubber. The processes materials. Later, Tom moves to GM where he
are quite different and two companies do not applies his knowledge of heat transfer and
manufacture similar products. materials to design automobile brakes. Is Tom
stealing Ford’s intellectual property?
• NSPE ‘Rules of Practice’ II.1.c: “Engineers shall
not reveal facts, data or information obtained in Feature Positive Test Case
a professional capacity w/o the prior consent of Neg.
the client or employer except as authorized or
required by law or this Code.” Similar Generic Info. Yes X-----------------------------------------
statements by item III.4 of NSPE and item I.1.d --------- No
of NCEES Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
Differ. Applic. Yes -------------------------------------------
• Based on NSPE or NCEES Betty should tell the -------X No
management at Rubberboat to enter into
Info protected No X-----------------------------------------
licensing negotiations with Roadrubber.
--------- Yes
• Some cases can be even less clear: (1) Betty’s
as Trade Secret
ideas were of no use to Roadrubber, (2) she
didn’t even mention her findings to anyone at • This is generic scientific knowledge, hence not
Roadrubber, (3) she didn’t use the facilities of the property of Ford (although application area
Roadrubber, (4) Betty developed the ideas is same).
during the week-ends at home.
• Resolving Cases on Integrity in the Use of
• Resolving Cases on Integrity in the Use of Intellectual Property by Line-Drawing
Intellectual Property by Line-Drawing
• Case 3: Tom designs automobile brakes at Ford.
• Case 1: Tom designs automobile brakes at Ford While working for Ford Tom helps develop a
and he learns a lot about heat transfer and brake lining which lasts twice as long as
materials. Later, Tom moves to GM where he conventional brake linings. Ford decides to keep
applies his knowledge of heat transfer and the formula for this brake lining as a trade
materials to design engines. Is Tom stealing secret. Later, Tom moves to GM where he tells
Ford’s intellectual property? them the formula for new brake lining. Is Tom
stealing Ford’s intellectual property?
Feature Positive Test Case
Neg. Feature Positive Test Case
Neg.
Generic Info. Yes X-----------------------------------------
--------- No Generic Info. Yes -------------------------------------------
-------X No
Differ. Applic. Yes -----X------------------------------------
--------- No Differ. Applic. Yes -------------------------------------------
-------X No
Info protected No X-----------------------------------------
--------- Yes Info protected No -------------------------------------------
-------X Yes
as Trade Secret
as Trade Secret
• This is generic (no brand) scientific knowledge,
hence not the property of Ford. Furthermore • This is a clear violation of the intellectual
application area is different. property rights of Ford.
• Resolving Cases on Integrity in the Use of • Integrity and Client-Professional Confidentiality
Intellectual Property by Line-Drawing
• Some engineers practice their own business and
• Case 2: Tom designs automobile brakes at Ford they have obligations towards their clients.
and he learns a lot about heat transfer and
• Confidentiality covers both sensitive information – To maintain an objective and unbiased
given by the client and information gained by demeanor on the witness stand.
the professional in work paid for by the client.
– To be open to new information, even
• An engineer can abuse client-professional during the course of trial.
confidentiality as:
• Integrity and Failure to Inform the Public
– Breaking confidentiality when it is not
warranted. • Professional irresponsibility can be described as
failure to inform those whose decisions are
– Refusing to break confidentiality despite impaired by the absence of the information.
higher obligation to public or other
people. • From the standpoint of Respect for Persons
engineers should ensure that technical
• Integrity and Client-Professional Confidentiality information is available to those who need it,
(cont.) especially when disasters can be avoided.
• Example 1: An engineer inspects a residence of a – Convair’s design of cargo hatch door for
homeowner who is willing to sell. He finds out DC-10 planes.
that the house is in need of some repair-work.
He sends a copy of his report to the real estate – Petrol tank of Ford Pinto.
firm.
• Conflicts of Interest
• NSPE code II.1.c: “Engineers shall not reveal
• What is a Conflict of Interest?
facts, data or information obtained in a
professional capacity w/o the prior consent of • Conflict of interest exists when an engineer is
the client or employer except as authorized or subject to influences, loyalties, temptations, or
required by law or this Code.” other interests that tend to make the
professional’s judgment less likely to benefit the
• Example 2: An engineer inspects an apartment
customer or client than the customer or client
whose owner is willing to sell. He finds out that
expects.
the apartment is in need of evacuation because
it poses threat to the safety of its inhabitants. • NSPE Code of Ethics III.5:
• Competing obligations towards the client and – Engineers shall not be influenced in
the public. Obligation to public surpasses the their professional duties by conflicting
moral obligation to client. interests.
• Integrity and Expert Testimony (a) Engineers shall not accept financial or other
considerations, including free engineering designs, from
• Engineers are sometimes hired as expert
material or equipment suppliers for specifying their
witness in cases where competent technical
product.
knowledge is required.
• Conflicts of Interest (cont.)
• The Expert should follow certain rules to avoid
problems such as withholding information (b) Engineers shall not accept commissions or
during cross-examination. allowances, directly or indirectly, from contractors or
other parties dealing with clients or employers for the
– Not to take a case if there is shortage of
Engineer in connection with work for which the Engineer
time for thorough analysis.
is responsible.
– Not to take a case unless he/she can
• Conflict of Interest can be:
finish with clear conscience.
– Actual
– To consult extensively with a lawyer
while getting prepared for his/her – Potential
testimony during cross examination.
– Apparent Gift Cost Low -----------X--------------------
------------------- High
– Actual C-o-I can corrupt professional
judgment. Potential C-o-I may corrupt Gift giver is No -------------------------------------------
professional judgment in future, if not at -------X Yes
present. Apparent C-o-I decrease the
confidence of the audience even if a friend
professional judgment is not actually
• Conflicts of Interest and Accepting Gifts:
corrupted.
Resolving Cases by Line-Drawing
• Conflicts of Interest and Accepting Gifts:
• Case 7: ValCo valves are inferior to traditional
Resolving Cases by Line-Drawing
ones. Before Tom decides to purchase a large
• Case 1: ValCo valves are superior to traditional number of valves from ValCo, Jim (Valco
ones. After a large number of orders from ValCo, salesman and former classmate of Tom) visits
Jim (Valco salesman and former classmate of Tom and offers to sponsor him for an all-
Tom) visits Tom and gives him a pen worth of expenses-paid trip to Bahamas. Should Tom
$5. Should Tom accept the pen? accept the offer?
a friend a friend
Set of programs that coordinates Copyrighted software given away for free by the author.
activities and functions of the hardware Although it
and various other programs
is available for free, the author retains the copyright,
Application software which means
Programs that help users solve that you cannot do anything with it that is not expressly
particular computing problems allowed by
Spheres of Influence the author. Usually, the author allows people to use the
software,
Personal
but not sell it.
Information systems that serve the
needs of an individual user Shareware (1)
Two or more people who work together Software distributed on the basis of an honor system.
to achieve a common goal Most shareware is delivered free of charge, but the
author usually requests that you pay a small fee if you
Enterprise like the program and use it regularly. By sending the
small fee, you become registered with the producer so
Information systems that support the that you can receive service assistance and updates. You
firm in its interaction with its can copy shareware and pass it along to friends and
environment. colleagues, but they too are expected to pay a fee if they
use the product. Shareware is inexpensive because it is
Issues and Trends
usually produced by a single programmer and is offered
Software licensing directly to customers. Thus, there are practically no
packaging or advertising expenses. Note that shareware
Protection by software vendors to differs from public-domain software in that shareware is
prevent unauthorized use copyrighted. This means that you cannot sell a
shareware product as your own.
Software upgrades
Public-domain Software
A revised version of software that
usually includes fixes of known Refers to any program that is not copyrighted. Public-
problems, plus enhancements to domain software is free and can be used without
existing capabilities restrictions. The term public-domain software is often
used incorrectly to include freeware, free software that
is nevertheless copyrighted.
Global software support Role of Systems Software
System software… Hardware independence
Multitasking Off-the-shelf
A processing activity that allows a user An existing software program that can
to run more than one application at the be used without considerable changes
same time expected
Examples
• Visual Basic
• Visual C++
• PC COBOL
• Fifth-Generation Languages