Case Study - Copyright and Intellectual Property Considerations
Courtney is a young ambitious programmer working for a small company developing software for web-based services in the health area, with a focus on supporting remote aboriginal communities. To further her career Courtney undertakes additional tertiary study, with support from her manager Michael.
This study includes topics covering computer ethics, and issues related to the impact of ICT on different communities. On her current project, Courtney develops a new user interface, which has a strong focus on accessibility for remote communities, especially considering the type of technology likely to be used. She also pays special attention to the use of cultural images in the interface to avoid those which may be distressing or offensive to aboriginal users.
The new system is a great success and Courney's contribution is recognised by her company, through an Employee of the Month Award. The company also receives a national business award for its contribution to the positive use of ICT in aboriginal communities.
Michael takes all of the credit for this, and Courtney receives no acknowledgement for her efforts.
Discuss briefly the ethical issues related to this case. As a result of your discussion, you should be able to make some recommendations as to how this ethical problem may be resolved. Be sure to support any recommendations with reasons, informed by your research and thinking on the ethical issues identified in your discussion.
Assignment Task
From what you have learned during Week s 3 and 4 of your Professional Environments Course, discuss ethical, professional and legal issues which you consider arise from this scenario. Make some recommendations of actions which could be taken to resolve the situation and/or to minimise the chance the scenario may recur. Support your answers with relevant references (as well as the Codes and Laws).
Things to Consider in Your Assignment:
You should list at least 3 values from the ACS Code of Ethics and up to 5 clauses from the ACS Code of Professional Conduct, you think are specifically relevant in deciding how to resolve the situation.
You should also list any relevant Australian legislation that you think applies to this scenario.
Your analysis, discussion and recommendations should use the framework you selected in Week 3 - Solving an Ethical Dilemma.
Your assignment should be 400 -500 words in length (excluding your code lists, legislation list and references).
You may need to undertake a small amount of research, however, most information you will need is available via the seminars and their references. Also,
- use a cover page - as per the suggested template,
- use in-text referencing,
- use complete Harvard Notation, submit in "Word" format or equivalent format that can be readily opened in MS Word, keep your formatting simple: Arial 11pt, 10pt after paragraph, single line spacing, headings in bold, maximum 2 indent levels/bullet levels. Do not use page borders, word art, page backgrounds or similar extraneous decoration.