Good computing: a pedagogically focused model of virtue in the practice of computing (part 1)

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to present a four component model of ethical behavior (PRIMES) that integrates literature in moral psychology, computing ethics, and virtue ethics as informed by research on moral exemplars in computing. This is part 1 of a two-part contribution. Design/methodology/approach -This psychologically based and philosophically informed model argues that moral action is: grounded in relatively stable PeRsonality characteristics (PR); guided by integration of morality into the self-system; shaped by the context of the surrounding moral ecology; and facilitated by morally relevant skills and knowledge (S). Findings -The model seeks to explain the daily successful (and unsuccessful) performance of moral action by computing professionals and to provide groundwork for a pedagogy that emphasizes ethically effective performance. Practical implications -The model has significant implications for how ethical action might be taught to computer professionals and other design professionals. It also makes recommendations about what is needed to measure to construct a complete picture of sustained ethical action in a profession. Originality/value -Most accepted models of ethical behavior are unidimensional, emphasizing either principled reasoning or a simplistic model of integrity/character. This model brings together a variety of disparate literatures in the light of its emphasis on sustained moral action in the profession. It thereby provides researchers and educators with a picture of what is needed to construct a complete understanding of moral action in the profession.

The Ethical Implications of Personal Health Monitoring

“…This dynamic connection between the hospital and the home changes the ethical climate (Huff, Barnard & Frey, 2008) and requires addressing a variety of ethical issues. It creates a requirement for a new framework to address the social and ethical effects of PHM implementation.…”

Collaborative learning of ethical decision-making via simulated cases

“…To explain the factors that lead to good computing, Huff and colleagues developed the PRIMES model, a four-component model of ethical behavior [3][4][5]. The PRIMES model integrates a wide range of research findings and theories in a tractable and holistic model that can serve as a reference point for ethics educators as they help their students learn how to make ethical decisions during their careers.…”

“…Moral ecology refers to the organizational environment that affects and is affected by each individual's EDM. Finally, moral knowledge and skills include abilities such as interpreting situations, respecting others, cultivating conscience, and persevering [4,5].…”

“…Moral ecologies are mutable over time and sustained effort, but are largely emergent and not controlled by any one individual. Finally, development of moral skills and knowledge are largely under the control of the individual and are malleable [4,5].…”

What Does Knowledge Have to do with Ethics?

“…But Pincoffs' (1971) early essay casts doubt on this approach to ethics and insists that being ethical is more than responding appropriately to isolated decision problems. Likewise, our recent research on moral exemplars in computing (Huff, Barnard, & Frey, 2008a, 2008b) provides a picture of ethical careers that are not primarily composed of a series of ethical decisions, but instead are constructed over time in response to life goals, organizational and social constraints, and idiosyncratic attachment to particular ethical goals (e.g. help the customer or the handicapped, reform privacy laws or software design standards) (Huff & Rogerson, 2005).…”