Residential Topics

Question 1

What is ethics?

Answer 1

Ethics is asking what is “the right thing to do”

Question 2

What is the deontological theory?

Answer 2

actions are inherently right or wrong

Question 3

What is Kant’s deontological theory?

Answer 3

act according to principles that be universal laws, treat human beings as ends not means

Question 4

What is the utilitarianism theory?

Answer 4

actions right/wrong depends on its consequences (act in a way that brings the greatest overall happiness)

Question 5

What is the relativism theory?

Answer 5

there are no universal moral principles. Moral systems are products of an individual or a group

Question 6

What is the cultural relativism theory?

Answer 6

good depends on the norms of each society. What is acceptable in one society might not be in another

Question 7

What is the divine command theory?

Answer 7

Morality is determined by God

Different faiths do not always agree

Question 8

What is the natural rights theory?

Answer 8

considered to be derived from the nature of humanity
Respect a set of fundamental rights of others:
Rights to liberty, life and property
Focuses on the process and not the results of interactions

Question 9

What is the social contract theory?

Answer 9

individuals sacrifice freedoms in exchange for safety and protection
Society decides the rules, which everyone agrees to obey

Question 10

What is Rawls theory of justice?

Answer 10

born with equal opportunities.
Each person should have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others.
Social and economic inequalities should be arranged so that
reasonably expected to be to everyone’s advantage, and
attached to positions and offices open to all

Question 11

Why should an IT professional consider ethics?

Answer 11

Rapid technological change has positive and negative impacts and IT professionals make decisions

Question 12

What impact has IT had on efficiency?

Answer 12

Lead to more efficiency but has also produced a productivity paradox where because emails are so easy people can spend loads of time on them

Question 13

What impact has IT had on employment?

Answer 13

• More mundane jobs are being reduced and more specialists jobs are being created
• Enables outsourcing
• Easier hiring with tools such as LinkedIn

Question 14

What impact has IT had on commerce?

Answer 14

• Customers can be anywhere
• 27/7 access
• Reviews
• A disadvantage is that you have to compete with many more business

Question 15

What impact has IT had on education?

Answer 15

Being able to educate from home

Question 16

What impact has IT had on socialness?

Answer 16

• Social media has taken over
• Less face to face communication
• But it allows you to communicate with anyone anywhere
• Privacy concerns

Question 17

What are the 3 classifications for actions?

Answer 17

ethically obligatory - morally right
forbidden - shouldn’t do
permissible - allowed

Question 18

How has the Human Rights Act 1998 (specifically, Article 8 on the right to a
private and family life and Article 10 on freedom of expression) accelerated
the evolution of ‘privacy law’ in the UK?

Answer 18

Article 8 protects your right to respect for your private and family life. Article 8 protects your right to respect for your private life, your family life, your home and your correspondence (letters, telephone calls and emails, for example).