Professional Bodies and ICT Governance

Greetings from the ET GOVICT2008 conference on the ethical governance of ICT, in Canberra. John Ridge, Executive Director of the ACS Foundation, gave the opening address. This two day conference is on at University House, Australian National University, 1 - 2 May 2008. Anyone can come along, pay the modest fee and join in.

The conference has researchers and practitioners looking at ethical governance, governance of ethics, of Information and Communication Technology, and the role of professional bodies.

John has started by raising the issue of qualifications and the difference between a practitioner and a professional. He cited the new book: Ethics in ICT: An Australian Perspective. McDermid, D. C. (2003) Pearson Educational: Melbourne. He points out that the ACS meets most of the requirements which McDermid lists. He argues that ICT is not ready to have the next logical step, which is registration. He also asserts that ICT people do not value being part of being a profession. He lamented that the take-up rate of initiatives such as ACS's certification program.

Professor Don Gotterbarn argued that discussion of professionalism of ICT was the "same old same old". He went through the history of ethics and professional codes in the USA and UK, relating this to the Australian situation.

Dr. Richard Lucas reported research on what Australian ICT people actually thought of ethics and codes. This is a refreshing and revolutionary approach to the issue. Rather than theorize about what might work, CAPPE has collected actual quantitative evidence about what people will accept. This is not a new idea in other fields, for example to see if consumers can tell one brand of car from another, a group of them are asked. In retrospect, it seems to do the same with professional conduct.

Some later topics:

• licensing and accreditation of ICT professional
• education of ICT professionals
• governance of policies and procedures concerning ethics in the ICT industry
• the ethical content of standards, methodologies, and the processes used by the ICT industry
• the place of government regulations
• the role of professional organisations.

Keynote Speakers are Professor Simon Rogerson, Director of the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, DeMontfort University, UK and Professor Don Gotterbarn, Software Engineering Ethics Research Institute, East Tennessee State University - ICT Governance and What to Do About the Toothless Tiger(s): Professional Organisations and Codes of Ethics.

The Conference is sponsored by The Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, The Australian Computer Society, ARC Governance Research Network, The Australian National University, Charles Sturt University and UNESCO.

EtGovICT
1-2 May 2008
List of Presenters
Name Title and Association Title of Paper
John Ridge ACS Foundation Opening Address

Justice Michael Kirby AC
CMG
High Court of Australia The Challenge of Regulating Contemporary Technology

Professor Don Gotterbarn Director, Software Engineering Ethics Research Institute,
East Tennessee State University
ICT Governance and what to do about the toothless tiger(s): Professional
Organizations and Codes of Ethics

Professor Simon Rogerson Director, Centre for Computing and Social
Responsibility, De Montfort University, UK The Role of Governance in Sensitising ICT Development

1 Mr. Mark Haughey CIO, Workplace Authority The Uncertainty of Ethics in IT

2 Professor Shirley Gregor ANU Endowed Chair in Information Systems, Director
National Centre for Information Systems Research,
School of Accounting and Business Information Systems,
ANU
Ethics education of ICT professionals

3 Ms. Cecilia Ridgley School of Information Technology and Electrical
Engineering UNSW@ADFA,
ICT Advisory Services, KPMG Canberra
The Decision Disconnect - Ethics and ICT Governance

4 Dr. Daryl Macer Regional Adviser, Regional Unit for Social and Human
Sciences (RUSHAP) in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO
Office in Bangkok
The relationship of IT ethics and governance to the broader conduct and ethics of science and technology

5 Phillip N. Argy
B Com LLB FACS HLM
MAICD
Immediate Past President – Australian Computer Society
Deputy Chairman – ACS Foundation
Chief Executive – ArgyStar.com
Trusted vs. Trustworthy – how professionalism bridges the ethics gap

6 Professor John Weckert
Dr. Richard Lucas
Research Fellow, CAPPE, ANU
Professorial Fellow, CAPPE, CSU Ethics and Regulation in the ICT Industry 2007 Survey: An Overview

7 David Lindley Ph.D.
MACS PCP
Bob Hart MACS PCP
Academic Principal, ACS Education, Australian
Computer Society
Manager: Professional Standards & Development
Australian Computer Society
Educating for Professionalism: An ACS Perspective

8 Ms Marghanita da Cruz
BSc
Principal Consultant Ramin Communications Pty Ltd
(ramin.com.au) No duty of Care: the Governance of ICT

9 Sheryle Moon CEO, AIIA Ethics and ICT Governance from an industry perspective

10 Associate Professor Craig McDonald
University of Canberra Ethics by Design: embedding ethics in ICT Governance

11 Clive V. Boughton Australian National University - Education and Research
of Software Engineering Practices,
Senior Member of ACS,
Committee Member on Certification for Australian
Safety Critical Systems Association (aSCSa),
Member ACM,
Member IEEE-CS
What IS an ICT professional anyway?

12 Mr. Neville Holmes University of Tasmania An Ethical Imperative for the Computing Profession