This questions are about computer ethic.

1. Case Study: Property Rights: Ownership

Greg is a programmer working for a large aerospace firm, Star Computers, which works on many government contracts; Cathy is Greg's supervisor. Greg is assigned to program various kinds of simulations.

To improve his programming abilities, Greg writes some programming tools, such as a cross-reference facility and a program that automatically extracts documentation from source code. These are not assigned tasks for Greg; he writes them independently and uses them at work, but he does not tell anyone about them. Greg has written them in the evenings, at home, on his personal computer.

Greg decides to market these programming aids by himself. When Star's management hears of this, Cathy is instructed to tell Greg that he has no right to market these products since, when he was employed, he signed a form stating that all inventions become the property of the company. Cathy does not agree with this position because she knows that Greg has done this work on his own. She reluctantly tells Greg that he cannot market these products. She also asks Greg for a copy of the products.

Cathy quits working for Star and takes a supervisory position with Purple Computers, a competitor of Star. She takes with her a copy of Greg's products and distributes it to the people who work with her. These products are so successful that they substantially improve the effectiveness of her employees, and Cathy is praised by her management and receives a healthy bonus. Greg hears of this, and contacts Cathy, who contends that because the product was determined to belong to Star and because Star worked largely on government funding, the products were really in the public domain and therefore they belonged to no one in particular.

1. What are the respective rights of Greg, Cathy, Star, and Purple?
2. What principles of fair play, business, property rights, and so forth are involved in this case?
3. What could Greg have done differently before starting to develop his product?
4. What could Star have done differently to prevent Greg from feeling that he owned his products?

2.

Case Study: Cyber Harassment

In 2010, Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi jumped to his death a few days after his roommate used a webcam to observe and tweet about Tylers sexual encounter with another man. Jane Clementi, Tylers mother, stated, In this digital world, we need to teach our youngsters that their actions have consequences, that their words have real power to hurt or to help. They must be encouraged to choose to build people up and not tear them down.

In 2013, Idalia Hernndez Ramos, a middle school teacher in Mexico, was a victim of cyber harassment. After discovering that one of her students tweeted that the teacher was a bitch and a whore, Hernndez confronted the girl during a lesson on social media etiquette. Inquiring why the girl would post such hurtful messages that could harm the teachers reputation, the student meekly replied that she was upset at the time. The teacher responded that she was very upset by the students actions. Demanding a public apology in front of the class, Hernndez stated that she would not allow young brats to call her those names. Hernndez uploaded a video of this confrontation online, attracting much attention.

While Hernndez was subject to cyber harassment, some felt she went too far by confronting the student in the classroom and posting the video for the public to see, raising concerns over the privacy and rights of the student.

1. What types of harm did the teacher and students experience?
2. What punishment does the student deserve?
3. How is cyberbullying similar or different from face-to-face bullying?

4. Do you know anyone who has been the victim of cyber-bullying?