Featured Publications
Code Making: How Software Engineering Became a Profession. During the period of 1993-2000, CSEP fellows and staff were participant observers in a joint project of the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS) and the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) f to help organize software developers and engineers into a profession. One of the main goals of this project was to develop a universal code of ethics for software engineers. Dr. Davis was a participant observer throughout the drafting of the Software Engineering Code of Ethics, and afterwards wrote a detailed account of how the code was developed by the ACM and IEEE-CS committee. “Code Making” gives insight in how the profession of software engineering was formed and wrote its own code of professional ethics, and also looks at this project as a case study to see how other professional societies can better go about drafting and revising their own codes of ethics. The entire book is available for free download under a Creative Commons license.
Trying Times: Science and Responsibilities after Daubert. Can judges make responsible decisions about what scientific evidence is admissible in court? When is expert witnessing unethical? How can courts respect scientific standards while pursuing justice? These are some of the questions that direct attention to responsibilities of the professionals in legal cases requiring evidence from experts. These responsibilities are the concern of a recent publication, Trying Times: Science and Responsibilities after Daubert, produced by the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions (CSEP) at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in collaboration with the Institute for Science, Law and Technology (ISLAT) at IIT's Chicago-Kent College of Law. The volume includes essays by Barbara Jacobs Rothstein, a federal judge, Richard Meserve, a former litigator in high stakes cases involving scientific testimony, Sheila Jasanoff (Science and Public Policy, Harvard), and Ullica Segerstrale (Social Science, IIT). The editor, Vivian Weil, has an introductory essay. An annotated bibliography acquaints readers with the lively literature since the Supreme Court's 1993 decision in Daubert that made judges gatekeepers for admitting science in the courts. The volume is aimed to clarify the responsibilities of judges, lawyers, scientists, engineers, and researchers in medicine at this intersection of law and science.
Table of Contents: Introduction; The Use of Scientific Witnesses in Adjudication (Rothstein); Science in the Courtroom (Meserve); Hidden Experts: Judging Science After Daubert (Jasanoff); Judging "Good Science": Toward Cooperation Between Scientists and Lawyers (Segerstrale).
The cost for Trying Times is $9.50 for the U.S. and Canada and $14 for international orders to cover shipping and handling. Copies may be ordered from CSEP by e-mail at csep@iit.edu, or by writing to CSEP, Illinois Institute of Technology, Hermann Hall, Room 204, 3241 S. Federal St., Chicago, IL 60616, attn: "Trying Times".
Professional Ethics and Engineering: A Resource Guide
(2nd ed.). The Guide was compiled by the Center for the National Institute
for Engineering Ethics (NIEE), with funding from NIEE. The Guide is updated
from the 1990 version which was also produced by CSEP for NIEE (then an
entity within the National Society of Professional Engineers). It consists
of four sections: a bibliography, a listing of engineering ethics organizations
and centers, a list of key educational and popular films relating to engineering
ethics, and a list of key resource professionals in engineering ethics.
The Guide also appears freely online on the NIEE
homepage.
Municipal Service Delivery: Thinking Through the Privatization
Option.
Published in Sept. 1997, these practical and ethical guidelines highlight
correct management of the privatization process. This project, funded
by the Joyce Foundation, was the joint effort of CSEP and the National
League of Cities.
The cost for either of these publications is $10.00 per copy, plus $3.00
for shipping and handling.
Please download an order form here.
