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 afterward 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. Featured Publications

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".

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 visit this page to order a copy of Trying TImes..

Thinking Like an Engineer: The Role a Code of Ethics Plays in the Practice of a Profession
This article, CSEP Senior Fellow Michael Davis, is an extremely good description of how codes of ethics are used in professional practice.

Autonomy
This article, written by IIT student Noe' Brambila in October, 1996 to fulfill an assignment for a Moral Issues in Engineering course, answers the question, "How is it possible (if it is) to be self-directed and governed by a code of ethics?"

Authoring a Code of Ethics: Observations on Process and Organization 
As a summer intern at the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions, Andrew Olson participated in the Center’s Codes of Ethics Online project making an online archive of codes available to Internet users worldwide. After the experience, he wrote a short analysis of the codes of ethics included in this project, as well as a guide to producing codes of ethics.