%% LyX 1.1 created this file.  For more info, see http://www.lyx.org/.
%% Do not edit unless you really know what you are doing.
\documentclass[10pt]{scrreprt}
\usepackage{times}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
\usepackage{geometry}
\geometry{verbose,letterpaper,tmargin=1in,bmargin=1in,lmargin=1in,rmargin=1in}
\pagestyle{headings}
\setcounter{tocdepth}{0}
\usepackage{setspace}
\onehalfspacing
\IfFileExists{url.sty}{\usepackage{url}}
                      {\newcommand{\url}{\texttt}}

\makeatletter


%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% LyX specific LaTeX commands.
\providecommand{\LyX}{L\kern-.1667em\lower.25em\hbox{Y}\kern-.125emX\@}

\makeatother

\begin{document}


\title{Personal Ethical Code of Conduct\\
{\Large (Or the principles by which I desire to live my life)}\\
{\large ~~}\\
{\large Version 1.1.1}\large }


\author{Jason A. Wood}


\dedication{To all the wonderful people who have demonstrated the power of thinking for
themselves and demonstrated their principles through their actions. I wish to
also thank my parents who have supported me throughout my life.}

\maketitle
\begin{abstract}
This is by far the most important document I have ever personally composed.
It is not only a statement of my values, but a statement of the way I wish to
live the rest of my life.\\


\underbar{Imagine }

By, John Lennon \\


Imagine there's no heaven 

It's easy if you try 

No hell below us 

Above us only sky 

Imagine all the people 

Living for today... \\


Imagine there's no countries 

It isn't hard to do 

Nothing to kill or die for 

And no religion too 

Imagine all the people 

Living life in peace... \\


You may say I'm a dreamer 

But I'm not the only one 

I hope someday you'll join us 

And the world will be as one \\


Imagine no possessions 

I wonder if you can 

No need for greed or hunger 

A brotherhood of man 

Imagine all the people 

Sharing all the world... \\


You may say I'm a dreamer 

But I'm not the only one 

I hope someday you'll join us 

And the world will live as one
\end{abstract}
\tableofcontents{}


\chapter*{Background}

In order to understand my ethics you most likely will need to understand a bit
about me. This is not intended to be my complete autobiography, which you would
likely find rather dull. Instead this is a brief synopsis of my life and I will
try not to go into too much detail. The easiest way for me to do this is in
a somewhat chronological order. Although life hardly ever follows a linear path,
I grow some, fall back to childish tendencies, learn by them and grow some more.


\subsection*{My Childhood}

During my youth I had very few friends, but I had two very important other things:
a supportive family, and the wonderful thing called the mind to create, invent,
and observe the world around me. Had it not been for those two things, I would
not be where I am now. I am completely indebted to my parents. They spent much
of their adult life taking care of me and my siblings in fact that is what they
still do. I am the oldest of six children. That being the case, I have been
the first of the kids to crawl through the muddy waters of the stages of life.
My parents amazingly enough put up with my various stages, from the dirty dippers,
through the various times I have been sick, and through my emotionally tough
times. By doing this they taught me what it means to care for another human
being; what love really is. 

The second aspect, which I mentioned was my mind. Somehow it became my best
friend in a way. I wasn't popular as a result of my willingness to not conform.
I didn't have the latest toys and didn't hang out with the coolest of people.
I spent many of my recesses during elementry school talking to my teachers or
watching the insects crawl and fly around while the other kids displayed just
as much random fervor as those insects. That isn't to say I did not have fun,
it just seemed I was not having as much fun as everyone else. Yet to me what
was more enjoyable than getting bullied or playing games where due to my lack
of good motor skills I would lose, was to watch and enjoy through observation
the rest of what was happening even without me. To me there is more sometimes
to be learned by standing still and contemplating the world around me than trying
to play a part that is not me. 


\section*{Young Adulthood}

I am now passing the stage of being a young adult. This is a rather awkward
stage in life and one of very rapid physical, emotional, and mental growth.
Looking back on it, I actually had a lot of enjoyable experiences during this
time. I became friends with a few people both young and old. I established good
relations with both my peers and adults. I would be kidding myself to think
I didn't want to be accepted by others, I did. At the same time, I tried to
never gave up my personal identity in order to be part of a group. That does
not mean for a moment I would forget about myself and leave my quasi-egotistical
world for a moment to share fun and excitement with friends, but it means I
kept my basic principles in tact.

My young adulthood was stricken with a few struggles. Now I realize they are
nothing in comparison with what others went through during this period, but
they still are worth pointing out. The first is the death of two of my most
beloved persons in my life, my grandfathers. They in a way demonstrates the
two poles in my life. The first was a carpenter by trade and taught through
his actions the beauty of nature and how through dedication and love a person
can make something beautiful from it. The other was more analytical and enjoyed
technology, namely computers, which now take up too large a portion of my life.
The second thing that helped change my life was my diabetes. Before I thought
I could realize my dream of going to the proverbial deserted island and be one
with nature without the hair-pulling difficulties those other people cause.
Well, as I quickly discovered, I am completely dependent now on other humans
for survival. This of course, as I later realized, is the beauty of community
and cooperation, without which I doubt there would be many people on this earth.


\section*{Religion}

I purposely kept this out of the first two sections of my background, because
of its importance and influence in my life. I grew up in a super conservative
Christian household. We had no TV, we celebrated Christmas as a family time
without Santa Claus and a Christmas tree, and we went to Sunday School every
Sunday and Bible Schools in the summer. Another thing that is important to understand
is that I did not interact with people of my own religion on a daily basis as
the nearest people with our beliefs lived almost 50 miles away and therefore
a large portion of my interactions were with those outside of my religion.

During my life I learned more and more about religion by observing those in
my religion and those outside of it. What I found was every person's religion
was in fact different, despite the similarities. There are so many arguments
and points of contention even among those in a religious group it is phenomenal.
The issues include both moral issues, such as divorce and remarriage, and doctrinal
issues such as the nature and purpose of Jesus. 

Today, I am agnostic and a free thinker.\cite{3}\cite{5} There are those who
do an excellent job of holding the highest of morals within a religion, despite
what the doctrines of that religion really suggest. They are usually people
who daily sacrifice themselves to please their deity and serve their family
and friends. In doing so these people often find that their own salvation according
to their religion is in jeopardy, because they care more sometimes about those
they love more than they care about deity. Although I hold the highest of respects
for these people, it no longer made any sense to find myself among this group.
In my ethical statement below, there are places where my ethics desagree with
the principles of my previous religion. They are also in conflict with some
principles in the Bible. I will not go into detail how religion is misused and
abused the Bible or how the works of others is abused for promoting selfish
ideals, but they exist at an extreme rate that I find appoling, especially among
those who consider themselves extremely moral.


\section*{Today}

That brings me to the present, as I set now and lay out my ethical policy. I
am now 22 years old and about to graduate from college with a degree in Computer
Engineering. I spend almost all of my spare time thinking and reading. I now
purposely read things that are largely censored in our society. I also read
things that everyone claims knowledge of, but no one completely understands,
like the Bible. Mostly, I enjoy reading comments online by people like myself
that enjoy thinking about the problems in society and not only propose solutions,
but practice those solutions. 

In the past I have been very closed minded about a lot of things, religion being
a big one. I thought I was so right and that what I was taught was on completely
solid ground and could not be disputed. Now I realize how wrong I was and understand
the dangers and consequences of being so devote to a single idea. For if people
were more open, I do not think we would have so many bloody wars, which now
are more over ideologies than they are over natural resources. I have found
that it is far better to share your ideas openly and listen to those of others
than to sit defiantly and defensively ignoring the ideas of others. Religion
for me was a great teacher, but unfortunately with it came a huge load of guilt,
a feeling of sinfulness, and inability to be loyal to my own ideas and thoughts.
Now I do not subscribe to a belief structure. It is my desire to take things
as they are and then work with them in order to create something better. I cannot
know things for sure that exist outside my own experiences. I do, however, believe
in a human spirit (natural not supernatural). It is that spirit that now drives
me, a spirit of nature that builds a strong desire to make the world a better
place for myself and others. It is this spirit and this yearning, which is the
basis of this ethical policy.


\chapter*{Introduction}

I have split this ethical policy into two parts. The first is my personal ethical
policy and the second my professional ethical policy. There really is not much,
but a superficial boundary between the two, but I would rather keep them separate.
The most important thing in this policy is its hierarchy. If there is any conflict
between two or more items in this statement I will try my hardest to put the
higher level items above the lower order ones. Also after each statement will
follow a brief paragraph explaining my meaning of each. This is a personal code
of ethics and in no way do I expect anyone other than myself to follow it. This
is a very important distinction, because most policies are held by a community
whether it be secular laws or religious morals.

Of course as Lao Tzu said, {}``Losing the way of life, men rely on goodness,
losing goodness, they rely on laws.{}'' These principles are meant to describe
my way of life and the goodness I wish to demonstrate and if all else fails
I will have them to guide me back in the right direction.


\chapter{Personal Ethical Policy}


\section{To not purposely cause harm to any other human being.}

This means, among other things, that I will not fight in any war. It does not
matter what ideals are being protected, even my worst enemies even a person
who attempts or does take my life is not to be killed. An eye for an eye, a
tooth for a tooth, is not part of my ethics. I have from my childhood onwards
been very passive. Aggression, when I have demonstrated it, has only brought
forth poor results. The way to resolve issues is through knowledge, good communication,
and brotherly love. I cannot take the life or freedoms of another to protect
my own or promote my ideals. That brings me to my next statement.


\section{To promote and demonstrate my ideals through my actions not through enforcing
them on others.}

One of the things that has always upset me about religions is the level of hypocrisy.
I should give credit to Jesus for pointing out this obvious part of too many
people who profess themselves as religious (Matt. 23:13-15, etc.) and try to
enforce ideals they themselves do not follow. As I am only enforcing these ideals
on myself, I cannot in keeping with the first statement harm others in my hypocrisy.
The result of me breaking my own ethics will be damaging more to me than anyone
else.


\section{To respect the ideas, lifestyles, religions, and ideals of others. Unless they
are in conflict with 1.1 or 1.2, then I will not respect them, but I will not
break 1.1 or 1.2 in order to change them.}

One of the greatest problems that still exists is stereotyping. I used to have
unfavorable opinions of those who are gay, Catholics, or Atheists. I was taught
through words, and fortunately not through action, that such groups were evil.
They consisted of the {}``World{}'' or essentially anyone outside my religious
group. I am glad at this time that I was a hypocrite in not following through
with these principles. To me each person is just that--a person. I give no more
respect for presidents, kings, CEOs, or religious leaders as I have for the
bum on the street. The only reason why I treat the previous four with apparently
more reverence is because of fear. It is through fear that many people and groups
stand taller than others. 

To respect others means to not make them fear me in order instill my ideals
on them and to recognize our shared human condition. I understand the importance
of rules and regulations for an orderly society, but I do not think that I should
be the one who alone defines these rules (see 1.12).


\section{To abide by the rules, codes of conduct, and laws of the community around me
as long as they are not in conflict with my higher principles.}

A large part of respect is doing things in acceptance with those around me.
It would be rude and disrespectful to do otherwise. Please note that I kept
government out of the above statement and instead replaced it with community.\cite{4}
Laws today have become too complex and often impractical to follow all of them.
Governments, unfortunately in my opinion, fight a never ending battle to appease
both the people and the many lobbiests that try to do things that are in opposition
of what is desirable by the people or healthy for society. I therefore, side
with the people over any lobby group that is trying to pass a bill that is in
opposition to what the people want. Too many of my rights have been unnecessarily
taken from individuals by groups that I feel I should have.

I would prefer that governments would become increasingly democratic to the
point where each person has equal say in the state of affairs of the country.
This is often deemed unsafe, but in practice I think once people realize what
this means they will be for it not against it. Having a select few make the
decisions for others in making less and less sense as the world shrinks through
new technologies and greater education. Until that happens, I will not vote
for people to make decisions for me, but instead share my opinions, but more
importantly in accordance with section 1.2 live them.


\section{To be honest and trustworthy, and to disclose my feelings.}

One of the main principles that allows a society to work efficiently and without
violence is honesty. Hiding information by lying often causes more harm than
good. I will also make good my promises to others and make sure that my words
are followed by action. This includes giving full disclosure of events rather
than obscuring facts in a way that has harmed humanity for ages.

This also includes times when someone chooses for me to act on their behalf.
I must first make sure that what they request is not in opposition to my ethics
and then if I chose to accept that responsibility make sure I follow through
according to their intent. Good communication is necessary for this to happen.

Included in this statement, is also the need to be honest when there is something
I disagree with. Too often problems occur by hiding feeling in order to preserve
temporary peace.


\section{To respect the property of others as long as we have the concept of property.}

An important moral value is that of not stealing. That means not only stealing
from others, but from nature and the commons. We live in a consumption crazed
society. I have too often been caught up in the desire to consume, that through
my consumption I have in essence promoted companies to take the lives of others
and put them in sweat shops to produce for me. This is a fairly negative way
of looking at things, but it is the sad state of affairs today.

Eventually, I would like to see the concept of property end. I have been told
all my life that it is good to share. I think it is part of the human spirit
to share, from downright natural things like sexual experiences, to the more
abstract like thoughts and ideas. Today we like to capitalize on all of these
things, we have a huge sex market and an intellectual property market. We have
established that each is good for the economy. I get this from looking at the
movie industry and the software industry. Each spends millions of dollars and
so much wasted time in making sure that nothing gets shared without making a
lot of money. Fortunately things like Open Source and forums to share works
of art do exist. I would like to see this idealogy spread. With more respect
for what is shared, rather than hoarding what I {}``own,{}'' I feel that I
can live at greater peace with my neighbors and global community. At the same
time, I must respect what others own and hopefully through sharing as much as
I can through volunteerism, donations, and community service I will encourage
others to see the power in this mode of thinking.


\section{To promote through self-education, observation, reading, conversation, and
writing the sciences or the understanding of the world around me. And to use
this understanding to the benefit of myself and others through both action and
sharing of knowledge.}

Human progress comes through understanding not ignorance. I will only do more
damage in trying to change that which I do not understand. I can have all the
love, compassion, and desire in the world and still do more harm than good.
It is the coupling of knowledge, gained through experience, education, communication,
and observation, with self-respect and love of others that will enable me to
make positive contributions to society. These two cannot and should not be separated.
It could be argued that anyone who loves someone else would be willing to put
their life on the line for someone else, but common sense and knowledge also
need to be observed.


\section{To give proper credit to others.}

When someone does something for me or for a group, I should not take credit
for their work. Also if I get an idea from a source, I should reference it.
This statement comes from the {}``ACM Code of Ethics.{}''\cite{1}


\section{To honor confidentiality.}

In helping others there may be cases where they may confess certain actions
or share private information with me. When they share such information, I should
not spread this information. The only case where I may share this information
is if I find that keeping it confidential is in violation of my higher principles.
If someone described to me how they were going to kill someone else, I would
report such a threat. I value the ability to share personal information with
others in good faith that they will not share it with others, I can only be
expected to do the same.


\section{To promote a higher quality of life for myself and others.}

Probably one of the key desires of a human being is the betterment of their
current situation. For some this drives them insane to the point where this
encompasses their whole being. In doing so they diminish the lives of others
through a pursuit to increase the quality of their own lives. To me it is naive
to believe that I really want to promote the increase in the quality of the
life of others before myself. That does not mean that I should not put constraints
upon my desires. It also does not mean I should not care about the quality of
life of others. I have observed that by promoting and working hard at increasing
the quality of life of those around me, my quality of life increases. It is
too easy to give a bad name to these self-promoting actions of aiding others.
In religious circles it is called pride and in others it is called selfish giving.
To me it is probably the only way we progress as a society. It is through shared
cooperation and a willingness to increase our quality of lives that we also
desire to do the same for others. It is a very natural desire that allows our
species to survive and this is part of what I described earlier as the human
spirit.

In this category also belongs things such as the arts, which is the human spirit
set free through paintings, music, acting, programming, gardening, or any other
activity that promotes a love of the natural and humane. I think it a shame
that we wish to put price tags on sharing this spirit, but that is the state
of society as it now exists.


\section{To live a healthy lifestyle and do things that will aid others in healthy living.}

Through exercise, good eating habits, and general good self-care, I can ease
the burdens of my life and others. I should strive towards helping others live
healthy as well in order to both ease the burden they may cause me as well as
their own burdens. This includes things such as promoting health facilities,
open space, parks, hiking trails, and other public places of recreation. It
also means eating right and not partaking in activities that could lead to diseases
and other health problems.


\section{To not have others fear me.}

Fear is the key to perpetuating hatred. Therefore, I add this as my last personal
ethical principle. Fear is capitalized by governments, religions, and individuals
to get others to do what they want. People, including myself, end up unhappy
with this state of fear. It often leads to rebellion and war. For this reason
I am opposed to creating weapons and armies. There are much better ways to promote
conformance, the best of which I found is to work together with whatever social
group that surrounds me and agree through compromise and cooperation what rules
should be established. It would be a great error to assume that others have
the same morals as I do and that I should promote those morals with fear in
order to benefit the lives of those around me.


\chapter{Professional Code of Ethics}

For the most part this code of ethics relates to my career in the computer and
technology field. This code of ethics has been in part been adopted from the
{}``ACM Code of Ethics\cite{1}{}'' and the {}``IEEE Code of Professional
Ethics.\cite{2}{}'' I will referenced them in parentheses, wherever I borrowed
something from them. Also it is important to note that my personal code of ethics
comes before my professional code of ethics. Therefore, I will chose to violate
my professional code of ethics, in favor of my personal code of ethics should
a conflict arise.


\section{Strive to achieve the highest quality, effectiveness and dignity in both the
process and products of professional work.}

(ACM 2.1) This statement has been taken directly from the ACM Code of Ethics.
The quality of my work speaks for both my credibility as well as can have a
huge impact on society. Through my professional work, I understand that the
systems I create may mean the difference between life and death for others.
I should work hard to reduce any errors in my work. I should also be willing
to share my work with others in order for them to look for errors, before making
my works available to the public or a client (see 2.4).


\section{To maintain a high level of competence and knowledge in my field.}

(ACM 2.2) It is important that my skills are up to par so that I can produce
in a way that is both efficient and reliable. This is also important so that
what I produce is inter-operable with other current systems.


\section{To know and respect laws pertaining to professional work.}

(ACM 2.3) I should obey existing local, state, province, national, and international
laws pertaining to my work unless there is a compelling ethical basis not to
do so. Policies and procedures of the organization in which I participate should
also be obeyed. But compliance must be balanced with the recognition that sometimes
existing laws and rules may be immoral or inappropriate and, therefore, must
be challenged. 

Violation of a law or regulation may be ethical when that law or rule has inadequate
moral basis or when it conflicts with another law judged to be more important.
If I decide to violate law or rule because it is viewed as unethical, or for
any other reason, I will accept responsibility for my actions and for the consequences.


\section{Accept and provide appropriate professional review.}

(ACM 2.4) Quality professional work, especially in the computing profession,
depends on professional reviewing and critiquing. Whenever appropriate, I should
seek and utilize peer review as well as provide critical review of the work
of others.


\section{Improve public understanding of computing and its consequences.}

(ACM 2.7) I have placed this at a higher level of importance than what appears
in the ACM Code of Ethics, because public misunderstanding of computing can
cause more harm than my private misunderstanding. I have the responsibility
to share my knowledge of computers with the public by encouraging them to learn
about computers, the potential impacts of computers systems, and their limitations.


\section{Honor contracts, agreements, and assignments.}

Both the success of my career and the keeping of my personal ethics requires
that I do this. Imperative in this is that I also do everything possible to
not accept a contract, agreement, assignment that I see as being in conflict
with any higher level of ethics. In doing so it could have adverse effects on
my life, my ability to perform well while doing the project, and cause future
regret.

(ACM 2.6) Honoring my commitments is a matter of integrity and honesty. It includes
ensuring that system elements perform as intended. Also, when my work is for
another party, I have an obligation to keep that party properly informed about
progress toward completing that work. 

I also have a responsibility to request a change in any assignment that cannot
be completed as defined. Only after serious consideration and with full disclosure
of risks and concerns to the employer or client, should I accept the assignment.
The major underlying principle here is the obligation to accept personal accountability
for professional work. On some occasions other ethical principles may take the
greater priority.


\section{Give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of computer systems and their impacts,
including analysis of possible risks.}

(ACM 2.5) I must strive to be perceptive, thorough, and objective when evaluating,
recommending, and presenting system descriptions and alternatives. I may often
find myself in a position of special trust and therefore have a special responsibility
to provide object, credible evaluations to employers, clients, users, and the
public. When providing evaluations I must also identify any relevant conflicts
of interest, as stated in imperative 1.3. 

As noted in the discussion of principle 1.1 on avoiding harm, any signs of danger
from systems must be reported to those who have opportunity and/or responsibility
to resolve them.


\section{I should access computing and communication resources only when authorized
to do so.}

(ACM 2.8) Theft or destruction of tangible and electronic property is prohibited
by principles 1.1, 1.4, and 1.6. This includes trustpassing, which is accessing
communication networks and computer systems, or accounts and/or files associated
with those systems, without explicit authorization to do so. Individuals and
organizations have the right to restrict access to their systems so long as
they do not violate the discrimination principle (see 1.3).

I should not enter or use another's computing system, software, or data files
without permission. I must always have appropriate approval before using system
resources, including .rm57 communication prots, file space, other system peripherals,
and computer time.


\section{To reject bribery in all its forms.}

(IEEE 4.) In order to make ethical and technically sound decisions I must reject
outside influences such as large sums of money or extravagant gifts.


\section{To disclose any conflicts of interest.}

(IEEE 2.) If for some reason two contracts become mutually exclusive on a certain
point or if I have an external reason to not perform well on a particular project,
I need to disclose them as a conflict of interest. I then will work with both
parties in resolving this conflict. See also 1.5 and 2.6.


\section{When given the responsibility for a group, I should promote good principles
among the group.}

If I ever find myself in a position of leadership for a particular project or
group, which ideally I would not since I prefer a cooperative approach, I should
maintain the above professional principles within this group. This includes
pointing out violations and making sure I set a good example for the rest of
the group.


\chapter{Compliance with this Ethical Code of Conduct}


\section{Uphold and promotion of the principles of this code.}

I should uphold and promote these principles throughout both my personal life
and my professional career, including my volunteer efforts and public service
by living according to them.


\section{Violations of this code.}

I have made this Ethical Code of Conduct public in order for others to help
me when I err from the principles herein contained. I encourage people to point
out my mistakes and non-compliance with the above statements. Living an ethical
and moral life is both a function of my personal ideals and those around me
aiding me in maintaining those ideals.

\begin{thebibliography}{1}
\bibitem{1}\underbar{ACM Code of Ethics}. Adopted by ACM Council 10/16/92. Association
for Computing Machinery: 1997. \url{http://info.acm.org/constitution/code.html}.
Accessed May 5, 2001.
\bibitem{2}\underbar{IEEE Code of Ethics}. Approved by the IEEE Board of Directors, August
1990. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.: 2000. \url{http://www.ieee.org/about/whatis/code.html}.
Accessed May 5, 2001.
\bibitem{3}Robert Green Ingersoll. \underbar{Why I am Agnostic}. \url{http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/why_i_am_agnostic.html}.
Last accessed May 5, 2001.
\bibitem{4}Rusty. \underbar{Why Community Matters}. \url{http://www.kuro5hin.org/?op=displaystory;sid=2001/4/8/214245/6519&commentmode=minimal}.
Last accessed May 5, 2001.
\bibitem{5}Bertrand Russell. \underbar{What is an Agnostic}? \url{http://www.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/humftp/E-text/Russell/agnostic.htm}.
Last accessed May 5, 2001.
\bibitem{6}{}``What We Teach.{}'' The Christadelphian Advocate. \url{http://christadelphian-advocate.org/page3.html}.
Accessed May 6, 2001.\end{thebibliography}

\end{document}