Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
ethical dilemma in software engineering
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: ethical dilemma in software engineering
The Therac-25 Software Disaster
The Therac-25 is a computerized medical radiation therapy machine for cancer patients. During the time span of June 1985 to January 1987, it was the source of six fatal or near fatal overdoses. These incidents were a result of a combination of factors that can be viewed as unethical actions made through the ranks of hierarchy, from the manufactures to the FDA.
The Therac-25 is a medical dual-mode linear accelerator that is used to target the less sensitive cancer cells of patients. The Therac-25 was not the first generation of this product. The previous versions, Therac-6 and Therac-20, were very similar, however the Therac-25 used more advanced technology. Compared to the Therac-20, the Therac-25 is more compact, versatile, and easier to use. All these added features are consequences of its dependence on software, instead of hardware. In this paper, I will evaluate the problematic actions that lead to the poor design of the product (“Death and Denial”).
The leading factor contributing to the poor design can be found in the programming of the software. The first mistake made was that a single programmer was responsible for the software in all three different versions of the Therac. Because the single programmer was negligent of his or hers responsibilities, many issues arose within the software. Examples of the programmer’s unethical behavior include him not informing his supervisor of the possible dangers of having no safely catches outside of the software. The programmer also used unprotected memory, improper initialization, and did not test the software properly. Since a single programmer designed all three generations of the product, the new iterations reused the same software. (“System Safet...
... middle of paper ...
... placed on one individual; however, the actions of all involved failed to properly address the right problems.
References
Leveson, Nancy G., Turner Clark S. “An Investigation of the Therac-25 Accidents.” Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science. National Academy of Engineering. 16 Feb. 2006. 15 April 2014. http://www.onlineethics.org/Resources/Cases/therac25.aspx
Leveson, Nancy G. “Medical Devices: the Therac-25.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 19 April 2014. http://sunnyday.mit.edu/papers/therac.pdf
Porrello, Anne Marie. “Death and Denial: The Failure of the THERAC-25, A Medical Linear Accelerator.” 22 April 2014. California Polytechnic State University. http://users.csc.calpoly.edu/~jdalbey/SWE/Papers/THERAC25.html
“System Safety.” 22 April 2014. Computing Cases.org. http://www.computingcases.org/case_materials/therac/analysis/Safety.html
Stirling Bridge demonstrated strong moral principles when deciding how to best approach consumer injuries related to the Braveheart power tools line. STIRLING BRIDGE took the public interest to heart and exercised the utilitarian approach to serve the greatest good for the greatest number. Stirling Bridge exhausted substantial financial and labor resources to focus more on the well-bei...
The engineer breached the duty of care through failing his/her duty to warn by providing insufficient warning on the limitation of the application. His/her software application caused the structural firm to designed a defective bridge and was the direct cause of many deaths. The junior engineer should be held liable for his/her product due to the principle known as product liability. This is evident in the case study because deaths and injuries due to defective product as a result of the software were foreseeable. Looking at the 1971 case of Lambert v. Lastoplex Chemicals Co. Limited et al., the manufacturers must not only instruct the user how to properly use the products but also warn the user the consequences of misuse []. This precedent case proves that the engineer failed to warn the structural firm of the limitation of the application as well as failed to warn the consequences of using the application beyond its capabilities. However, the information technology firm may be held vicariously liable for the mistake of the junior engineer as he/she developed the software application during his/her employment. The reason being the employer generally has deeper pocket than the employee [] and the collapse was a result of the junior engineer developing the application under the authority of the employer. Thus, the junior engineer is one of the tortfeasor to which the information firm maybe vicariously liable for his/her
Even though there were many factors contributing to the Challenger disaster, the most important issue was the lack of an effective risk management plan. The factors leading to the Challenger disaster are:
The most common type of radiation therapy that is used involves exposure of patients to external radiations. In this method, a beam containing high-energy X-rays is directed to a specific region of the body to irradiate the main tumors. However, the problem with this technique is that the ability to hit normal tissues of adjacent organs (Noda et al., 2009). Different from this, targeted radionuclide therapy functions like chemotherapy. A radionuclide labeled molecule is administered either orally or intravenously such that it delivers radiations that are sufficiently toxic to the site of the disease to kill the target cells (Bolus & Brady, 2011). However, the main difference with chemotherapy is that the drugs or toxins only...
[5] Roger M. Boisjoly, “Telecon Meeting (Ethical Decisions – Morton Thiokol and the Challenger Disaster)” [online], Washington, DC.: National Academy of Engineering, May 15, 2006 [cited March 16, 2010], available from World Wide Web:
The Therac-25 was released to market in 1983 and is still in use today (ComputingCases). “Between June 1985 and January 1987, six patients were seriously injured or killed by unsafe administration of radiation from the Therac-25 medical linear accelerator” (Death and Denial).
of medical devices are used by millions of health care providers around the world.” (Powell-
It seemed then that Ford and Firestone failed to meet its ethical obligations. That is, they didn’t report safety related defect information to government agencies and they also concealed important information related to vehicle safety from the public. As a result, the consumers suffered the consequences of their unethical conduct. Many people died because of the defect in these tires. In fact, these accidents would have not occurred if both companies have solved the problem immediately.
In this case a large engineering consulting firm was contracted by the government to perform civil engineering work for the installation of equipment that would be later used to train firefighters. Prior to the actual work being commenced on site, Donald J. Giffels, president of the consulting firm soon realized through careful observation that there was a significant amount of ambiguity in how critical safety systems were to be designed. In this situation, what are the ethical issues that the consulting firm faces in accepting such a contract from the government. What is the optimal strategy in responding to what Donald J. .Giffels identified as an unacceptable lapse in safety. These two important questions are discussed in further detail with a conclusion of noteworthy facts surrounding this case following.
Since the probe, General Motors had created a new post that is charged with responsibility for vehicle safety (Muller, 2013). General Motors terminated sixteen people for their role in not repairing the faulty ignition switch. The mindset throughout General Motors was to retain the bad news and keep it apart from senior supervisors. This was undeviatingly contributed to no effort being taken to remedy the faulty switch. Because of this, General Motors is directly accountable for the graves of 13
The radiotherapy is not a very new technology history reveals that the German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen discovered radiation therapy after the discovery of x-rays in 1895. The World’s first Radiation Oncologist (therapist) was Emil Grubbe a medical student who irradiated a cancer patient in (Dartmouth, February 1896). The radiation ...
The symptoms of radiation poisoning - or Acute Radiation Syndrome - vary depending on the dosage of radiation that a person has received. If someone is exposed to 400 mSv of radiation in a short amount of time, it is very likely that they will begin to experience these symptoms. The person may find themselves afflict...
The initial ethical guideline presented in the IEEE Code of Ethics states “to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment”. In regards to health, safety and well-being of the public and environment, many would consider this to be the most important rule presented. Professions in electrical and electronic engineering operate in designing electrical syst...
McLaren, B. (2010, July 22). The ethical responsibility of engineers and the rest of us, too [Web log article]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-d-mclaren/the-ethical-responsibilit_b_653812.html
Thomas, Lewis. “The Technology of Medicine”. The McGraw Hill Reader. 8th ed. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw Hill, 2003. 581-585.