Description: Read an article and answer comprehension questions about IT professionals in China.
[wptabsy shortcode_id=”662″ alignment=”left” shadow=”1″ active=”#ffffff,#1e73be,#CECECE” inactive=”#111111,#fcfcfc,#CECECE” tabcontent=”#111111,#ffffff,#CECECE” shadow=”1″][tab icon=”fa-check-square-o”]Teacher Guidelines[/tab][tab icon=”fa-thumbs-up”]Can-Do\’s[/tab][tab icon=”fa-users”]Activity[/tab][tabcontent]Title of ER: The Ethics of IT Professionals in China
Level: B2
Target audience: all college level students
General goals/objectives: Reading Comprehension
Specific goals/objectives: Reading strategies: skimming, scanning, identifying the main ideas, reading for close details.
Materials needed for activity: (check the following)
X internet access X projector _speakers _printout X BYOD (Bring Your Own Device – smartphone, tablet)
_other: __________________
Time: 90 minutes
Overview: Reading an article and answering comprehension questions
Activity 1
Students choose a first and second option in an IT scenario (one of those used in the study referred to in the article).
Activity 2
Students match the main idea to the paragraph. A Moodle quiz version is available.
Activity 3
Students answer reading comprehension questions.
Activity 4
Use ROADS to review vocabulary from the article.
Supplementary Material
- http://inroads.acm.org/article.cfm?aid=2568201
- https://college.cengage.com/business/course360/business_ethics_exp_1111746915/casestudy/casestudy_06.pdf
- http://search.proquest.com/openview/f0730108550a89255e245bab3670fc95/1?pq-origsite=gscholar
- http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA620280
Related LOs
- Introduction to Ethics (introduces the model referred to in this article)
- A Code of Ethics
[/tabcontent][tabcontent]
| Reception/ Reading | Overall reading comprehension | Can understand in detail lengthy, complex texts that relate to his/her own area of specialty provided that he/she can reread difficult sections (adapted C1) |
| Reading for orientation | Can scan quickly through long and complex texts locating relevant details (B2) | |
| Can skim to identify the content and relevance of academic articles and reports and decide whether closer reading is worthwhile (adapted B2) | ||
| Reading for information and argument | Can obtain information, ideas and opinions from highly specialized sources within his/her field (B2+) | |
| Can understand articles and reports concerned with contemporary problems in which the writers adopt particular stances or viewpoints (B2) |
[/tabcontent][tabcontent]Pre-reading: Read the following scenario and select your most likely choice of action and your second most likely choice of action
DUTY TO THE IT PROFESSION – You believe that as an IT professional, you should…
(0) do whatever you like irrespective of other people
(1) do your best, but not worry if your work is imperfect
(2) cut corners in order to get a job done in a way that maximises your personal benefit.
(3) fulfil the minimum requirements of a job.
(4) promote good practice and high standards in your work
(5) help to develop new standards for professional work
(6) constructively challenge the fundamental values of the IT profession.
- Reading a text: The Ethics of IT Professionals in China
Access the full text from your university library’s database
http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2009/7/32108-technical-opinion-the-ethics-of-it-professionals-in-china/abstract and number the paragraphs 1 – 18
Technical Opinion: The Ethics of IT Professionals in China
By Robert M. Davison, Maris G. Martinsons, Henry W. H. Lo, Yuan Li
Communications of the ACM, Vol. 52 No. 7, Pages 153-155
10.1145/1538788.1538823
The Ethics of IT Professionals in China – Main Idea Exercise
Number the paragraphs in the text. (Paragraph 1 begins with the words “Ethical integrity is a critical…). There are 18 paragraphs.
There are 18 main ideas below. Match each one to the correct paragraph. The first one has been done as an example.
- Ethical integrity is especially crucial to the IT field. P.1
- Most of the 290 survey respondents work directly in the IT field. ___
c. China has been chosen as a subject of the study for various reasons. ___
d. The results of the study in China have some positive implications. ___
e. Chinese culture and recent economic success may account for age differences in ethical perceptions. ___ - The choice-shift method enabled checking the issue of volatility. ___
g. Older professionals may be more aware of results of unethical behaviour and therefore tend to choose higher reasoning. ___ - Some findings of the survey should worry organizations. ___
- All respondents expressed volatility in their answers. ___
- There are three implications from the study for organizations. ___
- Kohlberg\’s model of ethical reasoning consists of six stages. ___
- The main finding suggests that Chinese ethics are more international than local in the IT field. ___
- Earlier international research indicates that the higher stages of Kohlberg’s model may not apply universally ___
- Scenario 12 is an example of the instrument used for the study. ___
- Kohlberg\’s model is criticized for being based on Western rather
than Chinese ethical norms. ___ - Kohlberg\’s model has been supported by the findings from China. ___
- An instrument was developed for the study to investigate how IT
professionals in China see ethics. ___ - Most responses were stage 4 or above ___
The Ethics of IT Professionals in China – Questions
- a. What type of article is this? Circle the best option:
i. a newspaper article.
ii. a research article.
iii. a report on a study.
iv. a criticism of a study.
- Which paragraph helped you answer this question? Paragraph ___
- a. Why is Lawrence Kohlberg mentioned in this article?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Give two reasons why his CMD theory and model has been criticized:
i: _____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
ii:_____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
- What is the full reference for Snell mentioned in paragraph 4?
_______________________________________________________________
- a. What was the topic of the current empirical study?
_______________________________________________________________
b. List all the reasons why this topic was important to study?
i._____________________________________________________________
ii._____________________________________________________________
iii. _____________________________________________________________
iv. _____________________________________________________________
v.. _____________________________________________________________
- Explain the context of “stage zero” (paragraph 6)
______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________ - Complete the following sentence:
Paragraph 8 describes _____________________________________________ - Why did older respondents express preference for stage 4 & 5 reasoning?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
- Explain the following sentence in your own words,
“No respondent exhibited zero volatility.” (paragraph 12)
_______________________________________________________________ - a. What was the main finding of the study?
_______________________________________________________________
b. What was the main conclusion of the study?
_______________________________________________________________
c. This conclusion supports / contradicts (CIRCLE ONE) the last statement in paragraph 3.
- What two main concerns are there to organizations?
i. ________________________________________________________
ii. ________________________________________________________
- a. What is the relationship between paragraph 16 and 17? (CIRCLE ONE)
a. addition
b. contrast
c. illustration
d. time order
- Explain your answer _________________________________________
- What two implications of the study suggest the need to implement organization-wide ethics programs?
i. ________________________________________________________
ii. ________________________________________________________
- Vocabulary from the text: http://www.vocabulary.com/lists/779711#view=notes
or ROADS
[/tabcontent][/wptabsy]
