Professionalism in the Information and Communication Technology Industry

Professionalism is arguably more important in some occupations than in others. It is vital in some because of the life and death decisions that must be made, for example in medicine. In others the rapidly changing nature of the occupation makes efficient regulation difficult and so the professional behaviour of the practitioners is central to the good functioning of that occupation. The core idea behind this book is that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is changing so quickly that professional behaviour of its practitioners is vital because regulation will always lag behind.
The contributors to this volume come from a variety of backgrounds, and this range of contributions is intentional. It is not just academics who have important things to say about professionalism in ICT. Some contributors are or were ICT practitioners, one is a retired judge from the High Court of Australia, some are ICT academics and others are philosophers. Underlying all chapters, except the first, however, is the concept of ICT professionalism. The first chapter, by the Hon Michael Kirby, focuses on regulation. What it does, by showing the difficulties in regulating new technologies — and ICT in particular — is highlight the importance of professionalism in ICT. If regulation is difficult, the behaviour of professionals is paramount. The rest of the sections all contain chapters that approach aspects of professionalism from different perspectives.
[Canberra: 2013]

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