VIGNETTE
IT Technicians Fired After Reporting Child Porn
Questions to Consider:
1.) What
message is sent to IT workers by the actions of New York Law Schools and
Colleges even if unrelated job-performance issues justified their actions in
firing Gross and Perry?
Dean Matasar sent an email to New
York faculty, staff, and students saying “I'm saddened to report to you that I
learned this afternoon that our colleague, professor Edward Samuels, was
arrested on charges relating to possession of childhood pornographic images”
and they were fired because of this incident.
2.) Since
this incident, a number of states have enacted laws that require workers to
report immediately any child pornography found while servicing equipment. Most
of the laws state that worker who reports such a discovery is immune from any
criminal, civil or administrative liability. Failure to report the discovery
can result to a fine, imprisonment or both. Do you think such laws will
encourage reporting? Why or why not?
Critics charge that this type of
law unfairly transfers law enforcement duties to individuals who may not be
qualified to handle evidence or determine what constitutes child pornography.
Supporters say reporting mandates for photo labs have proven effective and that
similar laws for IT workers will help combat child pornography on the Internet.
Case #3: When Certification Is Justified
Discussion Questions:
1.)
How can organizations and vendors
change their certification programs to test or skills as well as core
knowledge? What issues might this introduce?
The
organization create a project management certification that give training to
the employee and IT workers to gain the certificate needed for the job they are
in. It gives chances to them to show not just the core knowledge but also to
know how to use the knowledge.
2.)
What are the primary arguments
against certification, and how can certifying bodies change their programs to
overcome these short coming?
They argued that testable IT
knowledge does not necessarily translate into quality IT work. They said that
the IT worker needs to have good communication skills and they suspected that
the workers paid for their certificate. Later, they decided to build training
for them to gain the said certificate and be able to use it in their work, and also while there is no universal call for
certification examination procedures that answers all needs within the IT
progression, certifying bodies are beginning to adapt their programs to better
fulfill the evolving needs for certification in IT.
3.)
What are the benefits of
certification? How might certification programs need to change in the future to
better serve the needs of the IT community?
The benefits of this certificate
are the employee to easily find a job and they are well recognized as an IT
expert through this certificate. Specific IT fields such as project management
and security have a greater need for certification. Employers use certification as a hiring gate for entry level
positions and for jobs that require specific core knowledge. Also, employers
use certification as a means of training employees and increasing skill levels
within the company. Certification programs need to change in the future to
better serve the needs of the IT community like changing IT certification
examination.