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Ethics: Are we misusing the terms "master-slave". Do we even have a community / forum in which we can discuss this?

Philip Oakley over 3 years ago

The recent world wide considerations of the diversity challenges in our society has highlighted that we in Engineering can be perpetuating some of the derogatory terms implicit within our use of "Master-Slave" for purely inanimate technical control scenarios. [1 - N]

We have policies on slavery that every volunteer, staff member and Trustee must read and abide to, but it appears we haven't noticed, to any significant extent, our own continued use of "slave" in our writings.

Do we even have a community or forum in which we can discuss this ethical, and publishing issue?

Philip Oakley

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53273923

[2] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3243656.stm

[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53050955

[4 ] http://www.jstor.com/stable/40061475 "Broken Metaphor: The Master-Slave Analogy in Technical Literature"

[5] https://www.theiet.org/involved/volunteering-for-the-iet/volunteer-hub/our-policies/anti-slavery-policy/

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0 Philip Oakley over 3 years ago

but I think you may have missed an important event regarding the iet and it’s attitude towards its online community, it has for the last 10 years or so been literally bulldozing through previously active sectors of its online community, and seems to have done all it can to stem the free sharing of opinions and information openly, hence the reason your topic views number will be embarrasingly low, now at a whopping 57 views, perhaps lobbying the iet twitter or Facebook account might be more productive in your quest?

I think that one is for a separate thread.

I suspect that the change was part of a change in management culture at the time to flatter structures, and the use of 'managers' across the whole of commerce and industry. There was also some changes in Charities guidance and legislation that had broader impacts on management styles (small Trustees board, etc).
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0 Philip Oakley over 3 years ago

but I think you may have missed an important event regarding the iet and it’s attitude towards its online community, it has for the last 10 years or so been literally bulldozing through previously active sectors of its online community, and seems to have done all it can to stem the free sharing of opinions and information openly, hence the reason your topic views number will be embarrasingly low, now at a whopping 57 views, perhaps lobbying the iet twitter or Facebook account might be more productive in your quest?

I think that one is for a separate thread.

I suspect that the change was part of a change in management culture at the time to flatter structures, and the use of 'managers' across the whole of commerce and industry. There was also some changes in Charities guidance and legislation that had broader impacts on management styles (small Trustees board, etc).
Cancel
Vote Up 0 Vote Down

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