Killian O'Brien
12th November 2018
In this talk we shall
What is meant by these?
In your second year you do a mathematical modelling group project for the unit Numerical Methods and Mathematical Modelling.
Such group work requires
All research activity requires careful consideration of any ethical issues. There are well developed university procedures covering both health & safety and research ethics.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) The EU recently improved provisions around regulation of data, clarifying and increasing the responsibilites of organisations handling data and clarifying and enhancing individuals rights over use of their data.
Can literally be a case of life and death.
What is plagiarism? In short, presenting the work of others as if it were your own. But there are many different aspects to this, see Academic misconduct regulations.
Outsourcing your work to others via websites etc.
But you must ensure that
There is a long tradition of codes of conduct and ethical behaviour in professional life. Developed by professional bodies, government agencies and directly in law.
As new professions arise so do their codes of conduct.
Examples of established established professions and their codes - General Medical Council - Teaching - Actuaries - Engineering, Civil Engineering
Accelerating developments in knowledge and technology mean that ethical codes and standards need constant attention.
Nick Leeson, former financial trader for Barings Bank.
A case study of a potent mix of individual and institutional failure to uphold proper ethical standards and systems.
The following extracts are form the Wikepedia article on Nick Leeson.
From 1992, Leeson made unauthorised speculative trades that at first made large profits for Barings: £10 million, which accounted for 10% of Barings' annual profit. He earned a bonus of £130,000 on his salary of £50,000 for that year.
Source: Wikipedia's Nick Leeson article.
However, Leeson's luck soon went sour and he used one of Barings' error accounts (accounts used to correct mistakes made in trading) to hide his losses. The account was numbered 88888. Leeson claims that this account was first used to hide an error made by one of his colleagues; rather than buy 20 contracts as the customer had ordered, she had sold them, costing Barings £20,000.
Source: Wikipedia's Nick Leeson article.
However, Leeson used this account to cover further bad trades. He insists that he never used the account for his own gain, but in 1996 The New York Times quoted "British press reports" as claiming that investigators had located approximately $35 million in various bank accounts tied to him.
Source: Wikipedia's Nick Leeson article.
Management at Barings Bank also allowed Leeson to remain chief trader while also being responsible for settling his trades, jobs usually done by two different people. This made it much simpler for him to hide his losses from his superiors.
Losses eventually reached £827 million (US$1.4 billion), twice the bank's available trading capital.
Source: Wikipedia's Nick Leeson article.
Leeson left a note reading "I'm Sorry" and fled Singapore on 23 February. Losses eventually reached £827 million (US$1.4 billion), twice the bank's available trading capital. After a failed bailout attempt, Barings, which had been the United Kingdom's oldest merchant bank, was declared insolvent on 26 February.
Source: Wikipedia's Nick Leeson article.
As big as they are, these amounts of money pale into insignificance compared to those involved in the global financial crisis of 2008.
"We conclude there was a systemic breakdown in accountability and ethics."
One of the main conclusions from Final Report of the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States.