There are four authors for the article under discussion, and they approach their topic by explaining first the nature of the new code of ethics they are going to discuss and then by including both the code itself as well as applications of it to a series of cases. The title of the article explains what it is about--"Using the New ACM Code of Ethics in Decision Making"--and each of the cases involves some type of decision making where the code would be useful and where it helps in determining what the decision should be.
the one thing the authors apparently assume their readers will know is the meaning of the acronym ACM, which is not explained in the text. In the first paragraph, the letters just appear as an indication of some organization that has sanctioned a code of ethics for computer professionals, but the words that these letters stand for are never indicated. ACM is apparently a professional association, since the opening paragraph begins with a statement about how professional associates have historically made use of a code of ethics as a means of establishing their status as a profession or to regulate their membership. The ACM has a code of ethics and is therefore probably a professional association as well. In the second paragraph ACM is referred to as a society, but again the meaning of those letters is not given.
The title contains the ACM designation and so assumes that readers who would be attracted to reading this would know its meaning. This is a safe assumption given that the article appears in a trade journal called Communications of the ACM--this journal is obviously distributed to members of the organization, which explains why the authors did not feel it necessary to explain the meaning of the name.
Much of the introductory section explains the point of view of the authors concerning the idea of a code of ethics, this particular code of ethics, and what they intend to do with the code of ethics a...