Track: Philosophical
Perspectives in IS (SIGPhilosophy)
Mini-track: Ethics
in Information Systems
Mini-track chairs
Alan T Litchfield: Faculty
of Design and Creative Technologies, Auckland University
of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: alan.litchfield@aut.ac.nz
Sutirtha Chatterjee:
College of Business, Prairie View A & M University,
Texas, USA. Email: suchatterjee@pvamu.edu
Mini-track Description
For research and
professional practice in the field of Information Systems,
ethics maintains a broad range of concerns that impact the
work of professionals, academics and researchers, and the
work and lives of those who are dependent upon the
successful and appropriate deployment of information
systems (for example, Chatterjee, Sarker & Fuller,
2009; Mingers and Walsham, 2010). Recent world events
reported in the media highlight the need for a constant
review of ethics, both in application and theory, through
sociopolitical and sociotechnical lenses.
The use and application of
computing technologies typically derives positive and
negative influences for humanity. Accounts exist of the
negative impacts of unforeseen events, the misuse of
technologies, or the corruption of otherwise
well-intentioned technologies, as well as being part of a
wider negative impact on the environment. It is when such
events occur that the role that practitioners and
researcher play is brought into question. Typically,
ethics in computing and information technology has
concentrated on certain specific areas such as whether
ethics in computing is a unique field, how ethics is
treated pedagogically, issues of logic versus moral
responsibility, matching computer use against human
values, the ethics of professionals and practitioners, and
so on. However, some of the debates regarding ethics have
been renewed in light of recent advances in technology and
the uses to which technology is applied.
Moor (1985, p. 266) says:
“A typical problem in computer ethics arises
because there is a policy vacuum about how computer
technology should be used. Computers provide us with new
capabilities and these in turn give us new choices for
action. Often, either no policies for conduct in these
situations exist or existing policies seem inadequate. A
central task of computer ethics is to determine what we
should do in such cases, that is, formulate policies to
guide our actions.”
This mini-track provides a
forum for the expression of debates and arguments
surrounding these and other issues. Authors can present
cases that have arisen out of present and past researches,
and events that clarify ethical dimensions. Papers should
be of a standard where specific issues are identified and
questions or solutions presented. Possible topics include,
but are not limited to:
●
Applications of
classical ethical theory
●
Computer crime
●
Ethics in
research
●
Ethics issues
and arguments on IS related phenomena that include
security, knowledge management, strategy, information
systems development, collaboration, plus others.
●
Ethics issues
and arguments that face IS researchers and academics in
the preparation and execution of their practice.
●
Ethics of
information use and misuse, especially in an increasingly
networked world
●
Ethics of
professionals and practitioners
●
Globalization of
computerization and its effect on society
●
Intellectual
property issues
●
Logic versus
moral responsibility
●
Matching
computer use against human values
●
Pedagogical
issues in ethics education
●
Privacy and
anonymity issues
●
The encroachment
of information technologies into the lives of people
●
The ethics of
distance learning in advanced education
●
The impacts of
social networking on the work place
●
The use and
misuse of computers in the workplace
References
Moor, J. (1985)
“What Is Computer Ethics?” Metaphilosophy,
16(4): 266-75.
Chatterjee, S., Sarker, S.,
and Fuller, M. (2009). "Ethical Information Systems
Development: A Baumanian Postmodernist Perspective,"
Journal of the Association for Information Systems 10(11),
787-815.
Mingers, J., and Walsham,
G. (2010). "Toward Ethical Information Systems: The
Contribution of Discourse Ethics," MIS Quarterly 34 (4),
833-854.
Track Chair
Alan Litchfield