Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society

Rogerson, Simon

2017 Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/JICES-11-2017-066

Burmeister, Oliver Kisalay

2017 Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/jices-11-2016-0045

Professional ethics is explored with three main foci: a critique of codes of conduct and the value of creating a global code for information and communication technology (ICT); a critique of ICT professional certification; and the debate over whether ICT is really a profession.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual reflection on the current state of the ICT industry internationally, informed by the literature.FindingsCompared to a mature profession, such as health, ICT is a young profession. This is evidenced in the disparity of domains of practice, the lack of agreement on universal values governing the industry and the ongoing difficulties in creating international certification.Originality/valueUntil now, there has been little recognition of the corporatisation of ICT professionals and the effect that has on their ability to engage in appropriate professional ethics. More research is needed to explore appropriate ways in which ethical behaviour can be encouraged in the corporate workplace, including how professional development can be strengthened through building learning organisations.

Gotterbarn, Donald; Miller, Keith W.

2017 Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/JICES-02-2017-0015

PurposeThis short viewpoint is a response to a lead paper on professional ethics in the information age. This paper aims to draw upon the authors’ experience of professional bodies such as the ACM over many years. Points of agreement and disagreement are highlighted with the aim of promoting wider debate.Design/methodology/approachAn analysis of the lead paper is undertaken using a binary agree/disagree approach. This highlights the conflicting views which can then be considered in more detail.FindingsFour major agreements and four major disagreements are identified. There is an emphasis on “acultural” professionalism to promote moral behavior rather than amoral behavior.Originality/valueThis is an original viewpoint which draws from the authors’ practical experience and expertise.

Brady, Declan

2017 Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/JICES-02-2017-0012

PurposeThis paper aims to describe a perspective from the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS) on the role of ethics in IT professionalism, and what that means in a practical sense for IT practitioners.Design/methodology/approachThe paper develops ideas generated in a series of micro-conferences hosted by CEPIS on the topic of ethics, in the context of establishing a professional ethics framework as part of CEPIS’ work in support of IT professionalism.FindingsProfessional ethics is the weakest of the four professional pillars, and development of supports and resources is required. CEPIS is taking action in this areas.Practical implicationsWithout a framework, and without IT Practitioners themselves taking a coordinated action, there risks a fragmentation of responses to ethical questions.Originality/valueThis paper describes the view of the CEPIS on the need for, and role of, professional ethics, and how that might be supported.

Kreps, David

2017 Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/JICES-01-2017-0005

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to respond to Burmeister’s paper on Professionalism in information and communication technology.Design/methodology/approachThis is a short and simple response to an issue that seemed central to Burmeister’s paper.FindingsA key conundrum between the definitions of professionalism and corporations needs addressing.Originality/valueThis conundrum is a global political situation outwith the ability of the profession to address.

Healey, Kevin; Stephens, Niall

2017 Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/jices-04-2016-0010

This paper aims to uncover the assumptions and concerns driving public debates about Google Glass and police body cameras. In doing so, it shows how debates about wearable cameras reflect broader cultural tensions surrounding race and privilege.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs a form of critical discourse analysis to discover patterns in journalistic coverage of these two technologies.FindingsPublic response to Glass has been overwhelmingly negative, while response to body cameras has been positive. Analysis indicates that this contrasting response reflects a consistent public concern about the dynamics of power and privilege in the digital economy. While this concern is well-founded, news coverage indicates that technologists, policy makers and citizens each hold assumptions about the inevitability and unvarnished beneficence of technology.Research limitations/implicationsSince this qualitative approach seeks to discern broad emergent patterns, it does not employ a quantifiable and reproducible coding schema.Practical implicationsThe article concludes by arguing that grassroots action, appropriate regulatory policy and revitalized systems of professional journalism are indispensable as the struggle for social justice unfolds in the emerging digital economy.Social implicationsThese debates represent a struggle over what and how people see. Yet public discourse often glosses over the disadvantages of technological change, which impacts who is able to amass social power.Originality/valueThis comparative approach yields unique conceptual insight into debates about technologies that augment ways of seeing.

Saxena, Stuti

2017 Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/jices-04-2016-0011

Whereas integration of big data in “e-Oman” – the e-government face of Oman – is a significant prospect, this paper aims to underscore the challenges of privacy concerns in effecting such integration.Design/methodology/approachProviding a brief description about the concepts of e-government and big data, the paper follows a discussion on “e-Oman”. While drawing a framework for integration of big data in “e-Oman”, the paper throws light on the privacy concerns in effecting such an integration following a qualitative approach.FindingsIntegration of big data in “e-Oman” is fraught with ethical challenges in terms of privacy issues which have social implications.Practical implicationsWhile the pros of integration of big data in “e-Oman” are noteworthy, technical and administrative constraints vis-à-vis the cons of such integration need to be taken care of. It may be underlined that there is a trade-off between the norms of transparency and privacy of individuals versus the deployment of big data in “e-Oman” for effective real-time problem-solving.Social implicationsTechnical and administrative infrastructure needs to be robust for countering challenges of cybercrimes. Furthermore, confidentiality and privacy of individuals may be at stake; the government needs to tackle these issues.Originality/valueIntegration of big data in “e-Oman” needs to be probed, and this paper seeks to fill this gap. Second, the paper underscores that it is important that ethical norms are being accounted for while effecting this integration.

Smith, William P.

2017 Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/jices-09-2015-0027

This paper aims to (a) summarize the legal and ethical foundations of privacy with connections to workplace emails and text messages, (b) describe trends and challenges related to “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD), and (c) propose legal and nonlegal questions these trends will raise in the foreseeable future.Design/methodology/approachBased on a review of legal cases and scholarship related to workplace privacy, implications for BYOD practices are proposed.FindingsPrimarily due to property rights, employers in the USA have heretofore been granted wide latitude in monitoring employee communications. The BYOD trend has the potential to challenge this status quo.Originality valueBYOD programs present discernable threats to employee privacy. Attention is also directed toward contributing elements such as wearable technology, cloud computing and company cultures.

Fuchs, Christian; Trottier, Daniel

2017 Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/jices-01-2016-0004

This paper aims to present results of a study that focused on the question of how computer and data experts think about Internet and social media surveillance after Edward Snowden’s revelations about the existence of mass-surveillance systems of the Internet such as Prism, XKeyscore and Tempora. Computer and data experts’ views are of particular relevance because they are confronted day by day with questions about the processing of personal data, privacy and data protection.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted two focus groups with a total of ten experts based in London. As London is considered by some as the surveillance capital of the world, and has a thriving Internet industry, it provided a well-suited context.FindingsThe focus group discussions featured three topics that are of crucial importance for understanding Internet and social media surveillance: the political economy surveillance in general; surveillance in the context of the Snowden revelations; and the question what the best political reactions are to the existence of a surveillance-industrial complex that results in political and economic control of the Internet and social media. The focus groups provided indications that computer and data experts are pre-eminently informed on how Internet surveillance works, are capable of critically assessing its implications for society and have ideas about on what should be done politically.Originality/valueStudies of privacy and surveillance after Edward Snowden’s revelations have taken on a new dimension: Large-scale covert surveillance is conducted in a collaborative endeavour of secret services, private communications corporations and security companies. It has become evident that a surveillance-industrial Internet surveillance complex exists, in which capitalist communications and security corporations and state institutions collaborate.