Ethical pluralism and global information ethics

A global information ethics that seeks to avoid imperialistic homogenization must conjoin shared norms while simultaneously preserving the irreducible differences between cultures and peoples. I argue that a global information ethics may fulfill these requirements by taking up an ethical pluralism – specifically Aristotle’s pros hen [“towards one”] or “focal” equivocals. These ethical pluralisms figure centrally in both classical and contemporary Western ethics: they further offer important connections with the major Eastern ethical tradition of Confucian thought. Both traditions understand ethical judgment to lead to and thus require ethical pluralism – i.e., an acceptance of more than one judgment regarding the interpretation and application of a shared ethical norm. Both traditions invoke notions of resonance and harmony to articulate pluralistic structures of connection alongside irreducible differences. Specific examples within Western computer and information ethics demonstrate these pluralisms in fact working in praxis. After reviewing further resonances and radical differences between Western and Eastern views, I then argue that emerging conceptions of privacy and data privacy protection laws in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand in fact constitute a robust, pros hen pluralism with Western conceptions. In both theory and in praxis, then, this pluralism thus fulfills the requirement for a global information ethics that holds shared norms alongside the irreducible differences between cultures and peoples.     

From dignity to security protocols: a scientometric analysis of digital ethics

Our lives are increasingly intertwined with the digital realm, and with new technology, new ethical problems emerge. The academic field that addresses these problems—which we tentatively call ‘digital ethics’—can be an important intellectual resource for policy making and regulation. This is why it is important to understand how the new ethical challenges of a digital society are being met by academic research. We have undertaken a scientometric analysis to arrive at a better understanding of the nature, scope and dynamics of the field of digital ethics. Our approach in this paper shows how the field of digital ethics is distributed over various academic disciplines. By first having experts select a collection of keywords central to digital ethics, we have generated a dataset of articles discussing these issues. This approach allows us to generate a scientometric visualisation of the field of digital ethics, without being constrained by any preconceived definitions of academic disciplines. We have first of all found that the number of publications pertaining to digital ethics is exponentially increasing. We furthermore established that whereas one may expect digital ethics to be a species of ethics, we in fact found that the various questions pertaining to digital ethics are predominantly being discussed in computer science, law and biomedical science. It is in these fields, more than in the independent field of ethics, that ethical discourse is being developed around concrete and often technical issues. Moreover, it appears that some important ethical values are very prominent in one field (e.g., autonomy in medical science), while being almost absent in others. We conclude that to get a thorough understanding of, and grip on, all the hard ethical questions of a digital society, ethicists, policy makers and legal scholars will need to familiarize themselves with the concrete and practical work that is being done across a range of different scientific fields to deal with these questions.     

Do Croatian open access journals support ethical research? Content analysis of instructions to authors

Introduction

The aim of our study was to investigate the extent to which Instructions to authors of the Croatian open access (OA) journals are addressing ethical issues. Do biomedical journals differ from the journals from other disciplines in that respect? Our hypothesis was that biomedical journals maintain much higher publication ethics standards.

Materials and methods

This study looked at 197 Croatian OA journals Instructions to authors to address the following groups of ethical issues: general terms; guidelines and recommendations; research approval and registration; funding and conflict of interest; peer review; redundant publications, misconduct and retraction; copyright; timeliness; authorship; and data accessibility. We further compared a subset of 159 non-biomedical journals with a subset of 38 biomedical journals. Content analysis was used to discern the ethical issues representation in the instructions to authors.

Results

The groups of biomedical and non-biomedical journals were similar in terms of originality (χ² = 2.183, P = 0.140), peer review process (χ² = 0.296, P = 0.586), patent/grant statement (χ² = 2.184, P = 0.141), and timeliness of publication (χ² = 0.369, P = 0.544). We identified significant differences among categories including ethical issues typical for the field of biomedicine, like patients (χ² = 47.111, P < 0.001), and use of experimental animals (χ² = 42.543, P < 0.001). Biomedical journals also rely on international editorial guidelines formulated by relevant professional organizations heavily, compared with non-biomedical journals (χ² = 42.666, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Low representation or absence of some key ethical issues in author guidelines calls for more attention to the structure and the content of Instructions to authors in Croatian OA journals.Key words: instructions to authors, publication ethics, publication standards, open access, OA, research integrity     

The European Commission report on ethics of connected and automated vehicles and the future of ethics of transportation

The paper has two goals. The first is presenting the main results of the recent report Ethics of Connected and Automated Vehicles: recommendations on road safety, privacy, fairness, explainability and responsibility written by the Horizon 2020 European Commission Expert Group to advise on specific ethical issues raised by driverless mobility, of which the author of this paper has been member and rapporteur. The second is presenting some broader ethical and philosophical implications of these recommendations, and using these to contribute to the establishment of Ethics of Transportation as an independent branch of applied ethics. The recent debate on the ethics of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) presents a paradox and an opportunity. The paradox is the presence of a flourishing debate on the ethics of one very specific transportation technology without ethics of transportation being in itself a well-established academic discipline. The opportunity is that now that a spotlight has been switched on the ethical dimensions of CAVs it may be easier to establish a broader debate on ethics of transportation. While the 20 recommendations of the EU report are grouped in three macro-areas: road safety, data ethics, and responsibility, in this paper they will be grouped according to eight philosophical themes: Responsible Innovation, road justice, road safety, freedom, human control, privacy, data fairness, responsibility. These are proposed as the first topics for a new ethics of transportation.

     

科技伦理视角下的人工智能研究

人工智能在深刻影响人类社会生产生活方式的同时,也引发诸多伦理困境与挑战,建立新的科技伦理规范以推动人工智能更好服务人类,成为全社会共同关注的主题。本文从科技伦理的视角,围绕机器人、算法、大数据、无人驾驶等人工智能领域所出现的伦理主体、责任分担、技术安全、歧视与公平性、隐私与数据保护等问题,以及人工智能技术的伦理治理,对国内外相关研究成果进行回顾分析,并提出未来需要在中国情境下伦理原则与治理体系的建立、人工智能伦理研究的跨学科合作、理论分析与实践案例的融合、多元主体伦理角色分工与协作等方面进行进一步研究。     

Respect for persons,identity, and information technology

There is surprisingly little attention in Information Technology ethics to respect for persons, either as an ethical issue or as a core value of IT ethics or as a conceptual tool for discussing ethical issues of IT. In this, IT ethics is very different from another field of applied ethics, bioethics, where respect is a core value and conceptual tool. This paper argues that there is value in thinking about ethical issues related to information technologies, especially, though not exclusively, issues concerning identity and identity management, explicitly in terms of respect for persons understood as a core value of IT ethics. After explicating respect for persons, the paper identifies a number of ways in which putting the concept of respect for persons explicitly at the center of both IT practice and IT ethics could be valuable, then examines some of the implicit and problematic assumptions about persons, their identities, and respect that are built into the design, implementation, and use of information technologies and are taken for granted in discussions in IT ethics. The discussion concludes by asking how better conceptions of respect for persons might be better employed in IT contexts or brought better to bear on specific issues concerning identity in IT contexts.     

Beyond codes of ethics: how library and information professionals navigate ethical dilemmas in a complex and dynamic information environment

This paper reports on a research project that investigated how library and information (LIS) professionals experience ethical dilemmas, with particular reference to the impact of new technologies, sources used to assist ethical decision-making, and the contribution case studies can make to ethical understanding and decision-making. Data was collected through interviews in Britain, Ireland and Australia with LIS professionals, educators, and representatives of professional bodies. The findings identify the main types of dilemma raised and discuss cases indicative of each type. They suggest that new technologies do not appear to change ethical principles but, when experienced in the workplace, substantially change the factors the professional has to evaluate. They also suggest that relevant codes of ethics are satisfactory on traditional library issues of access and confidentiality, but do not address the ethical challenges of current and potential digital environments. Professional associations appear more familiar with codes of ethics than practitioners although practitioners show high levels of ethical awareness, suggesting associations need to communicate more with their members and provide tools that are more useful in the workplace. Case studies are seen as a good way to educate and engage practitioners because of the complexity, conflicts and dynamism they can present.     

Confidence level in venipuncture and knowledge on causes of in vitro hemolysis among healthcare professionals

Introduction

This study aimed to assess confidence level of healthcare professionals in venipuncture and their knowledge on the possible causes of in vitro hemolysis.

Materials and methods

A sample of 94 healthcare professionals (nurses and laboratory technicians) participated in this survey study. A four-section questionnaire was used as a research instrument comprising general information for research participants, knowledge on possible causes of in vitro hemolysis due to type of material used and venipuncture technique and specimen handling, as well as assessment of healthcare professionals’ confidence level in their own ability to perform first and last venipuncture.

Results

The average score on the knowledge test was higher in nurses’ than in laboratory technicians (8.11 ± 1.7, and 7.4 ± 1.5, respectively). The difference in average scores was statistically significant (P = 0.035) and Cohen’s d in the range of 0.4 indicates that there is a moderate difference on the knowledge test among the health care workers. Only 11/94 of healthcare professionals recognized that blood sample collection from cannula and evacuated tube is method which contributes most to the occurrence of in vitro hemolysis, whereas most risk factors affecting occurrence of in vitro hemolysis during venipuncture were recognized. There were no significant differences in mean score on the knowledge test in relation to the confidence level in venipuncture (P = 0.551).

Conclusion

Confidence level at last venipuncture among both profiles of healthcare staff was very high, but they showed insufficient knowledge about possible factors affecting hemolysis due to materials used in venipuncture compared with factors due to venipuncture technique and handling of blood sample.Key words: hemolysis, patient safety, phlebotomy, medical staff, questionnaire, preanalytical phase     

Understanding career commitment of IT professionals: Perspectives of push-pull-mooring framework and investment model

Using push-pull-mooring framework and investment model as theoretical lenses, this study provides a compelling theoretical model that helps understand the important antecedents of career commitment of IT professionals. Especially, we examined the moderating role of IT career tenure. Data to test the hypotheses were drawn from a cross-sectional field study of MIS departments from top-1000 large-scale companies in Taiwan. The results generally supported the research model. Career satisfaction was the most important determinant of career commitment, followed by professional self-efficacy, threat of professional obsolescence and career investment. The moderating analysis revealed distinct patterns that IT professionals seemed to hold different attitudes about the careers at different stages. The career attitudes of senior IT professionals were largely driven by push factors. On the contrary, the expelling forces which driving people away from their current careers (push effects) and personal inhibitors and facilitators (mooring effects) seemed equally important to junior IT professionals on their attitudes toward committing to the IT career. Insight and implications on management strategy for IT/HR managers are discussed.     

Social networking technology and the virtues

This paper argues in favor of more widespread and systematic applications of a virtue-based normative framework to questions about the ethical impact of information technologies, and social networking technologies in particular. The first stage of the argument identifies several distinctive features of virtue ethics that make it uniquely suited to the domain of IT ethics, while remaining complementary to other normative approaches. I also note its potential to reconcile a number of significant methodological conflicts and debates in the existing literature, including tensions between phenomenological and constructivist perspectives. Finally, I claim that a virtue-based perspective is needed to correct for a strong utilitarian bias in the research methodologies of existing empirical studies on the social and ethical impact of IT. The second part of the paper offers an abbreviated demonstration of the merits of virtue ethics by showing how it might usefully illuminate the moral dimension of emerging social networking technologies. I focus here on the potential impact of such technologies on three virtues typically honed in communicative practices: patience, honesty and empathy.     

Seizing control?: The experience capture experiments of Ringley &; Mann

Will the proliferation of devices that provide the continuous archival and retrieval of personal experiences (CARPE) improve control over, access to and the record of collective knowledge as Vannevar Bush once predicted with his futuristic memex? Or is it possible that their increasing ubiquity might pose fundamental risks to humanity, as Donald Norman contemplated in his investigation of an imaginary CARPE device he called the “Teddy”? Through an examination of the webcam experiment of Jenni Ringley and the EyeTap experiments of Steve Mann, this article explores some of the social implications of CARPE. The authors’ central claim is that focussing on notions of individual consent and control in assessing the privacy implications of CARPE while reflective of the individualistic conception of privacy that predominates western thinking, is nevertheless inadequate in terms of recognizing the effect of individual uptake of these kinds of technologies on the level of privacy we are all collectively entitled to expect. The authors urge that future analysis ought to take a broader approach that considers contextual factors affecting user groups and the possible limitations on our collective ability to control the social meanings associated with the subsequent distribution and use of personal images and experiences after they are captured and archived. The authors ultimately recommend an approach that takes into account the collective impact that CARPE technologies will have on privacy and identity formation and highlight aspects of that approach.     

Does gender matter in computer ethics?

Computer ethics is a relatively young discipline,hence it needs time both for reflection and forexploring alternative ethical standpoints in buildingup its own theoretical framework. Feminist ethics isoffered as one such alternative particularly to informissues of equality and power. We argue that feministethics is not narrowly confined to women's issues but is an approach with wider egalitarianapplications. The rise of feminist ethics in relationto feminist theory in general is described and withinthat the work of Gilligan and others on an ethic of care. We argue for the need to connect theory toempirical evidence. Empirical studies of gender andbusiness and computer ethics are reviewed. We noteconcerns with surveying a student audience, the issueof how far questionnaires and interviews can get tothe heart of ethical beliefs and problems ofperforming statistical analyses of quantitative data.Although we recognize them, our own small surveycannot avoid all these problems. Nevertheless byrefining our scenarios we are able to offer analternative reading of a hacking problem in terms ofan ethic of care thereby pointing a way forward forfuture research in computer ethics inspired byfeminist theory.     

Genetic testing and its implications: human genetics researchers grapple with ethical issues

To better understand ethical issues involved in the field of human genetics and promote debate within the scientific community, the author surveyed scientists who engage in human genetics research about the pros, cons, and ethical implications of genetic testing. This study contributes systematic data on attitudes of scientific experts. The survey finds respondents are highly supportive of voluntary testing and the right to know one's genetic heritage. The majority consider in utero testing and consequent pregnancy termination acceptable for cases involving likelihood of serious disease but disapprove for genetic reasons they consider arbitrary, leaving a gray area of distinguishing between treatment of disorders and enhancement still to be resolved. While safeguarding patient confidentiality versus protecting at-risk third parties (kin, reproductive partners) presents a dilemma, preserving privacy from misuse by institutional third parties (employers, insurers) garners strong consensus for legislation against discrimination. Finally, a call is made for greater genetic literacy.     

技术伦理位阶探析

当技术伦理发生冲突时,技术主体就面临着在多种伦理或伦理原则中选择优先适用何者的问题,这就涉及了技术伦理位阶问题。技术伦理冲突是技术伦理位阶存在的逻辑前提。技术伦理位阶可以根据技术主体的身份、技术活动的类型进行判别。在技术活动中优先适用的伦理或伦理原则称为上位技术伦理,次优适用的伦理或伦理原则称为下位技术伦理。作为恒定上位技术伦理的普世伦理因其是人们最基本、最低限度的共同价值、标准和态度,故任何技术活动都必须优先适用它。判别技术伦理位阶可以解决技术伦理冲突,从而帮助专业技术人员解决伦理困惑,使得技术活动合目的性地进行。     

Mobile application security: Role of perceived privacy as the predictor of security perceptions

Despite mobile applications being at the frontier of mobile computation technologies, security issues pose a threat to their adoption and diffusion. Recent studies suggest that security violations could be mitigated through improved security behaviors and attitudes, not just through better technologies. Existing literature on behavioral security suggests that one of the main predictors of users’ perceptions of security is their perceived privacy concerns. Using communication privacy management theory (CPM), this study examines the effects of privacy-related perceptions, such as privacy risk and the effectiveness of privacy policies, on the security perceptions of mobile app users. To empirically test the proposed theoretical model, two survey studies were conducted using mobile apps requesting less sensitive information (n = 487) and more sensitive information (n = 559). The findings show that the perceived privacy risk negatively influences the perceived security of the mobile apps; the perceived effectiveness of a privacy policy positively influences user perceptions of mobile app security; and perceived privacy awareness moderates the effect of perceived privacy risk on the perceived security of mobile apps. The results also suggest that users have different privacy-security perceptions based on the information sensitivity of the mobile apps. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Privacy and Data Privacy Issues in Contemporary China

Recent anthropological analyses of Chinese attitudes towards privacy fail to pay adequate attention to more ordinary, but more widely shared ideas of privacy – ideas that, moreover, have changed dramatically since the 1980s as China has become more and more open to Western countries, cultures, and their network and computing technologies. I begin by reviewing these changes, in part to show how contemporary notions of privacy in China constitute a dialectical synthesis of both traditional Chinese emphases on the importance of the family and the state and more Western emphases on individual rights, including the right to privacy. This same synthesis can be seen in contemporary Chinese law and scholarship regarding privacy. A review of recent work in philosophical ethics demonstrates that information ethics in China is in its very early stages. In this work, privacy is justified as an instrumental good, rather than an intrinsic good. I argue by way of conclusion that privacy protections will continue to expand in China, in part under the pressures of globalization, increasing trade with and exposure to Western societies, and the increasing demands for Western-style individual privacy by young people. Even so, I argue that these emerging conceptions of privacy will remain distinctively Chinese – i.e., they will retain a basic consistency with traditional Chinese values and approaches.     

梅森PAPA信息伦理下的若干问题探索

1986年美国管理信息科学专家梅森经过长期研究提出信息时代的4个主要伦理议题信息隐私权、信息准确性、信息产权、信息资源存取权。本文对网络时代下梅森PAPA信息伦理理论中出现的新问题信息隐私权和信息共享之间的冲突,信息的准确性与信息道德风险问题,信息产权与市场交易,信息资源存取权与信息公平进行了新的探讨。     

Metabolic studies on effect of fiber: Effect on digestibility of energy related nutrients

Dietary fiber alone or coupled with other factors affects the utilization of nutrients. In the present investigation, response of 4 men consuming diets at 3 levels of energy and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was studied. Pooled ANOVA for 3 experiments with 4 subjects showed significant differences between the experiments within the subject (P< .01) for digestibility of fat, carbohydrate, nitrogen and NDF. Results indicate that habitual NDF intakes of about 40 grams per day have digestibility of 49% and that amount and source of fiber modify the fat digestibility.     

Privacy in social networks: An analysis of Facebook

The only way to be aware of the risks and threats of Facebook, the most commonly used social networking site in the world and Turkey, is to be a careful user changing the default settings or simply not to have a Facebook account. In Turkey, there is still no study in which personal information shared though social networking sites has been evaluated in terms of privacy. For this reason, the findings obtained of this study have a great importance in the general picture of the current situation and drawing attention to the risks of the issue in Turkey where there are no legal arrangements effectively protecting the users from such sites. This study aims to investigate the Facebook privacy of information professionals who are members of KUTUP-L, and to determine the sensitivity and level of awareness of information professionals in Turkey. Facebook user profiles of 400 information professionals, all KUTUP-L members, have been analyzed in a study examining 32 different privacy settings. A privacy score has been calculated for each user, and the relations between privacy results have been analyzed. The findings at the end of the study show that information professionals in Turkey do pay attention to privacy, and most of the users change the default settings in order to protect their personal information.