What's Wrong with the 'Golden Rule'? Conundrums of Conducting Ethical Research in Cyberspace

Three key values for ethical cyberspace research practices are evident in recent discussions: (1) protect the subjects from harm as a result of the research fieldwork and the research practices; (2) produce good social science research; and (3) do not unnecessarily perturb the phenomena studied. Much of the argumentation aims to negotiate the ethical conflicts that often emerge between these goals. Bakhtin argues that one can only strive for a bottom-up ethical wisdom built upon concrete examples, and disputes the possibility that rigid top-down application of universal rules constitutes ethical action. His perspective has key implications for ethical research practices. I illustrate this perspective at work through my recent fieldwork and writing practices in a virtual community. Research ethics for cyberspace are like research ethics for any other site. They should be situated, dialogic agreements that develop over time between researchers and the participants of the research study. It is unlikely that such research ethics can be abstractly codified, because there will often be differences between research sites, the situations of participants, and researcher goals. Researchers can, however, develop ethical wisdom that comes from experience with many configurations of research in cyberspace, and report on the conditions that grounded their ethical choices, and the results that emerged from their work in the site. These results will often be improved by feedback from participants about their experiences with the fieldwork and the effects of publication.     

What's Wrong with the 'Golden Rule'? Conundrums of Conducting Ethical Research in Cyberspace

Three key values for ethical cyberspace research practices are evident in recent discussions: (1) protect the subjects from harm as a result of the research fieldwork and the research practices; (2) produce good social science research; and (3) do not unnecessarily perturb the phenomena studied. Much of the argumentation aims to negotiate the ethical conflicts that often emerge between these goals. Bakhtin argues that one can only strive for a bottom-up ethical wisdom built upon concrete examples, and disputes the possibility that rigid top-down application of universal rules constitutes ethical action. His perspective has key implications for ethical research practices. I illustrate this perspective at work through my recent fieldwork and writing practices in a virtual community. Research ethics for cyberspace are like research ethics for any other site. They should be situated, dialogic agreements that develop over time between researchers and the participants of the research study. It is unlikely that such research ethics can be abstractly codified, because there will often be differences between research sites, the situations of participants, and researcher goals. Researchers can, however, develop ethical wisdom that comes from experience with many configurations of research in cyberspace, and report on the conditions that grounded their ethical choices, and the results that emerged from their work in the site. These results will often be improved by feedback from participants about their experiences with the fieldwork and the effects of publication.     

Feminist Rhetoric in Cyberspace: The Ethos of Feminist Usenet Newsgroups

Users of the Internet are stripped of voice inflections, body language, and other common cues of conversation-only their words are left. Some claim that the lack of these social cues and the lack of hierarchy in the structure of the Internet provide the potential for equality in cyberspace. Many others have shown, though, that the issues of power in cyberspace are similar to the issues of power in physical space. This article examines an intersection of feminism and cyberspace in the ethos of online discussion. It is a rhetorical analysis of two popular feminist newsgroups, alt.feminism and soc.feminism. Do these newsgroups create a feminist and inclusive space online? What are the rhetorical strategies that make an online space more or less inclusive of women? Usenet newsgroups reveal the rhetorical power of these bare words. Although no formal means of discrimination is built into Usenet newsgroup discussions, discrimination does occur through the subtle and not so subtle use of language. This article looks at how various characteristics of language are used on the two newsgroups. Though the ethos on such discussion forums is dynamic, the analysis reveals examples of how sarcastic questioning, strong assertions, accusatory disagreements, and sexistcomments can create a hostile and noninclusive ethos.     

When Cyberresearch Goes Awry: The Ethics of the Rimm "Cyberporn" Study

Like most things that we take for granted, we rarely pay attention to ethical issues in research until something goes horribly wrong. Focusing on a recent cyberresearch project gone awry, this essay illustrates why ethical issues should be continually confronted and discussed by scholars and nonscholars alike.     

Researching Internet Communities: Proposed Ethical Guidelines for the Reporting of Results

Communication researchers and social scientists are quickly discovering the value of data that exists in the postings of members of Internet e-mail, Usenet, and real-time groups. The ability to communicate with one's peers, no matter how esoteric the interests, is causing an explosion in the number of new virtual communities. The interpersonal dynamics of these groups are increasingly coming under the scrutiny of academic research. The publicly available archived records of Internet virtual communities are being analyzed for a wide variety of research interests. The ability to do naturalistic observations of group dynamics, as they are exhibited in these exchanges of text, has captured the attention of many researchers. The institutional review boards of major universities are granting researchers exempt or expedited (exempt from full review) status for this work, due to the public nature of the notes being analyzed. These studies often involve the lack of informed consent, where the group members under study are unaware they are being monitored. There is a potential for psychological harm to the members of these groups, depending on the way results are reported. This article explores the ethical considerations that must be taken into account to protect cyberspace participants. The guidelines proposed are based on the American Psychological Association ethical guidelines for use of human subjects in research. An explanation is offered as to how such guidelines can best be applied to the study of Internet communities. The constructs of Group Accessibility (the public/private nature of the actual cyberspace occupied by a group) and Perceived Privacy (the level of privacy that group members assume they have) are defined and proposed as two dimensions by which individual Internet communities may be evaluated in order to assure the ethical reporting of research findings.     

Introduction: A Debate about the Ethics of Fair Practices for Collecting Social Science Data in Cyberspace

Most of us prefer "doing right" to the opposite. But sometimes it is not easy to determine either what constitutes right conduct or how to do it. In this special ethics issue of TIS, scholars involved in cyberspace research explore the problem of "doing right" in terms of research subjects. The participants here draw from their own research and the ethical dilemmas they confronted. The offerings illustrate how diverse ethical theories can lead to different views over which, or even whether, new formal guidelines are needed for on-line research.     

Engendering Democratic Participation via the Net: Access, Voice, and Dialogue

Information technology in the form of the Internet and its commercial offspring (referred to in this article collectively as the Net) has received much attention as a vehicle to increase political participation. In this article, we explore the potential of the Net, a vast, loosely coupled system of electronic forums, for facilitating and hindering democratic participation. In so doing, we identify five assumptions that undergird the claim that the Net will enhance democratic participation and suggest that increased democratic participation rests on three fundamental characteristics: access, voice, and dialogue. In order for this network of electronic forums to facilitate democratic participation, educational, economic, and cultural barriers to access, voice, and dialogue must be overcome. The final part of this article raises additional challenges to realizing democracy via the Net.     

Engendering Democratic Participation via the Net: Access,Voice, and Dialogue

Information technology in the form of the Internet and its commercial offspring (referred to in this article collectively as the Net) has received much attention as a vehicle to increase political participation. In this article, we explore the potential of the Net, a vast, loosely coupled system of electronic forums, for facilitating and hindering democratic participation. In so doing, we identify five assumptions that undergird the claim that the Net will enhance democratic participation and suggest that increased democratic participation rests on three fundamental characteristics: access, voice, and dialogue. In order for this network of electronic forums to facilitate democratic participation, educational, economic, and cultural barriers to access, voice, and dialogue must be overcome. The final part of this article raises additional challenges to realizing democracy via the Net.     

STS的兴起及研究进展

在STS研究兴起过程中多元化的知识储备,在发展过程中开放性的理念融合,使其成为内涵丰富而独特的跨学科研究领域。本文回溯了STS兴起的社会历史情境与思想理论渊源,系统地整理了STS研究理念和经验视角的演进脉络,试图以此建构起STS研究领域的整体图景。     

The Year 2000 Problem and Ethical Responsibility: A Call to Action

Many organizations have made substantial progress in solving the year 2000 computer problem, while many others lag perilously behind. With the year 2000 deadline looming ever closer, this article examines several key issues, including the nature of the year 2000 problem itself, its potential to do harm, the progress that organizations have made to date on this issue, and factors that have worked to inhibit or facilitate organizational responses to this problem. An ethical analysis of the year 2000 problem is presented that reveals that both top management and IS professionals have an ethical responsibility to act on this issue. Organizations are urged to make the completion of their year 2000 problem efforts a top priority, because it is their responsibility and it serves as an investment for the future.     

Examination of how social aspects moderate the relationship between task characteristics and usage of social communication technologies (SCTs) in organizations

Because of the increasing significance of social communication technologies within an organization, they have become a new form of information processing, resulting in business process transitions and increased benefits. By applying media richness theory and social theories, this study investigated how social communication technologies (SCTs) can be used by an employee to fit his/her task characteristics. Additionally, it also examined how the employee's social relationships moderated media usage in the current job environment and how this usage influenced the task performance. Five media were selected in this study (telephone, video conferencing, email, instant messaging, and blog). Using a hierarchical regression approach, we found that task characteristics were related to media usage, whereas social factors (social influence and social affinity) moderated the degree of the relationships. A few particular media and technologies seemed to perform well, however these are influenced by the social aspects. Moreover, the usage of social technologies results in positive task performance. The performance of a few specific technologies demonstrated binding effects (email performance was associated with instant messenger performance). In summary, we found that the usage of SCTs is instrumentally determined by the interaction between the task and social relationships.     

企业媒体公关营销操作中的道德问题探究

媒体公关营销是当前现代企业树立形象、提高知名度、进行产品营销的主流手段,然而,企业在运用中,为达到自身利益最大化,常出现一些不道德行为,如发布虚假新闻,引起媒体关注;与媒体合谋,庸俗地新闻炒作;利用虚假广告,欺骗消费者;借助网络媒介,制造网络谣言,恶意攻击竞争对手等。这些行为不但致使企业不能持续发展,还严重地破坏了社会的和谐。因此,需要企业在媒体公关营销手段的运用中进行道德提升,以真诚的态度与媒体合作,从"受众本位"进行互动传播,规范自身行为,净化网络环境。     

Building Guanxi network in the mobile social platform: A social capital perspective

Mobile social platform such as WeChat Moments has gained great popularity in China in the past few years. However, there are still a lack of studies that focus on Guanxi network building in the virtual social community. Drawing upon social capital theory and technology affordance theory, this study develops a research model to examine the influences of platform media richness and interactivity on users’ social capital and participation behaviors in the WeChat Moments. An empirical survey was conducted in China and 287 valid data were collected from WeChat users. Structural equation modelling analysis was used to test the research model. The empirical results suggest that platform interactivity and media richness are significant technology affordances that promote users’ Guanxi network, and their influences are mediated by social interaction and shared understanding. Furthermore, Guanxi network is positively associated with users’ active participation in the WeChat Moments. Theoretical and practical implications are illustrated in the final section.     

高校哲学社会科学研究评价体系的构建——以属高等学校为例

为鼓励、引导广大高校科研工作者积极投身哲学社会科学研究,同时又能科学、合理地量化出科研工作者在不同形式科研活动之间的差异,建立高校哲学社科研究评价体系成为摆在省属高等学校科研管理部门面前亟待攻克的重要课题。该评价体系从科研项目、科研成果、科研奖励、科研经费四个方面,按照评价对象在科研活动中承担的角色,在分级分类评定的基础上,将各个分值相加产生综合评价的总分,以此来评价教师的基本科研工作量。     

企业社会责任、质量伦理与战略

质量管理本身的意义在于强化生产过程中的质量控制。但在质量信任危机的今天,一般的质量管理已经显得十分乏力,这既有质量信息不对称的原因,也有企业社会责任缺失的缘故。仅仅强调质量管理技术和制度是不够的,还需要从伦理上和战略上强化质量管理。在企业社会责任与伦理的基础上提出企业质量伦理战略,强调企业社会责任表现。这一战略可能是产品质量信息不对称下的最优选择,有助于构建高成本壁垒,提升企业经营的正当性,有利于形成差异化竞争,树立企业品牌。     

基于CiteSpace的国内社会科学研究中熵的应用分析

利用CiteSpace对CSSCI数据库中1998—2016年熵相关文献进行分析,有效弥补熵应用概况的分析;结合战略坐标法,探测出熵应用研究的热点。     

我国情报学近五年研究热点及发展趋势分析--基于2014-2018年国家社科基金立项

【目的/意义】以国家社会科学基金立项的情报学项目为研究对象,梳理和总结近五年来情报学学科的研究热点和立项现状,揭示情报学发展趋势特征。【方法/过程】采用网络调查和统计分析的研究方法,共调查了五年间389个立项项目,在对项目进行具体数据统计的基础上进行项目主题分析和关键词分析,从而逐年调研、梳理出情报学的研究动态和研究热点,总结情报学研究发展趋势。【结果/结论】近五年来,情报学研究高度重视大数据,强调知识与智慧的组织和应用,紧跟时代发展潮流,融合多元学科,关注人文视角。     

伦理氛围与主动伦理行为关系研究

近年来,我国社会变革正处于攻坚期,人们价值观多元化,在对自身的利益肯定和诉求下,企业责任失控、利益失衡、经济失信等事件层出不穷。因此,如何改善组织和员工的伦理行为是企业管理者亟待解决的重要问题之一。本文通过对伦理氛围、主动伦理行为及其关系深入研究,从而帮助组织营造积极的伦理氛围。     

Network structure, self-organization, and the growth of international collaboration in science

Different approaches have been used to analyse international collaboration in science but none can fully explain its rapid growth. Using international co-authorships, we test the hypothesis that international collaboration is a self-organising network. Applying tools from network analysis, the paper shows that the growth of international co-authorships can be explained based on the organising principle of preferential attachment, although the attachment mechanism deviates from an ideal power-law. Several explanations for the deviation are explored, including that of the influence of institutional constraints on the mechanism of self-organisation.     

人文社会科学评价研究综述

人文社会科学在整个科学体系中占有重要地位,对其作出科学、公正、合理和准确的评价意义重大。国内对人文社会科学评价的研究主要集中在评价理论、评价方法、评价标准和指标、评价实践等方面。