AUTHOR
Ananda Mitra

ABSTRACT

There has been a significant amount of research on the issue of geographic location and how that location offers the power to have a voice in the global arena of ideas. Much of the research, particularly in intercultural communication, has demonstrated that geographic location, particularly in the South and East, has significantly affected the say that specific groups of people have had. In other words, information typically tended to flow in a way where the people of the East and South were often portrayed from the perspective of the more powerful people of the West and North. This is evident in the way in which the dominant media of the West has spoken for and created the faces of the Asian, Latin American, and Arab. In this paper, I argue that the balance of power is beginning to alter as the new digital technologies are allowing many of the traditionally powerless people to “leap frog” over the less-efficient technologies and graduate to the more efficient use of new technologies such as those of the Internet and the Web. Using these technologies the traditionally powerless and dispossessed are able to find a voice in cyberspace. This voice is no longer tied to, or restricted by, geographic location, but is dependant more on the eloquence of the speaking person. Therefore, the metaphor of voice becomes particularly powerful in re-thinking the questions of power in cyberspace. Using the work of Bakhtin and the subaltern scholars, I propose that the idea of voice offers the opportunity to explore the new challenges to traditional geographically embedded power as the heretofore “voiceless” are able to call into question the bastions of power by articulating the marginal in cyberspace. Using examples drawn primarily from the voices of India and Indians on the Web, I would ultimately argue that these voices eventually offer a face of the people in cyberspace which is far different from the way the marginalized have been spoken for and shown forth within the signifying practices of the dominant.

The paper would utilize examples drawn from the numerous Web pages that are constantly being produced and circulated by Indians across the globe. Additionally, I draw on the postings to the many message boards that are used by Indians as they speak for themselves in cyberspace. Given the increasing availability of the Internet in India and since on the Web, geography disappears, I make the argument that the signifying practices used by the Indians speak directly about their location and ideologies in the global arena. Specific methodologies of semiotic, textual and narrative analysis is used to explore the way in which the Web discourse produced by Indians serve as a voice of the Indians ultimately challenging the voice of the dominant who have traditionally constructed the identity of Indians. In the end, it is possible to demonstrate that the face of Indians as constructed by the dominant in the West, remains in opposition to the face that is constructed by Indians in cyberspace. It is this combination of voice and face that ultimately produces the identity of Indians in cyberspace and eventually impact the way in which Indians are negotiated with in the increasingly globalized world.

AUTHOR
Seumas Miller

ABSTRACT

The coming into being of new communication and computer technologies has generated a host of ethical problems, and some of the more pressing concern the moral notion of privacy. Some of these problems arise from new possibilities of data collections, and software for computer monitoring. For example, computers can now combine and integrate data bases provided by polling and other means to enable highly personalised detailed voter profiles. Another cluster of problems revolves around the threat to privacy posed by the new possibilities of monitoring and surveillance. For example, telephone tapping, interception of electronic mail messages, minute cameras and virtually undetectable listening and recording devices give unprecedented access to private conversations and other private communications and interactions. Possibly the greatest threat to privacy is posed by the possibility of combining these new technologies, and specifically combining the use of monitoring and surveillance devices with certain computer software and computer networks, including the Internet.

Provision of an adequate philosophical account of the notion of privacy is a necessary precursor to setting the proper limits of intrusion by the various new technologies. Such an account of privacy would assist in defining the limits to be placed on unacceptably intrusive applications of new technologies. Moreover it would do so in such a way as to be sensitive to the forms of public space created by these technologies, and not unreasonably impede those new possibilities of communication and information acquisition which are in fact desirable. As always it is important to balance the rights of individuals against the needs of the community. On the one hand there is a fundamental moral obligation to respect the individual’s right to privacy, on the other hand there are the legitimate requirements of, for example, employers to monitor the performances of their employees, and law enforcement agencies to monitor the communications and financial transactions of organised crime. Moreover the working out of these ethical problems is relativised to a particular institutional and technological context. The question as to whether email, for example, ought to be assimilated to ordinary mail depends in part on the nature of the technology in question and the institutional framework in which it is deployed. Perhaps email messages sent on a company owned computer network ought to be regarded as public communications within the organisation however personal their content, since unlike ordinary mail, email messages are always stored somewhere in the backup system owned by the company and are therefore accessible to the dedicated company cybersleuth.

AUTHOR
Keith W. Miller

ABSTRACT

Introduction
The ETHICOMP 99 conference encourages us to “look to the future of the information society.” The information society of the future is being built on the software and data of today. Looking closely at the quality of software and data today does not reassure us about the future. In this paper we will explore technical and social issues that complicate improving software quality, and suggest practical steps that may improve the “materials” we will use to build the information society.

The Quality of Software
Software developers face a daunting task. Theoretically, the malleability of software allows us great flexibility. If a task can be described as symbol manipulation, chances are it can be done by a computer. But this flexibility is also a burden; there are so many ways to make mistakes. And no matter how difficult it is to achieve software perfection, it is even more difficult to verify that perfection has been reached.

Evidence of these difficulties abounds. Human – computer interfaces far too often confound and confuse us. Software failures are depressingly commonplace, so much so that the public is becoming complacent about poor software quality. We have learned to not trust programs, even though we rely on them for communications and for control. (Similar problems arise with the reliability of electronic information, but that is not the focus of this paper.)

Although we complain about these problems, we continue to buy software that vexes us. Much of the software we buy is relatively cheap, and we often get what we pay for: shoddy merchandise. Software comes not with a guarantee, but with a disclaimer. The building blocks of the information society are crumbling even as they placed into the foundation.

We do not accept this level of quality in many other things we buy. If an automobile is a “lemon,” we demand repair or replacement. Televisions and cameras have money-back guarantees. If a waiter brings us disappointing food, we send it back. Our attitude towards software seems oddly forgiving. There are economic as well as technical reasons for this attitude: perfect software is impossible to produce, so we expect frequent failures. Software is more mysterious than other commodities to most people. We often do not have great variety in the suppliers of software we want. There is not a tradition of software quality either in computer professionals or consumers. And we seem to be willing to buy low quality software as long as the initial price is sufficiently low. We assert that these reasons are not compelling, either ethically or economically.

A New Attitude for Software Consumers
We contend that a new attitude is in order. Software consumers should expect that software work more often. We should be willing to pay more for software, but only if it is more trustworthy. Finally, we should establish means for ascertaining software quality before we purchase it, not after we purchase it (by hard experience).

Consumer Attitudes Can Induce Changes in Developers’ Attitudes
Software consumers can encourage change by economic and regulatory means. As buyers, we can choose simpler programs (fewer “gee-whiz” features) when they are more reliable. We can reward software quality when we buy and use proven software instead of always “upgrading” to a more complex (and less reliable) version. We can sue software developers who misrepresent their products, and when gross negligence causes harm.

Regulations can be imposed that require developers to disclose the processes used to develop and test their software. Standardized protocols and reporting formats would enable software consumers to make informed choices that will favor developers who invest in testing and rigorous processes. Licensing and an emphasis on professional ethics could encourage software developers to resist short term economic pressure to release software prematurely. And the resulting status of computer professionals would allow them to insist on sufficient time and resources to do a responsible job developing software.

Conclusions
We cannot demand perfect software, but we should demand better software. The current state of commercial software is unethical, and our acceptance of this state is neither wise nor responsible. More informed buying and modest, practical regulations can change this situation for the better. The full paper will describe “software informed consent” as one way to encourage such change.

AUTHOR
Bill McDaniel and Pat McGrew

ABSTRACT

“(we should do) good, not from inclination, but from duty.” from Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. “Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end.” Immanuel Kant

Kant’s belief that duty and respect should be the basis for interacting with our fellow humans forms the basis for many discussions as new technologies emerge. Each new technology that changes the type of information that is available and how it can be accessed opens up the need to review that technology in light of how the information is gathered, protected, and made presented. One technology that presents a variety of challenges worthy of this discussion is the World Wide Web and its supporting technologies. The Web has been more quickly integrated into business, academic, and personal life than any technology that has come before it, and yet it was not until long after its original deployment that discussion regarding accessibility issues began.

With the proposal and adoption of Web Accessibility initiatives around the world, it is time to carefully review the perceived ethical obligations to make websites “accessible” to the handicapped. This approach to web site design, while honorable, may not be realistic for certain types of sites and for users with certain types of handicaps. Using the Kantian view of duty and respect and Rawls’ Ethics of Justice as the basis, certain criteria may be derived for evaluating the ethical responsibilities of web site designers and of web site users. These can be expressed as vectors on a planar graph, the size and direction of the vector providing information about ethical choices made by both the designer and the user.

This paper examines the accommodations both designers and users must make. In the process we develop and present a two dimensional plane of practicality vs. ethicality with our newly developed accommodation vectors as they apply to a variety of web design techniques and web deployment technologies.

AUTHOR
Paul McCusker and Kate O’Dubhchair

ABSTRACT

As a branch of the information systems discipline, community informatics extends the application of ICT’s to new areas and, in particular to the process of local decision making and strategic planning. In response there is a need for the lessons learned in private sector informatics to be refined or redefined.

In this paper we draw on the practical experience of the authors in both the private and community sector and considers the derivation of a methodology for community informatics.

A methodology differs from the simpler concept of a method by requiring the definition of an underpinning paradigm or philosophy. For example the commercial world proliferates with ‘structured methodologies’ for information systems design some based on the principles of ‘hard science’ or an objective view of reality and some on the ‘soft science’ or subjective view of reality. The authors question what is the appropriate standpoint for the design and implementation of community information systems and what are the ethical consequences for those who interface in this sector in a professional capacity?

These reflections are set in the context of the liberalisation of telecommunications, new possibilities of data mining and data warehousing and the reality of a growing information society. Practically, reference is made to the SHOW ME project, an ongoing collaborative venture in community decision support based in two abutting communities in the border region of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Designing decision support tools for community use falls in the arena of conflict and dispute resolution and involves the designer in an intimate relationship with a community and its identity and memory. Ethical issues that have arisen are discussed and a research agenda suggested.

AUTHOR
Velia Mauro

ABSTRACT

Information and communication technologies are becoming increasingly important in health care, by helping to make accurate information more easily available to medical operators and improving the quality and lower the costs. The European Commission is supporting research projects for the development of telemedicine applications. One of these is MediMedia, intended to provide a common access to the various databases containing medical images and created by the existing projects within the 4th Framwork programme for Health Telematics. The use of Internet, through which clinical database are accessable, promotes, more than ever, the widespread dissemination of health-related information and strengthen the necessity to safeguard the patient right to privacy and data security. Protection of patient privacy is a long-standing issue in health care. Since the fourth century B.C., physicians have abided by the oath of Hippocrates, binding them to keep secret the information they learn from patients during the course of providing care. The growing use of information technology, within the health care sector, entails substantial changes in the management of the traditional patient-medical staff relationship. In the process of patient data flow, the interactions among the commonly known medical operators (physicians, nurses, technicians) are now widen to other participants of the health care management: administrative personnel, insurers, researchers and others. Besides the growing number of partecipants, the prospect of storing health information in electronic form raises concerns about:

• patient privacy
• economic interests

Both issues are based on the assumption that the access to health information, even if tried to be kept limited by the use of advanced technical mechanisms, is now widen to a great number of “users”.

This paper is intended to focus on those issues. The issue of privacy that information systems developers, handling with health information, have to face with are based on two considerations. The first is that individuals have a fundamental right to control the dissemination and use of information about themselves. Because privacy is a fundamental right, other organizations, that may wish to make claims on such information, should be obliged to respect the wishes of the individual and to obtain explicit authorization from the individual for each instance of information collection, processing, or further disclosure. In this context, the paper will enphasize the need for the consent of the person subject in various circumstances, with a particular reference to the one concerning research aims, governed by Directive 95/46/EC. The second concern is that information about an individual, revealed to some other party, not willingly designated by the individual, may be used to harm his or her interest. These interests may include economic interests.

The issue of economic implications is based on the consideration that the availability of a service by a telemedicine provider, as the rapid consultation of medical images provided by MediMedia, will raise a real “publishing business”. It is due to the considerable investments needed for the project exploitation in the market, and the perspective of a wide use, especially if the service is offered over Internet. In this context, in this paper will be carried out an analysis of the economic interests in perspective, with the ethical issues needed to limit the speculation on the publication of medical data.