AUTHOR

Anand Mitra
Ph.D. Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
Dept. of Communication
Wake Forest University

ABSTRACT

The increasing availability of the Internet and the tendency to live in cyberspace has transformed many key elements of everyday life, particularly in places where the access to the Internet has become relatively ubiquitous. Indeed, the ease of access is not necessarily dependent on geographic location nor is it necessarily determined by traditional parameters of development. For instance, countries such as India, which still belongs to the category of “developing” nations, have perhaps got easier access to the Internet than countries which might be considered more “developed” on traditional scales of measurement. In a city like Kolkata, for example, one can enter a cybercafe and browse the Web for up to one hour for a fee of less than one US dollar. This tendency is increasingly leading to a re-thinking of the relations of power in cyberspace, where the power vectors do not necessarily mimic the way power is distributed in real life.

Associated with the questions of power is the inevitable issue of ethics in cyberspace. There are many different ways in which the question of ethics of cyberspace can be presented as demonstrated in a recent issue of the journal “Communications of the ACM,” where topics from business ethics to privacy are discussed. The underlying theme of all the different manifestations of the ethical issues of the Internet, however, reduce to questions about who can be trusted on the Internet and what parameters must be invoked to make judgments of trust. In this paper, some of these fundamental concerns are explored through the use of a case study approach examining a set of Internet texts and what they say about the questions of power and trust in cyberspace.

It is argued that cyberspace can be conceptualized as a discursive space where the determinate moment is when a Netizen chooses to “speak” in cyberspace perhaps by authoring a Web page or a posting to public listserves. It is at that moment that a “voice” is articulated in the global discursive space and what the voice says enters the public sphere of cyberspace. This determinate moment, I argue, is particularly poignant in the case of the Internet, because the technology of the Internet has made it possible for anyone with access to a computer, a network and minimal knowledge of computers to place an utterance in cyberspace. Consequently, I argue the construct of voice is particularly important in thinking about the issue of power in cyberspace. However, unlike traditional media, the ability to have the voice is no longer dependant on financial or cultural capital but merely on the ability to get to a networked computer and acquiring some basic computer skills.

The significance of this transformation of speaking power lies in the way in which the change can call into question the way in which speaking power has been structured in real life. Traditionally, the ability to speak was dependent on vectors of power that related with geo-political placement. Some were able to speak purely by virtue of the fact that they were placed in a more powerful position while others were silenced because they were relatively powerless. Arguments about international news that triggered the New Information Order movement of the 1970s focused on such inequities of power and their consequences on the representational abilities of developing and developed countries. In cyberspace, however, the traditional structures of power of real life are now distilled into discursive power and representational acumen. In cyberspace, voice is constructed by strategic use of signifying processes such as the construction of Web pages and postings on listserves. Simultaneously, for the audience of the Internet, the key parameter for judging the power of an utterance in the public sphere of cyberspace is the eloquence with which the voice can speak.

This condition, however, presents an interesting ethical conundrum because both the trustworthy and the dishonest can mobilize discursive eloquence to make their point. In other words, the ones who are desperately needing to find a voice to present their perhaps marginal conditions are cohabiting cyberspace with the ones who are out to dupe and deceive. Thus, the user must make some cautious choices about who to trust and who not to trust. Eventually, this choice is based on a series of factors of which, I argue, the discursive strategy of the speaker is most visible and tangible.

Thus, this paper would first offer a textual analytic approach that would consider the ways in which the trustworthiness of a speaker in cyberspace can begin to be understood by looking at the representational strategies used by the author. Following that, and using examples from traditionally marginalized speakers (women from South Asia), the paper would make the argument that being trustworthy in cyberspace is a necessary condition for the growth of this mode of communication, particularly when the traditional parameters of trust are absent in this space.

In summary, the paper would first explore the conditions that make voices in the discursive cyberspace trustworthy. Following from that I would argue that users of the Internet need to understand the conditions of production of the Internet voices and then make judgments about the veracity of the voices. These strategies are important ones because it is these factors that would ultimately describe the ethos of cyberspace in terms of who inhabits it, how they inhabit it, and what reactions they can expect to their existence in cyberspace.

AUTHOR
Antonio Marturano

ABSTRACT

In my paper I will analyse the arguments by Bertrand Russell about the quest for a new ethics. In his A Scientific Outlook, Russell analyses the development of the scientific method. He never mentioned computers but he mentioned other kinds of Information Technologies available during his times (cinema, TV, and radio). He talks about biotechnologies, too. He thoughts the well-estabilished ethics were not enough anymore as a regulative background for the fast development of these technologies and we need a new ethics. It is very unclear what Russell means for“ A new ethics” he seems to think about a kind of ethical theory not bonded to some transcendental entities (or religious-like). His thoughts are very interested for two reasons: the first they helps us to understand the foundation of computer ethics, the second reason is they help us to understand the well known debate about computer as a new challenge for ethical theories or computer are reshaping ethical theories. My interpretation of Russell’s arguments goes towards the first approach of the meaning of computer ethics. Computers are not reshaping ethics, but they give us new elements for make these theories more sophisticated to face their challenges.

AUTHOR
Radoslaw Lukasiewicz

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to indicate some negative phenomena accompanying the creation and development of a global information society. They are connected with the anonymity of individuals who connect with others by means of a global computer network. This anonymity is caused by the specificity of contacts when using modern information and telecommunication technologies, such as the internet, software for electronic mail, or internet chats.

The negative side effects of the development of an information society can be characterized as a progressive dehumanization of interhuman contacts. More and more, popular opinion says that in the near future computerization will lead to the loosening or even loss of bonds between people. The general reason is the universality of computer and network usage. Very soon it may occur that almost every operation can be done without leaving the home. This would involve, for example, e-commerce, electronic banking or interactive television. As information and telecommunication technologies develop, their usage will become more and more comfortable and cheaper. They will be a perfect alternative for traditional activities. It is supposed that in the future, thanks to the development of virtual reality, it will not be necessary to leave on holidays. Such visions are promoted especially by science-fiction authors, but one can expect that in the future they will come true at least in part.

It is expected that in the future direct relations between people will be considerably limited due to the benefits of communication using telecommunication technologies. It is easier and more comfortable to write and send a message via e-mail than to meet someone personally. This type of interaction is preferred by many people, because it is considerably easier to hide one’s faults and complexes this way. The development of features for the application of personal contacts via the internet is improving the technical side of the process. This trend is helping to spontaneously create a global “computer society” that can be characterized by several specific and so far unprecedented features. The creation of such a “society” can also lead to the exclusion of some people from global information society. It affects people who do not have the opportunity to access modern technologies due to, for example, poor education or difficult economic situations.

Deceptions, by means of computer networks, may become a serious problem. Examples of such crimes were numerous in the course of the last few years. It is considerably easier to deceive somebody when not looking in his eyes than when having direct interaction with him. Besides, it is evident that many electronic crimes are committed by the very young. They treat these breaches of security as a good joke and do not realize what the results of their activities might be. First of all, however, the issue of the safety of economic transactions is still unsolved and it significantly impinges on the turnover of global electronic trade.

To prevent this negative phenomena it is necessary to start a number of activities on all levels – from regional and national to international. One such action should be a wide spread campaign making individuals aware of both the meaning of information technologies in human life as well as of the threats connected with it. Thanks to such an action the members of the global information society will be forced to look upon technology from different points of view. One should make society aware of the meaning of traditional communication methods such as conversation. It is essential to emphasize that modern technologies, despite their speed and comfort, destroy the personal character of interhuman relations and should be treated only as a supplement to direct contacts. Education in schools should also play a part in such a campaign.

In addition, it is necessary to take action to prevent or at least make difficult the crimes committed using global computer networks. This action should go in two directions. First it is necessary to build legal devices enabling the pursuit of the perpetrators of electronic crimes. Next, more and more advanced protections to prevent the crimes must be worked out. The latter has been realized for several years because institutions possessing top secret data realize that it is much more profitable to spend money on possibly efficient protections than to remove the negative results of loss or theft of data. However, the legal issues have not been solved. Criminals running illegal activities in the global computer network, in most cases, stay unpunished even if they are discovered. Modern technology creates perfect conditions to commit these crimes.

Taking the above mentioned activities guaranties at least partial prevention of the negative results of the anonymity of individuals in a global information society.

AUTHOR
Radoslaw Lukasiewicz

ABSTRACT

The development of a global information society embraces many areas of human life. It does not only mean the development of information and telecommunication technologies. The important part of these transformations are the changes in the situation of an individual who uses such technology.

In times such as these, when the skill of working with a computer is almost as important as the skill of writing, lack of basic knowledge of computer science should be treated almost as a kind of illiteracy. The base of the development of the global information society is making the society realize the necessity of taking advantage of information technologies and creating skills to be able to use these technologies. It is compatible with a “life-long learning” philosophy that is promoted nowadays in the world, and means the necessity of the constant improvement of knowledge. It is necessary for humans to be able to adapt to the variable conditions of the environment. The problems presented in this article are described using Polish examples, but are characteristic of most developing countries.

It is necessary to begin education about information technologies in primary school and continue it in later education. The process of education has to cover both the basic skills of equipment and software usage and how to take advantage of computer science in professional work. It is evident that at present companies trying to adapt to the requirements of a global information society, have to fill the educational gap existing in the sphere of information and telecommunication technologies. It has become necessary to provide education programs for employees which enable them to use the information technology in the company. To achieve this goal, companies very often, at first, have to educate their employees on a basic level to supplement the shortage caused by poor or no education about computer science in school.

A major obstacle to efficient education is the fact that computers and the internet are not accessible to all people. Most of this is due to the prices of hardware and telecommunication services, which are not acceptable for many poor people and are also a barrier for schools and universities. A considerable discrepancy connected with the level of computer science knowledge between cities and small towns is clear. This discrepancy is not only the result of differences in the level of education, but also of the lack of information and telecommunication infrastructure in rural areas.

The essential issue is to assure free access to information. That especially concerns the poor people, who cannot afford a computer. The possession of information should not be possible only for richer social groups because this may lead to a polarized society. State administration institutions are especially responsible for the assurance of free access to information. It is necessary, for instance, to locate computer terminals in public places such as offices, libraries, schools etc.

Modern technologies can also efficiently support the education process itself. The use of educational software and access to the internet are especially helpful. Interactive and multimedia software improves the learning process and strengthens its results. To take advantage of these things, it is necessary to equip schools and educational centers with proper hardware and software. The other possibility created by the development of technology is distance learning – possible to use both in professional training and as well in schools on all educational levels. Such a solution makes learning possible for handicapped persons or for persons who, because of various reasons, cannot leave their place of residence for a long time, for instance mothers raising children. The development of computerized education also includes digital libraries and electronic networks, connecting universities and research centers in order to exchange knowledge and experiences.

Another important problem is the fact that only a small percentage of Polish teachers are prepared to use computer science in teaching. It means that only few teachers possess specialized education or have graduated from the proper courses. In a global information society this percentage should be considerably higher.

Nowadays the level of information science education in Poland is not satisfactory. Only a few schools possess professionally equipped computer workshops, where students can become acquainted both with the basics of computer science and as well with its applications. In the course of the last few years, the considerable progress in the computerization of schools has occurred, but is not yet sufficient. The worse situation concerns the usage of telecommunication technologies. The problem refers especially to primary and secondary schools, where most students finish their education. Also companies very reluctantly spend money on educational trainings and courses for their employees. Very often managers judge it to be an unnecessary expense.

The answer to the above mentioned problems should be the creation of a nationwide program for the development of information science education. The first signs of such activities have already appeared. However, it seems that now the plans are only wishes and one will have to wait for concrete activities for a long time. One of the crucial reasons is the fact that activities to build a system of computer science education have to be supported with considerable financial expenditures which must originate first of all from a state budget.

AUTHOR

Duncan Langford
Computing Laboratory
The University
Canterbury

ABSTRACT

The use of the Internet for electronic commercial transactions – ecommerce – is both widespread and growing rapidly.

However, many companies who have developed Web-based sales are likely to have developed or commissioned their commercial sites from the twin perspectives of appearance and function, with no particular consideration of broader non-technical issues. A lack of wider considerations can lead to potentially major problems, for company, developer and user.

The area of electronically based commercial transaction raises many questions concerning the social, rather than technical, use of company computer systems. I contend that active and ongoing consideration and discussion of such issues is not only appropriate, but essential for responsible and effective business use.

While large organisations, with greater resources, have often appeared to give thought to the wider issues of corporate ethical behaviour that are involved in electronic trading, even such companies as Amazon have been criticised for actions perceived as inappropriate. However, even if ethical trading policies exist, rapidly evolving issues and driving commercial forces may mean sections are overdue for revision, while in smaller businesses consideration of ethical issues in connection with the use of computer for ecommerce might well have been overlooked entirely. Nevertheless, it must be accepted that the increasing dependence of modern business and commerce upon computers must inevitably increase the associated risk of computer-related difficulties.

This paper briefly examines the background to the application of business computer systems to the practice of ecommerce. It addresses the need for both clear definition and regular and appropriate evaluation of what is considered appropriate conduct, and discusses the relevance of the ethical audit concept as applied to commercial computer systems. It them moves on to describe how such a practice might be associated with electronically based commercial activities before concluding with an evaluation of the association of ethical behaviour and commercial activities in networked business computing.

AUTHOR

Beata Krawczyk – Brylka
Technical University of Gdansk
Faculty of Management and Economics

ABSTRACT

A person who wants to be successful in the information society has to use information systems which are the integral part of interpersonal and business life. The development of information technology influences on people’s relations with others, their ways of thinking, decision making, needs and moral principles.

The grate impact of Internet as the main way of communication on psychological and sociological aspects of people’s life is widely discussed nowadays. The main effects of Internet common use which cause ethical threats are:

• Young people prefer to pattern their principles after mass media than older generation. Internet is such a medium and it is out of control so it can promote such ideas as violence, pornography, etc.
• The development of information technology is much faster than knowledge of its social consequences.
• Internet subjection and the problem of its treatment.
• Consequences of author anonymity and information separation, which leads to depreciation of responsibility.
• Easiness of copying Internet information without changing it or author permission.
• The separation between cybernetic and real words because of their own rules and the time a person needs to exist there.

Most of Internet users, however, notice the positive and negative consequences of their involvement in Internet activities for their interpersonal communication skills. It is very interesting to know if they judgements of other people behaviour are different from non-users. Does the ethic behaviour mean the same to users and non-users and where is the border of time spent on Internet that changes our ethic judgements? Do people’s judgements differ when the situation is connected to using a computer and when it is not?

To explore these items an experiment is under way on students at technical and art universities in Gdansk. It consists of the following parts:

1. A questionnaire asking students about amount of time they spend surfing the Internet, their reasons of using Internet, the most important Internet services they most often use and their opinions about cyber society.
2. A psychological questionnaire exploring hierarchy of values important in human life (for example: Polish adaptation of Rokeach Value Survey) that allows to check if they depend on being a user or not. Responsibility, honesty and politeness will be the most interesting, because they are strongly connected to interpersonal communication: either direct or via Internet.

3. A set of five scenarios describing different life situations in which people behave more or less ethical. Respondents will have to estimate how their behaviour is acceptable or unacceptable using a defined scale. The scenarios include:

   (a) A person borrows a videocassette from a friend. Unfortunately the video recorder destroyed the cassette and it is useless. The person gives the cassette back without telling anything to avoid the complaining. A few days later the culprit buys a new cassette and uses some tricks to exchange it with the old one.

   (b) A client buys some food in a supermarket and finds a product he didn’t pay for in his bag. He/she checks the bill and discovers that the cashier didn’t charge the item by mistake. A client keeps the product and doesn’t tell the cashier about the mistake.

   (c) A person is asked by a friend to take care about his flat during holidays. One day a friend decides to have a party in this place without asking the owner permission.

   (d) A person shares with a friend some private information. The friend meets somebody who refers to the information involved in the secret. The information slips out.

   (e) A student needs to write an essay about information society to get credit with a course but has no idea how to do it. A student goes to the library, and after opening a book a hand-written note concerning the same essay left by someone else is there. A student writes an essay, very similar to the found one.

4. A set of five scenarios describing behaviour of people using a computer. They are based on the idea proposed by Jennifer Kreie’s and Timothy Paul Cronan’s article: How Men and Women View Ethics, published in Communication of the ACM, September 1998. The tested students will have to judge behaviour in the same fashion as before in p.3. The scenarios are:

   (a) A programmer modifies a bank’s accounting system to hide his overdrawn account and avoid the overdraft charge. After making a deposit, the programmer corrects his modification.

   (b) A person received software ordered from a mail-ordered company but also finds another software package sent in error. The person keeps the extra program and does not pay for it.

   (c) A programmer uses company Internet and tools to prepare a new application for a friend on his own time on weekend.

   (d) A company employee contracts with government agency to process data involving information about children and their parents. The employee copies the data at the boss’s request. The job contract does not prohibit this.

   (e) A person who was inadvertently given access free of charge to a proprietary information on Internet uses it without paying the fee.

The experiment is aimed at answering three main questions:

1. Does the Internet use influence the individual hierarchy of values?
2. Are the ethical judgements in real life situations differs from the opinions on behaviour observed in the virtual Internet environment?
3. What are the factors important in the group of users that impact on their values system (gender, age, type of education, belief system).

The paper will illustrate quantitative details of the experiments using tables and diagrams.