AUTHOR

Göran Collste

ABSTRACT

Since many years information technology is used in health care. However, lately one can notice a growing interest for different kinds of applications, partly explained by the need of a faltering IT-industry to find new markets. Naturally, ICT can in different ways enhance the practice of health care. However, it is necessary to examine the applications in the light of the ethical values of health care.

In this paper I will discuss the ethical implications of the introduction of two new computerised information- and communication systems in health care. One is a system for patient surveys. The system, named IRIS, is used in the public health system and makes patient information available to any authorised care provider irrespective of at what place in the organisation he or she works. The use of IRIS is so far limited to the regional health care organisation, but in principle it can have a broader application and be used even at a European level. The other system I will discuss is a system for patient Internet accesses to his/her own medical case sheet.

There are several good reasons for introducing the new systems. IRIS will make patient information more accessible for doctors and other health care professionals, it will speed up the treatment and it will decrease the number of medical specimens and examinations. The system that provides patient access to his/her own medical case sheet will probably make patients more informed about their medical condition. The potential of both systems has relevance from an ethical point of view, for instance with reference to the principles of beneficence, non-maleficence and autonomy.

However, there are also possible risks with the new ICT-systems. Both systems will process confidential patient information and thus there is a risk for privacy violations. Furthermore, this risk will eventually lead to mistrust among both care providers and patients. This could eventually lead to a “censuring” of information, which, in its turn, will decrease the reliability of the systems. It is not clear who shall have access to IRIS. At the moment, the access is limited to persons involved in a “relation of care” but that could be interpreted as everyone working at a caring unit. But with such a broad access the possibility of misuse will also increase.

In order to protect the patients, the systems will use the highest security technology. Further, the patient has to give his/her informed consent to the processing of information. However, how a practice of informed consent shall be implemented without too many practical problems is a question that yet has to be answered.

The decision to introduce systems of this kind implies difficult and some times controversial ethical balancing. There are different ways to proceed, and I will discuss some possible alternatives. One can here make a distinction between criteria and procedures: which norms and values have priority, and according to which procedures should the system be designed and introduced?

One may, in accordance with utilitarianism, follow a kind of cost/benefit methodology and transform the different values at stake to a common unit. Or one may, from a deontological point of view, identify the relevant moral principles and norms and then either balance them in order to be able to decide which principle takes precedence or specify the norms in order to bring them to bear on practice.

Procedures for a morally justified introduction of new technologies include “participatory design” and, in accordance with the method of reflective equilibrium, “interactive technology assessment” (Reuzel et al). Then, different stakeholders’ perspectives will be taken into account in the processes of design and assessment.

In this paper, I will first describe the system for patient survey and the “open medical case sheet”-system. I will then analyse the ethical problems associated with the systems and, finally, discuss different moral criteria and possible procedures in order to come to a justified decision.

AUTHOR

Jyoti Choudrie and Anastasia Papazafeiropoulou

ABSTRACT

The potentials offered by the Internet have been now recognised by organizations, thereby making the use of the Internet as a common practice to conduct business. This outcome has also resulted in organisations benefiting from international exposure as well as fast, secure and cost effective transactions. Governments have also realised the significance of Information Technology (IT) development for economic growth leading to an increasing trend towards heavy government intervention in IT diffusion in general (King et al., 1994) and the exploitation of the Internet in particular (Press et al., 1998). National interests in broadband clearly fall within this Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) policy trend. Broadband diffusion and capacity development are central to debates in many countries concerning the role of the government in developing efficient broadband policies particularly in terms of the usage of public money (e.g., BAG, 2003; BSG, 2002).

This paper investigates two successful broadband development strategies in two national settings (South East Asia), namely South Korea (henceforth Korea) and Hong Kong China (henceforth Hong Kong). The phenomenal success of the pursued strategies resulted in Korea being the world leader in broadband development whilst Hong Kong being considered to be amongst the top five countries in broadband use around the globe. More particularly, there are 10 million broadband users in South Korea today and the country has the highest broadband penetration in the world (Kim, 2002). Additionally, industry commentators expect the market for the current generation of broadband services (between 2 and 8 Mbps) to reach the saturation point by the second quarter of 2003 (Ministry of Information and Communication, 2002). In Hong Kong the growth of broadband has also been exceptionally fast. From an amount of 51494 connections in February 2000 there has been a tremendous growth of over 50% witnessed in recent years (Anonymous, 2001). For instance, the numbers of broadband subscribers have surged from 640,000 in early 2002 to nearly 970,000 in November 2002. Broadband networks now cover every commercial building and more than 98% of households in Hong Kong. This percentage is very close to the government’s aim of achieving 100% broadband penetration in the country.

For this study the research question guiding it can be described as follows. What can be learnt about the diffusion of broadband by examining the experiences of the world leaders at broadband diffusion (Korea and Hong Kong)? Our aim is to get a better understanding of the broadband technology diffusion process pursued in two South East Asia countries that have pursued successful broadband diffusion strategies, and offer recommendations for best practices in the development of national technology strategies in other geographical regions such as Europe.

Our research is based on both primary (from face-to-face interviews) and secondary data such as, newspaper articles and archival records. Specifically, the Korean case is based upon various data collection sources including a field study trip that took place in July 2002. Initial findings have shown that in Korea the government played an imperative role in the diffusion of broadband technology, with its vision being supported and carried forward by members of the public and the private sector. The Hong Kong case is mainly analysed using data from a field trip in December 2002 as well as secondary resources, which contrary to the Korean case, have initially shown that the competitive market was the most significant success factor. The Hong Kong case is additionally interesting as the country has had a predominantly western influence in its economic strategies and can reveal important lessons significant for the diffusion of broadband in Europe.

Although different in terms of diffusion policies, both these countries utilised information technology as a means of reviving their economies. In this paper we outline how the role of the government has the potential to influence the adoption of IT technologies such as broadband. We use the framework of King et al. (1994) about the influential and regulatory role of the government and we examine the importance of supply push and demand pull strategies followed by the governments in the two cases under investigation. Following that we compare institutional actions adopted by both the Hong Kong and Korean governments in the process of broadband diffusion. This comparison illustrates the level of significance of the government’s role.

REFERENCES

Anonymous (2001). Hong Kong: Connecting the World. 2001 Digital Strategy. Viewed on September 2, 2003 at: http://www.info.gov.hk/digital21/eng/download/download/2001digital21e.pdf Published May.

King, J., Gurbaxani, V., Kraemer, K., McFarlan, F., Raman, F. & Yap, F. W. (1994). Institutional factors in information technology innovation. Information Systems research 5, 139-169.

The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), (2002). Second Annual Report and Strategic Recommendations. November.

BAG. 2003. Australia’s Broadband Connectivity. Viewed on August 28, 2003 at: http://www.noie.gov.au/publications/NOIE/BAG/report/index.htm

Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) 2002. ‘IT Korea 2002’, Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC), Seoul, South Korea.

Kim, S.J. (2002). “Half of Korea’s Top 10 Export Items Changed in 2 Decades”. Korea Times, August 25.

AUTHOR

Judith Broady-Preston and Barbara Hull

ABSTRACT

The project

By exploring the role of information literacy skills as a function of social class, the project hopes to provide empirical evidence on the opportunities and threats for lifelong learning, telework, social inclusion, community relationships, equal opportunities, and the consequential impacts in resource use.

Information literacy skills are a core requirement of the knowledge driven economy. As stated in the OECD Report Scoreboard 2001: towards a knowledge based economy (2001) it is the countries with knowledge intensive activities who will be the winners in terms of future wealth creation. Similarly, the recent CILIP Report CILIP in the knowledge economy: a leadership strategy (2002) asserted that information sat at the core of knowledge economy, and thus there is, and will continue to be, ‘a fundamental need for information skills’.

This is moreover, an issue of global concern. Webber outlines developments in information literacy in Australia universities, where such skills are viewed as a graduate attribute of some importance (2003).

Definitions of information literacy abound, but all incorporate similar ideas. One classic definition is that of the American Library Association; to be information literate, a person must be able to:

recognise when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information (ALA, 1989,1)

SCONUL has proposed a seven pillar model for information literacy (1999) and the Council of Australian University Librarians recently published a set of information literacy standards (2001), many of which have been implemented in Australian universities. It is arguable also that such skills are of especial importance to students from non-traditional social backgrounds, where exposure to information, either electronic or print-based, is less likely to be the norm. Similarly, students of information studies are the information skills trainers of the future, and the pedagogy of information skills is the topic of a current AHRB funded research project (cf Webber and Johnson, 2002)

The project is a partnership between the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and the University of Teesside. The general aim of the project is to create and test a toolkit to assess both the depth and durability of learning by students, following a programme of information literacy skills.

Teesside has an established reputation as a university committed to widening access to higher education amongst the lower socio-economic groupings, being one of the two leading universities in terms of recruitment from such social groupings (Today Programme, 5 December 2002). Information Literacy Skills training, delivered by Library and Information Services (LIS), plays an increasingly important role as an element of Key Skills. The Library and Information Commission-funded project, examining barriers discouraging access to libraries was undertaken at Teesside by one of the applicants, Barbara Hull. (Hull, 2000).

Aberystwyth is one of the leading departments in Information Studies and one of the foremost providers of Distance Learning education in the discipline. Courses offered cover most aspects of information studies, including Archives Administration, Records Management, Information and Library Studies, Health Information Management and a CPD programme for middle managers. With 700 students registered on its distance learning schemes, Aberystwyth is arguably the largest educator of future information literacy skills trainers.

The evaluative toolkit is being trialled on:

• information studies students at Aberystwyth, who need such skills as students, but who may ultimately be the deliverers of information skills training in their future professional lives
• undergraduate students from Teesside

This is a collaborative partnership project, with a practical outcome, which should be transferable to other populations.

REFERENCES

American Library Association (1989) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: final report. Chicago: ALA.

Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (2002) CILIP in the Knowledge Economy: a Leadership Strategy. The Report of the Competitiveness and the Knowledge Based Economy Executive Advisory Group to CILIP. London: CILIP. Also available online: http://www.cilip.org.uk/advocacy/eags/keagreport.html. Accessed: 21 January 2003

Council of Australian University Librarians (2001) Information Literacy Standards. Canberra: Council of Australian University Librarians. Also available online: http://www.caul.edu.au/caul-doc/InfoLitStandards2001.doc Accessed: 21 January 2003.

Hull, B. (2000) Barriers Discouraging Access to Libraries as Agents to Lifelong Learning. Report no.31. London: Library and Information Commission. Also available online: http://www.tees.ac.uk/lis/whoweare/research/research.htm Accessed 21 January 2003.

OECD (2001) Scoreboard 2001: Towards a Knowledge Based Economy. London: OECD.

SCONUL (1999) Information Skills in Higher Education: A SCONUL Position Paper. London: SCONUL.

Today Programme. Transmitted BBC Radio 4, 5 December 2002.

Webber, S. (2003) Taking Information Literacy Seriously. Library and Information Update 2 (1) 44-45.

Webber, S. and Johnson, B. (2002) AHRB award to study UK academics’ conceptions of information literacy. Online. http://dis.shef.ac.uk/literacy/ahrb.htm Accessed: 21 January 2003.

AUTHOR

J J Britz and M M M Snyman

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Since the development and the introduction of the knowledge economy Knowledge Management has become an important scientific concept and many disciplines have laid some claims on it. As a re-discovery of the use of knowledge in an economic way to gain a competitive advantage in business it resides mostly in commerce and industry.

Currently it comprises of a theoretical discourse, and a practical activity. As such it main focuses are both on a business practice as well as a theoretical field of study (McInerney, 2000:1009). The fields of study include amongst other the following: the chief knowledge officer, learning organisations, tools and techniques of Knowledge Management and theories underlying the sharing of knowledge. However, both the theory and practical applications are to a certain extend in a developing stage. Little or no attention has also been given to the ethical issues such as the role of trust in the sharing of knowledge, fairness in knowledge exchange relations and the relationship between power and dependency.

Research question

It is against this background that the authors of this paper will address the ethical concerns regarding the sharing and use of knowledge in an organisation. The focus will be specifically on the Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO). The research focuses in particular on the identification of the main ethical challenges facing the chief knowledge officer (CKO) and the finding of solutions to these challenges. The content is structured in the following manner:

• A brief overview of knowledge management
• The role and functions of the CKO
• The main ethical challenges facing the CKO
• Identification of norms that can be applied to assess these challenges
• Formulation of ethical guidelines for the CKO

Content

Brief overview of knowledge management

This part of the paper will cover the following issues: The development and importance of Knowledge Management; the concept ‘knowledge’ and current trends in Knowledge Management. The following work definition, based on McInerney (20001), will be used: “Knowledge management is an effort to increase useful knowledge within the organization. Ways to do this include encouraging communication, offer opportunities to learn, and promoting the sharing of appropriate knowledge artefacts” (2000:1014)

The role and function of the CKO

It will be argued that the main aim of a CKO is to assure that knowledge, which is the most valuable resource in any company, must be maximised to its full potential to enable a competitive advantage. The CKO must therefore manage the processes surrounding the creation, sharing and utilising of knowledge. The following roles and functions of the CKO will be touched upon:

• Strategist (e.g. strategising ways and actions to capture tacit knowledge and to make it available for r-use and innovation focusing on the support for the mission and objectives of the enterprise)
• Entrepreneur (e.g. focusing on the establishment of new Knowledge Management capabilities)
• Evangelist (e.g. convincing companies of the value of knowledge and Knowledge Management)
• Technologist (e.g. determining and choosing technology channels for the distribution and sharing of explicit knowledge)
• Environmentalist (e.g. creating an environment that stimulates and facilitates knowledge creation and sharing)
• Designer (e.g. redesigning performance measurement and executive appraisal systems)
• Facilitator (e.g. enabling and not controlling the creation and sharing of knowledge)
• Change agent (e.g. persuading individuals and groups to accept and internalize the view that Knowledge Management matters and can make a difference)

(Earl and Scott, 2000)

The main ethical challenges

Based on these roles and functions of the CKO the following ethical issues will be discussed:

• The role of trust in the sharing of knowledge
• The protection of tacit and explicit knowledge that is not protected by IP legislation
• The fair/unfair exchange of knowledge
• The relationship between power (those who know) and dependency (know-nots)

It will be demonstrated how these main ethical themes come into play in the different roles of the CKO.

Applicable norms

Following from this applicable norms will be identified that can be used to guide the process of moral reasoning pertaining to the abovementioned issues. These norms are:

• Justice and more specifically justice of recognition, justice of reciprocity, justice of distribution, justice of contribution, justice as enablement and justice of retribution.
• Freedom (positive and negative freedom)
• Rights (more specifically information rights)

Ethical guidelines

Based on the application and interpretation of these norms ethical guidelines will be proposed for the professional activities of the CKO.

REFERENCES

Baumard, P. 2001. Tacit Knowledge in organizations. London: SAGE publications Davenport, Thomas, H & Prusak, L. 1998. Working knowledge. How organizations manage what they know. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Earl, M.J. & Scott, I.A. 2000. What do we know about CKOs? In: Depres, C and Charvel, D (eds). Knowledge horizons: The present and the future of Knowledge Management. Boston: Butterworth-Hienneman: 195-203

Foucault, M. 1977. Truth and Power, In Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews & other Writings 1972 – 1977. Ed Gordon, C. Pantheon Books: New York.

Lötter, H.P.P. 2000. Christians and Poverty. DD Thesis. Pretoria: University of Pretoria

McInerney, Clair. 2002. Knowledge Management and the Dynamic Nature of Knowledge. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 53, no 12.

Pitkin, H.F. 1981. Jusitce: On Relating Private and Public. Political Theory, 9 (3): 327 – 352.

Rawls J. 1973. A Theory of Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Skyrme, D.J. and Amidon, D.M. 2002. “The Learning Organisation”. in Managing Knowledge: An Essential Reader by Stephen Little et al. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE The Open University.

AUTHOR

Philip Brey

ABSTRACT

Educational computing and distance learning initiatives have given rise to what has been called the Virtual University: a university without a (single) physical campus, that is cemented by electronic networks, including electronic mail, bulletin boards, video conferencing and shared electronic environments (Freeman et al., 2000; Tschang and Della Senta, 2001). The Virtual University has already been the topic of extensive research that focuses on topics like institutional organization and policy, technological infrastructures, curriculum development and quality control. In this study, the focus will be on normative dimensions of the Virtual University, a topic that so far has not received much attention. It will be considered how the emergence of Virtual Universities may impact on cherished values, such as liberty, justice, privacy and sociality. This study is “ethical” in a broad sense. It broadens the scope of ethics to also include issues in social and political philosophy that address the way that we want society to be organized. It is concerned with fundamental conceptions of what Aristotle has called the Good Life, and with how different conceptions of education may impact the Good Life. Its central focus is how Virtual Universities may be developed and managed in a way that respects and promotes basic societal values as well as values particular to higher education. Therefore, the moral behavior of individuals in the Virtual University is not a major focus of this study.

The following two questions are central to this study

Can and should Virtual Universities have the same role in promoting the public good as conventional universities?
How are core ideals of higher education, specifically academic freedom and equality, affected in the Virtual University?

The first question is addressed in sections one and two of the paper. Section one centrally addresses the role of the university in society, and considers whether Virtual Universities can and should fulfill the same role in serving the public good, by fulfilling the wide variety of societal functions that conventional universities have. Section two considers the acquisition by students of academic and social values in the university, and asks whether virtual universities can be as good as conventional universities as places where students acquire and develop academic and social values.

The second question addresses two fundamental values embodied in the higher education system. In a study of values in higher education, Clark (1983) has argued that three values are fundamental in the institution of higher education: competence, social justice and liberty. Discussions of higher education have been dominated by these three concerns: that universities are to promote scientific and professional competence in its students and faculty (“competence”), to provide equal access to students and equal treatment to students and staff (“social justice”) and to provide a climate of academic freedom while retaining institutional autonomy from the state and outside groups (“liberty”). Competence, which is not a moral value, will not be addressed (directly) in this study. Liberty and social justice, however, are moral values, and will be considered in sections three and four, respectively. In section three, it is studied what new challenges and opportunities the Virtual University poses for academic freedom and what consequences distance education may have for the institutional autonomy of universities. Section four focuses on equality and equity, and considers possible consequences of distance education for equal access to higher education and equal treatment in higher education. It includes a special discussion of the challenges and opportunities involved with the development of a Virtual European University. In a concluding fifth section, policy issues will be identified and policy recommendations will be made, based on the discussion in sections 1 to 4.

The literature that will be used for this study does not constitute a coherent body of research. Publications that consider social and ethical aspects of distance education and computer-aided instruction are few and scattered. For the most part, they are found in education studies journals, particularly in journals on distance education or educational technology, and in the literature of computer ethics. In both educational studies and computer ethics, however, the study of social and ethical aspects of distance education and computer-aided instruction has not been a major concern. Nevertheless, a number of relevant studies have been done, and these point to a number of emerging themes that are discussed in this study.

The conference paper and presentation will be based on a longer report for the European Commission that has recently been completed by the author. This report is part of the Collaborative European Virtual University (cEVU) project, a project sponsored by the European Commission and coordinated by EUROPACE.

REFERENCES

Clark, B.R. (1983). The higher education system: Academic organization in cross-national perspective. Berkeley: University of California press.

Freeman, B., Routen, T., Ryan, S., Patel, D., Scott, B. (eds.) (2000). The Virtual University: The Internet and Resource-Based Learning. London: Kogan Page.

Tschang, F. T. & Della Senta, T. (eds.) (2001). Access to Knowledge. New Information Technologies and the Emergence of the Virtual University. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

AUTHOR

Mike Bowern, Craig McDonald and John Weckert

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses some of the findings of an empirical research project set up to identify ways to predict the impact of software projects on a wide range of people, through an analysis of software project types, their stakeholders, and the issues which arise during the development and operation of the systems. Outcomes of the project include a critical literature review of stakeholder research and a new method to identify and quantify the impacts of information systems on their stakeholders. In recent years the term “stakeholder” has become commonplace when referring to people involved in the development and use of computer systems. However, there has been little discipline in the term’s use and, more importantly, as the impacts of computer systems on stakeholders can be so great, the topic deserves much further study.

In the 1980s and 1990s, processes for quality management and improvement of software and systems development were introduced in software engineering practice. Amongst other aspects, these processes focussed on easily identified stakeholders such as the project manager and team, the project sponsor or customer equivalent, and the immediate users. We propose that the next important step in the improvement of the software and system development process should be the consideration of a broader range of stakeholders and a broader range of the kinds of impacts they experience.

Despite careful risk analysis, a large percentage of software projects, and the products they create, are defective. Some project defects are associated with budget overruns, missed schedules and poor quality. Other defects relate to adverse social and ethical impacts. Research has shown that in many cases failures are due to an inadequate anticipation of the impact of software projects on users, society and the environment. The solution lies in modifying software risk analysis to include adequate stakeholder identification and consideration.

The paper considers a wide range of stakeholders and types of system, and explores their relationship and involvement with, and the resultant effects of software projects and products. In so doing, it covers aspects of stakeholder theory; definitions of stakeholders; identification of stakeholders, including special types, for example, non-human.

There are a number of important non-human stakeholders which should be considered appropriately by system developers. An obvious example is an “organisation”, and several of the definitions of stakeholder include organisation in their wording. In some instances an organisation can be considered as being a stakeholder which is separate from its members, some of whom are also stakeholders. The “environment” is another example of a possible non-human stakeholder, and this could lead to the identification of further subsets of stakeholders in particular instances or systems. Some have proposed that computers, networks, an encryption algorithm, and air-conditioning plant as possible non-human stakeholders. The paper discusses the validity and relevance of identifying these artefacts as stakeholders.

One problem in identifying stakeholders is in knowing how wide to cast the net. If “stakeholder” is defined too narrowly, many people with legitimate claims to consideration may be left out. If the definition is too broad and admits almost everyone who may be affected in any way, it becomes just about useless as a tool in practical decision making. An attempt will be made to find a workable balance by applying J. S. Mill’s account of other-regarding actions in On Liberty. The roles of responsibility and accountability principles are brought to bear on this discussion.

The theoretical issue of stakeholders being represented in an authoritative way on software development projects is explored in the paper. We note that there are established groups which could represent stakeholders, for example the Australian Shareholders’ Association could represent shareholders in the development and operation of trading systems. However, in many instances these representative groups could be stakeholders in the system in their own right, with conflicting requirements, and hence conflicts of interest. In fact, it could be that any stakeholder representing the interests of other stakeholders would have a conflict of interest. The representation of stakeholders on a project, by people with the authority to do so in an unbiased way, would appear to be as important as identifying the stakeholders in the first place.

One outcome of the research project is a method to quantify the consequences of not considering all relevant stakeholders through the lifecycle of an information system. This method will prioritise these consequences, in terms of the number of people affected and the cost, ethical or other impact on those people. The purpose of this is to enable developers of information systems to identify where their consideration of stakeholders should be applied to the greatest effect.