COURSE NOTES - WEEK SIX - November 7-13, 2005

Blackboard for posted readings. Return to Schedule

One of our topics this week is Information Ethics. I selected an overview from a recent textbook on current information issues. The authors, Lester and Kroehler, note that information ethics and information regulation are closely linked topics. I see overtones of many of the issues addressed in the Komito reading in the topic. In their chapter, the authors ask us to think about three questions or themes that of concern and for which arguments exist on both sides of the table. These questions (paraphrased a bit) are closely related. Here they are:

• Does the information environment of today represent a revolutionary or an evolutionary change?

• Are the social challenges of our new technologies fundamentally different from challenges posed by new technologies in the past?

• Are the new informational professionals performing totally different tasks or is there similarity with the tasks that information professionals of an earlier day performed?

Ethical principles and values are closely related. Core professional values include intellectual freedom, protecting the users' right to privacy, intellectual property rights, professional neutrality, preservation of the cultural record and equity of access. Several codes of ethics are included here. Are there similar published ethical codes in Denmark and in Singapore? The authors end the chapter by posing more questions for consideration. The last one is of particular interest to this class: "How does one resolve conflicts that arise among nations as a result of differing ethical stances on information use?" I'd like to hear your opinions on this question or any the ones above.

Revised November 2, 2005.
If you have questions or suggestions, please contact Evelyn Daniel