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