Book Description
Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition is a highly anticipated revision offering updated and newsworthy coverage of issues such as file sharing, infringement of intellectual property, security risks, Internet crime, identity theft, employee surveillance, privacy, and compliance. This book offers an excellent foundation in ethical decision-making for current and future business managers and IT professionals.
Customer Reviews:
Great Discussion Questions.......2007-06-08
You don't normally think of ethical issues in the case of information technology, but this book brings many, many questions to the fore. ==For instance should American companies (Sun, Cisco, Yahoo! & Goodle) assist the Chinese government in censoring web access. They block access to words like 'Dalai Lama' and 'democracy.'
We have seen a raft of corporations filing bogus financial statements. These were undoubtedly produced on a computer. What about access to porn sights from public facilities like libraries or schools? What about pirated software, or pirated movies or songs. And computer controlled surveillance - it is said that the average person in London appears on 300 cameras. Where does a right to privacy interfere with a society's right to protection from vandals, from terrorists.
This book features white pages and grey pages. The white pages describe facts, laws, rules, equipment and so on. The grey pages summarize the chapters but then give a large number of questions that either review the material or which can service as discussion questions for classroom use.
Business MIS not ethics.......2003-05-03
This text is highly reductionist. From the beginning his only concern is argue for protecting from monitary loss (he describes unethical behavior based on how much money you loose). In summary this is a book designed to develop a background for understanding why we have corporate security on IT/IS systems. The book really should be titled "MIS and Corporate Security the Current Social Backdrop".
There is nothing real for the student to grab ahold of from an ethical stand point. Use this as source book for indentifying the current trends but don't expect it to cause your students to think.
Book Description
"Herman Tavani has written an excellent introduction to the field of cyberethics. . . . We need a good book in cyberethics to deal with the present and prepare us for an uncertain future. Tavani's Ethics and Technology is such a book."
--from the foreword by James Moor, Dartmouth College
Is there privacy in a world of camera phones and wireless networking?
Does technology threaten your civil liberties?
How will bioinformatics and nanotechnology affect us?
Should you worry about equity and access in a globalized economy?
From privacy and security to free speech and intellectual property to globalization and outsourcing, the issues and controversies of the information age are serious, complex, and pervasive.
In this new edition of his groundbreaking book, Herman Tavani introduces computer professionals to the emerging field of Cyberethics, the interdisciplinary field of study that addresses these new ethical issues from all perspectives: technical, social, and philosophical. Using fascinating real-world examples--including the latest court decisions in such cases as Verizon v. RIAA, MGM v. Grokster, Google versus the Bush Administration, and the Children's Online Pornography Act (CIPA) --as well as hypothetical scenarios, he shows you how to understand and analyze the practical, moral, and legal issues that impact your work and your life. Tavani discusses such cutting-edge areas as:
* Globalization and outsourcing
* Property rights and open source software
* HIPAA (privacy laws) and surveillance
* The Patriot Act and civil liberties
* Bioinformatics and genomics research
* Converging technologies--pervasive computing and nanocomputing
* Children's online pornography laws
Updating and expanding upon the previous edition, Ethics and Technology, Second Edition provides a much-needed ethical compass to help computer and non-computer professionals alike navigate the challenging waters of cyberspace.
About the Author
Herman T. Tavani is Professor of Philosophy at Rivier College and Co-Director of the International Society for Ethics and Information Technology (INSEIT). He is the author, editor, or co-editor of five books on ethical aspects of information technology.
www.wiley.com/college/tavani
Customer Reviews:
Repectable, updated text.......2007-07-05
While this book would not normally be one that I would purchase to read on its own, it was the textbook for a course on computer ethics that I took and I was pleasantly surprised to find the textbook written in a very approachable matter.
The text starts off with an overview in general ethical theory before starting in to the focus of the text - various issues and how they apply to the growing use of computer technology in the modern world. Some of the topics covered include surveillance, privacy, and file sharing among others. Included with the various issues are up to date examples for recent cases and point/counterpoint perspectives on the topics.
The text does lose some points due to the fact that the last few chapters run a bit thin and could stand to be expanded a bit, but as a whole the text is quite detailed and provides plenty of citations to allow the reader to find attentional information.
More academic than I'm used to, but solid information..........2006-12-10
It seems that every time you turn around, there's some news story in the industry press about the ethics or legality of some aspect of technology. To help myself understand some of the underlying issues a bit better, I decided to read and review Ethics & Technology: Ethical Issues in an Age of Information and Communication Technology (2nd Edition) by Herman T. Tavani. While not the easiest or most riveting read, I did come away with a better appreciation for the field of ethics.
Contents: Introduction To Cyberethics - Concepts, Perspectives, and Methodological Frameworks; Ethical Concepts and Ethical Theories - Establishing and Justifying a Moral System; Critical Thinking Skills and Logical Arguments - Tools for Evaluating Cyberethics Issues; Professional Ethics, Codes of Conducts, and Moral Responsibility; Privacy and Cyberspace; Security in Cyberspace; Cybercrime and Cyberrelated Crimes; Intellectual Property Disputes in Cyberspace; Regulating Commerce and Speech in Cyberspace; Social Inclusion, The Digital Divide, and the Transformation of Work - The Impact for Class, Race, and Gender; Community and Identity in Cyberspace - Ethical Aspects of Virtual-Reality and Artificial-Intelligence Technologies; Pervasive Computing and Converging Technologies - Ethical Aspects of Ambient Intelligence, Bioinformatics, and Nanocomputing; Glossary; Index
Having never taken a class on ethics or critical thinking, I found the first three chapters interesting. Tavani builds the foundation of how to define and describe cyberethics, as well as how to determine and argue the case of what is "moral". These chapters are a concise course on how to build an argument and support it properly. After those three chapters are done, the concepts that were built are used to examine many different facets of computers and life, and how ethics come into play and shape how we think. There are the subjects you'd expect, like digital rights and security. But he also covers issues that I don't normally think of when dwelling on computers and ethics... gender, socioeconomic classes, race. First you have to determine if indeed those things are ethical issues, and if so, what responsibility do you have in those areas.
On one hand, the book is thorough and detailed. It's meant to be a textbook on the subject, and as such it delivers. These are the types of academic discussions and debates that you'd expect in a formal setting. I was somewhat disappointed, however, when it came to conclusions. Both sides of each issue were debated (even when I didn't even think there *was* another side), but resolution was elusive. I suppose I'm supposed to take this information and draw my own conclusions, but instead I came away with "so everything's right *and* wrong". Since I tend to want to get down to practical issues rather than deal with abstracts, I found it hard to come to any resolution at the end of each chapter.
Definitely good material, and worth reading. But it will make you work and think.
A really interesting little-ish book.......2003-12-20
This book was on the prescribed text list for the masters I am doing (Master of Informaiton Technology) and I must say I was pleasantly surprised to read it. Being a technical (engineer) person, it's a generalized opinion that this group (enclave?) we like mathematics, science and engineering books, but not so called 'arty farty' stuff like philosophy. Speaking for me personally, isn't far from the truth...So I thought...groan, not another one of these idealistic, pointless, ultimately altruistic and futile failures to read. Indeed not! I actually enjoyed reading it! (shock-horror). Tavani uses the ploy of relating his ideas to real-life situations (stalking, cracking, etc). This lends the book a serious air of legitimacy. The ivory tower is nowehere in sight. He doesn't lecture at you like you're a poor, misguided computer geek who could never possibly understand human morals and ethics in a digital world (the point is to help you do that...which Tavani does).
Back to the point: the book builds form the point of view that you have never been exposed to ethics. You get a grounding in ethical theories and then move on to learning how to evaluate ethical issues (kind like logic in mathematics without the symbols). He talks about codes of practice and your moral responsibility as a somebody who works, creates or manages a little corner of cyberspace. It is at this point that the book leaps forward into relevant (if somewhat shallow treatment) of the major issues ike privacy, piracy, crime, security,freedom of speech and equity. These are also posited through scenarios and then the ethics involved are developed through direct discussion of these scenarios. And as I alluded to previously, these give the book an excellent 'hook'. They make the theory real and relevant and rather interesting (and sometimes tragic: you'll see what I mean when you read the first scenario involving a teenage girl stalked thorugh the net and ultimately murdered in realty).
This is a provocative book, but in a subdued, subtle way. The author doesn't speed feed you heaped spoonsfuls of moral outrage with lashings of indignant pontification, just ideas (and these are ever so valuable) in a considered manner. I think the author has really succeeded here. If he can make a totally 'technical' person like me actually enthusiastic about reading it, then that's truly indicative of the book's quality.
The price may be a little high for what is a pretty thin book in a physical sense. Ideaswise it is quite rich, so that's the price you pay (it this ethical? ideas are only available to those who can affort it!) That aside, I got a lot from this little book and so consider it money well spent.
All in all a good 'starting' book for cyberethics! Thumbs up! However consider you may find yourself supplementing it with other braoder, deeper works as you progress because it is a rich field to learn in. Tavani will open this vista up for you if you approch this book with a willingness to put aside your prejudices and listen to what he has to say.
Customer Reviews:
Great price for this textbook!.......2007-07-23
I needed this book for an online class I am taking and the price was much lower than the bookstore!! Thanks Amazon!
Emphasis On Ethics.......2002-02-22
Richard J. Severson's "The Principals Of Information Ethics"
was first published about 5 years ago but is still very relevant.
It is written in a casual style, and is an easy read. The emphasis is on ethics, which, according to Severson, lie somewhere between our morals and the things for which we are applying morals to. It does contain some of the author's opinions, but is mostly objective.
Book Description
This book will present 130 case studies illustrating ethical and social issues that arise from the increasing use of computers in medicine, nursing, psychology, pharmancy, and the allied health professions. The rapid development of health informatics offers a rich array of issues and challenges to academics, clinicians, and system developers. These issues involve threats to privacy and confidentiality, misuse of clinical and genetic information, risks to patients of bias and discrimination, erosion of the practitioner-patient relationship, threats to the autonomy of health professional, and compromises to the quality of care provided. The use of case studies is well known in medicine, nursing, public health, epidemiology, and other health education programs. This book presents selected cases with annotation and commentaries that illustrate ethical concerns and social problems in the use of computers in medicine. Such materials would be used as part of case-based methods of instruction in health professional training and continuing professional education programs. The discussions will be designed to illustrate how thoughtful individuals identify issues and approach such problems. The discussions will also highlight the perspectives of different academic and professional disciplines. Topics included in the four Appendices address ethical standards for Web sites; health Internet ethics and the principles for offering Internet health services to consumers; the quality assessment of Internet health information; and the principles governing AMA publications Web sites.
Book Description
This book provides modern coverage of the ethics that surround information technology. It offers readers a timely, balanced, and impartial treatment of computer ethics. It introduces ethical theories early and uses them throughout the book to evaluate moral problems related to information technology. Earlier chapters focus on issues concerned with the individual computer user including, email, spam, intellectual property, open source movement, free speech, and Web censorship. Later chapters focus on issues with greater impact on society as a whole such as privacy, computer and network security, and computer error. The final chapter discusses professionalism and the Software Engineering Code of Ethics. All users of technology who are concerned with understanding the legal, moral, and ethical decisions surrounding that technology.
Customer Reviews:
Very good; not perfect.......2005-08-12
Quinn's textbook comes off "very good" in a crowded field of competitors. It is broad in its scope, and very up to date in the issues that it raises.
The book is not without its flaws: as a philosophy professor, I would have hoped for a clearer discussion of ethical theory and a less mechanical application of those theories to the issues, but these parts of the book are small and can easily be supplemented by outside readings. I also deal with the subjects in a very different order from the book, beginning with the issues of reliability and security that will most concern our CS majors. (Spam is nasty, but it doesn't seem like the best place to start. I doubt that many of our majors will be headed in that direction as professionals.)
Of course even a perfect book could not guarantee that students will learn from it-- Learning is also the responsibility of the student. Students of science or engineering who treat this as if it were a science or math text may well come to the conclusion of one reviewer below that its conclusions often seem "obvious"-- but it is a method that is being taught, and not just the answers. Who knows what the big questions will be ten years from now in such a rapidly changing field? That is one reason why the author's first, historical chapter is such a valuable inclusion and should not be overlooked. Students too often take the status quo for granted, and do not realize how much has changed to get us here, and how quickly it has happened. Few such texts deal with this important material, and Quinn does a good job with it.
As to alleged bias in the text, that is just nonsense. If you are convinced that J. Edgar Hoover never authorized an illegal wiretap, or that the Patriot Act is uncontroversial, then some of the questions Quinn raises may make you feel uncomfortable. But that is exactly what a good ethics text should do: provoke thought and discussion.
I recommend this book as a course text that touches on all of the (currently) key areas of social concern in the CS curriculum in an engaging way. I also hope for an improved second edition that will do the job even better.
What are the Ethics of Slanted Writing in an Ethics Book?.......2004-12-21
This book is one of the two texts in FSU's COP 3502: "Introduction to Computer Science" course (a required course in their Computer Science degree). It's mostly a waste of time. The first two chapters are of some use because they provide a brief history of computers and a quick introduction to the ethical theories one can use to resolve ethical dilemmas. Unfortunately, chapters 3 through 6 (inclusive) are worthless. They consist of about 190 pages of figuring out why certain obviously wrong activities are wrong (things like sending spam, producing pornography, stealing intellectual property, violating privacy, stealing identities, producing viruses, etc.). The last three chapters might have some merit, though. They cover some of the more general ethical consideration of working in the computer science field. Unfortunately, I stopped reading when the author started bringing up false POLITICAL references.
In general, most of the examples of ethical situations in these chapters are non-computer-related. Since the author specifically talks about this book being an ethics course as adhering to the IEEE's and ACM's "Computing Curricula 2001" standard, its examples ought to be drawn from the Information Systems world. My biggest gripe with these chapters is the obvious political slant of the author. He's constantly slipping his world-view based assumptions into the text as absolute-truth. I wonder what the ethics is of implying to students that certain things are true when, at best, they're controversial, and at worst, false?
I truthfully feel sorry for the poor students in FSU's Computer Science degree program who are stuck going through a course with this book and a (most probably) similarly slanted professor.
I give it 1 Star out of 5.
It covers the IEEE, ACM recommendations for an ethics course.......2004-10-03
In 2001, a joint committee of the IEEE computer society and the Association for Computing Machinery recommended that every undergraduate computer science degree incorporate 40 hours in the social issues of computing. The report also contains a model syllabus for "CS280, Social and Professional Issues." This book is designed to cover all of the major topics in that outline, and that goal has been achieved. There is also enough additional material and chapter independence so that all adopters will have the flexibility to do it their own way.
The book is split into nine chapters:
*) Catalysts for change.
*) Introduction to ethics.
*) Networking.
*) Intellectual property.
*) Privacy.
*) Computer and network security.
*) Computer reliability.
*) Work and wealth.
*) Professional ethics.
While the coverage is fairly complete, the technical level never rises beyond that which one would expect the experienced computer science student to be able to handle. In my opinion, most computer science students, and quite likely instructors as well, will find the second chapter to be the most difficult to understand. The topics are:
*) Subjective relativism.
*) Cultural relativism.
*) Divine command theory.
*) Kantianism.
*) Act utilitarianism.
*) Rule utilitarianism.
*) Social contract theory.
The author delves fairly deeply into these areas, but since they are the necessary preconditions to understand ethical dilemmas, I do not object to it. However, it is a point that needs to be made in this review. I took two courses in philosophy/ethics as an undergraduate and I found myself going slowly through the chapter. A large number of questions and in-class exercises are given at the end of each chapter.
However, there is one area where the author really fumbled the ball, demonstrating a lack of historical knowledge. On page 335 in the Work and Wealth chapter, there is the statement:
" It also appears modern Americans work harder than the ancient Greeks, Romans or Western Europeans of the Middle Ages. `The lives of ordinary people in the Middle Ages or Ancient Greece and Rome may not have been easy, or even pleasant, but they certainly were leisurely. [9]' In the mid-fourth century the Roman Empire had 175 public festival days. In medieval England holidays added up to four months a year; in Spain, five months; in France, six months.[9]"
A reference is given to justify these statements, but it is most certainly wrong. While I don't dispute that there were many public holidays in ancient Greece and Rome, they were for citizens only, which was a small percentage of the population. The majority of people were slaves, who did the bulk of the labor in those societies and their labor is what made the circuses possible. Nothing really changed in the Middle Ages, the only difference was that the laboring population were called serfs.
Anyone who tries to make the point that people work harder now than in the past should reread the history of the industrial revolution. At that time, most industrial workers put in ten to fourteen hours a day seven days a week, with almost no days off. The managers of industry also readily admitted that the work environment was structured so that the workers were required to move as fast as possible. Working conditions were so difficult and physically demanding that many people were permanently disfigured after a few years on the job.
Despite this reservation, I recommend the book and plan on using it as a text if my proposal for a course in computer ethics is approved.
Book Description
Access to Medical Knowledge examines the fundamental values that have characterized the development of medical librarianship since its foundation. The major focus is the development of medical librarianship in the English speaking world, in particular North America, yet includes a number of major issues in international cooperation including the provision of medical information worldwide.
Average customer rating:
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Contemporary Issues in Ethics and Information Technology
Robert A. Schultz
Manufacturer: IRM Press
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Product Description
Information technology has produced new ethical challenges and concerns in dealing with issues about privacy, security, piracy and professional ethics. Contemporary Issues in Ethics and Information Technology discusses these issues as well as other important ethical issues such as the outsourcing of high-level jobs and the value of IT itself. The main framework for ethical problems used in Contemporary Issues in Ethics and Information Technology is derived from the work of the late philosopher John Rawls. Rawls contribution to ethics was a theory of justice rooted in the social contract theory of the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution. The authors discussion of the value of IT also builds on the views of the philosopher, Martin Heidegger, on modern technology as an independent force in human existence with its own point-of-view. This book provides guidance for IT professionals and users for practical ethical problems.
Amazon.com
This book is a comprehensive look at various issues which are at the forefront of the information revolution: computers and privacy, censorship on the net, protection of intellectual property, encryption policy, computer crime, and the risks associated with unexpected computer failures. Sara Baase does a good job of balancing these controversies with various points of view, and offering perspective and solutions. Although this book is meant for academic use, it's extremely accessible.
Book Description
This book explores social, legal, philosophical, ethical, political, constitutional and economic implications of computing from a computer scientist's point of view. It covers the issues individuals face as members of a technological society and offers guidance for professionals in computer-related fields. One of the book's goals is to develop computer professionals who understand the implications of what they create and how it fits into society at large. Chapter topics cover privacy and personal information, encryption and interception of communications, freedom of speech in cyberspace, intellectual property, computer crime, computers and work, broader issues on the impact and control of computers, and professional ethics and responsibilities. For programmers and software engineers.
Customer Reviews:
This book leaves a lot to be desired........2006-03-04
This book is an incredible waste of time to read. If you must, I recommend briefly scanning the topic sentence of each paragraph. The book is tedious because Baase attempts to wring every idea possible from the subject material, whether it is significant or not. She does this because:
1. The book would only be 50 pages if all of the fluffy hand-holding were removed.
2. None of the ideas presented in the book are original or exciting, and must be trumped up with a lot of "high level" discussion. You know it well; it's the kind that only career academics would enjoy.
3. She has to dilute the terrible writing and editing that went into the book. I particularly enjoy this gem:
"A subsequent version of the product, known as Windows NT, a high-end system that incorporated networking technology and allowed users to link PCs together."
The only thing I like more than paying for common knowledge is paying for sentences that lack a predicate.
2 stars for an uninspired money-grab.
satisfied.......2005-10-13
very satisfied with this purchase. didn't take long for item to ship and looked as good as new.
Excellent textbook, unexpectedly thought-provoking.......2005-09-08
This was used as my text book for a graduate level ethics course. I read it cover to cover and found to be well-organized, informative and enlightening. Highly recommended.
very exciting and thought provoking.......2004-01-27
it's a great book to begin in-class discussions
Interesting and Accessible.......2002-08-15
Because the author's ethics class at SDSU uses this text as a primary source, I may be a bit biased in my judgment of this book. For the class, it was an excellent reference, bringing up interesting points for discussion and showcasing these points with anecdotes -- some humorous, some downright frightening. Baase's writing style is accessible to a wide audience, and even the parts that, by virtue of being part of a textbook, are dry and only mildly interesting are digestible.
If you're looking for a book that will give you a general overview of problems associated with computing, this book will hit the spot. Without any noticable bias, it provides information from different perspectives, and even gives fair treatment to Luddites.
A good, solid choice.
Customer Reviews:
Internet Ethics and Young Adults.......2005-03-20
Young adults, Internet ethics, and digital information are the intense focus of communities all across the U.S. Frances Jacobson Harris is a widely published librarian/author who addresses issues that concern library boards and parents. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are examined with clarity. Every library serving young adults in public libraries and schools should read this book and deliberate on the issues. This book is especially important for private and charter school staff who often struggle with little context. I believe I Found It on the Internet will broaden understanding and lead to fewer unfounded fears.
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- Ethical Theory and Business, Seventh Edition
- Ethical Theory and Business, Seventh Edition
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A Gift of Fire
Ethics for the Information Age (2nd Edition)
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Cyberethics: Morality And Law in Cyberspace
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