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Impact of ict on personal life
The Code of Ethics and the Internet
Impact of ict on personal life
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The problem to be investigated is the connection between ethical foundations and the challenges presented by information technology in today’s high intensity electronic environment. The discussion centers on the topics of societal ethical changes caused by information technology, the ethical usage of information the technology, and the development of a code of ethics surrounding these ethical issues. These topics are reviewed using Brooks (2010, October) article titled, The development of a code of ethics: An outline classroom approach to making connections between ethical foundations and the challenges presented by information technology.
Societal Ethical Changes Caused by Information Technology
Information technology has greatly increased the ease of access to information to most of society on a largely unmonitored basis resulting in the need for heightened awareness of security, privacy, and the protection of intellectual property. (Brooks, p. 2) Though it may seem that this topic has gained greater attention in the past few years, the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility was founded in 1983 to deal with just these issues. (Brooks, p. 2) Crimes of moral character including stealing, lying, and cheating are as prevalent in today’s world of information technology as they are in real terms. (Brooks, p. 4)
A 2008 on-line survey conducted by the Josephson Institute found that one-third of boys and one-fourth of girls surveyed admitted to stealing in the past year. (Brooks, p. 4) This translates all too well to rampant downloading of proprietary or copy written material from web sites. The illegal uploading and downloading of music became so prevalent that there was almost a feeling that if you did no...
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...g electronic information: An ethics perspective.
Information Management & Computer Security, 16(1), 20. Retrieved from
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BPI. (2011) Commercial music piracy
Retrieved from http://www.bpi.co.uk/our-work/protecting-uk-music/article/commercial-music-piracy.aspx.
Brooks, R. (2010). The development of a code of Ethics: An online classroom approach to
making connections between ethical foundations and the challenges presented by
information technology. American Journal of Business Education, 3(10), 1.
Payne, D., & Landry, B. (2005). Similarities in business and IT professional ethics: The need for
and development of a comprehensive code of ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 62(10),
73. Retrieved from
http:search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/198033129?accountid=28180
Vaughn, Lewis. Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning and Contemporary Issues 3rd Edition. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. Print.
Throughout time, people have resorted to stealing in order to obtain items instead of buying them. It became a problem so consequences were made. Even dating back to the Ten Commandments there were laws against stealing. Recently, theft has become a problem over the internet. Musicians and music companies have lost millions in revenue. Websites such as Napster, The Pirate Bay, and Pandora have made it extremely easy for people, specifically teens, to illegally download and or listen to music for free. Pirating music has become a problem especially because “91 percent of all new music was downloaded illegally over the Internet instead of purchased,” says Logan Lynn from Huffington Post (Lynn). Many, such as the RIAA claim that music piracy is “an ongoing and evolving challenge,” (Who) while others suggest that it is “keeping the music industry alive,” (Issacson).
Technology has opened new encounters and opportunities for the criminal justice system. There are so many new practices of criminal activity, such as computer crimes. There are different types of computer crimes that many people become victims of every day. Computer crime is any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target ("Computer Crime: Chapter 2: What Are the Crimes?", n.d.). Crimes such as data diddling, pump and dump, social engineering and spoofing are computer crimes. Even though these crimes are difficult by privacy issues, the new technology has made investigations and prosecutions well organized and effective. Though views are different on the pros and cons of specific technological changes in the criminal justice system, there is an agreement the system has changed affectedly ("Effects of Technology in Criminal Justice | eHow", n.d.).
Albert Einstein once said that he “[does] not believe in immortality of the individual, and consider [‘s] ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it”. Ethics matters not only in ones personal life but in society as a whole. It touches everything in today’s world. A major place that is affected by ethics nowadays is technology. With the development of new powerful technologies and better communication systems the Internet threats have reached a certain level of maturity that concerns many. Cyber Security has turned into a dependency for many, such as: private organizations, government health institutions and many companies. The amount of information available in these systems could compromise them and the many users they support. In the article” Data theft from firms topped a trillion dollars in 2008: study” cyber security is the main topic. The formal ethical systems that could justify the actions reported in the article, if these actions are consistent with either the ACM or IEEE codes of ethics, and if the behaviors are consistent with issues of privacy or intellectual property are all issues that will be further discussed.
Barry, Vincent, Olen, Jeffrey, & Van Camp, Julie C. Applying Ethics: A Text with Readings, Tenth Edition. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011.
Professions have adopted ethical codes and codes of conduct. Physicians, lawyers, and engineers have moral responsibilities and know to whom they are responsible. Professionals in the information systems field need similar guidance. Unfortunately, multiple professional standards in the field are offered by individual organizations. Many of the precepts in these codes are similar, but some are not. This paper presents the principles of f...
In today’s global society, a Code of Ethics policy is used to label established, acceptable behaviors among that industry’s business associates, potential investors, and the corporation’s executive officers and employees, and most important, the consumer (Ethics Resource Center, 2003). In an attempt to promote an increased efficiency and productivity potential level, among employees and prospective clients, a corporation’s standard Code of Ethics should guide its members toward a more in-depth examination of their personal moral activity, and how these actions affect the people or acquaintances they encounter. A company should utilize this strategy as a model for the professional behaviors and responsibilities of its constituents, and proves the occupational advancement of that business. Ethics are important in every level of a corporation, but specifically in the day-to-day actions of its members, and the image the company broadcasts to its associates is fundamental in building a stable business foundation. These pledges are a vital communication tool used to covey the firm’s standards for business operations, and predominantly, its relationships with the surrounding communities (Ethics Resource Center, 2003).
The computer is considered one of the most important technological advances of the twentieth century. Security and privacy issues have been in existence long before the computer became a vital component of organizations' operations. Nevertheless, the operating features of a computer make it a double-edged sword. Computer technologies with reliable error detection and recording capabilities, permit the invasion of a supposedly secure environment to occur on a grand scale and go undetected. Furthermore, computer and communications technology permit the invasion of a persons' privacy and likewise go undetected. Two forces threaten privacy: one, the growth of information technology with its enhanced capacity for surveillance, communication, computation, storage and retrieval and two, the more insidious threat, the increased value of information in decision making. Information has become more vital in the competitive environment, thus, decision makers covet it even if it viol!
Fieser, J. & Moseley, A. (2014). Introduction to Business Ethics. San Diego, CA Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
“Digital piracy is the act of copying digital goods that include software, documents, audio ‘including music and voice’ and video, for any reason other than to back up without explicit permission from and compensation to the copyright holder using computer technology” (Gunter, Higgins, & Gealt, 2011). The piracy of music is the most common but almost any type of digital files can be illegally downloaded from the Internet when a child knows which sites to surf. With multiple sites to choose from, an adolescent can easily enter the World Wide Web and find exactly what song or albums they would like to download. If one site does not have exactly what the individual is searching for, so many other sites will cater to their needs. This easy accessibility overrides the adolescent’s moral compass and gives them instant gratification that was totally free of
This essay will discuss some of the Social, Ethical and Legal issues that an IT (Information Technology) Professional will likely face during their career in the Information Technology Sector. Furthermore, I will talk about how these issues affect professionals and how they could approach these challenges to try finding feasible solutions for them.
Ethics are the driving force behind good business. Every ethical choice made by a professional can and will have a much different outcome than any unethical choice. Bad ethics can ruin many aspects of a business and as (Gaye-Anderson, 2007) states how quite easily the lives and professional reputation of the employees can even be severally damaged (para. 3). Everything from morale to motivation can be severely affected by poor ethical choices. Customers will take their business elsewhere. Employees will abandon ship. Other, competing businesses reap the benefits of the bad moral choices. Ultimately, the entire business can be brought down by one poor ethical choice.
In the early years of computers and computerized technology, computer engineers had to believe that their contribution to the development of computer technology would produce positive impacts on the people that would use it. During the infancy of computer technology, ethical issues concerning computer technology were almost nonexistent because computers back then were not as multifaceted as they are today. However, ethical issues relating to computer technology and cyber technology is undeniable in today’s society. Computer technology plays a crucial role in all aspects of our daily lives. Different forms of computer technology provide unique functionalities that allow people to perform daily activities effectively and efficiently. In modern society, we use computer and cyber technology to communicate with friends and family via social networking sites, participate in business transactions, and get current news. Different tasks require unique technological feature in computer technology to function properly. Although, unique technological features increase people’s proficiency in accomplishing various tasks, unique technological features in computer and cyber technology increase security vulnerabilities. In many cases, the security vulnerabilities in computer technology are exploited by cybercriminals to invade people’s privacy, and steal people’s identity. We know that computers have no moral compass; they cannot make moral decisions for themselves. Essentially, people make moral decisions that affect others positively or negatively depending on how they use computer technology. Some of the biggest ethical issues facing people in the computing environment include privacy concerns on the web and identity theft. Privacy concerns...
The first reason why downloading and uploading copyrighted materials from the Internet should be legal is that downloading copyrighted materials positively affects the economy. The European Commission Joint Research Center reported that the profits of music companies would be 2% lower if uploading and downloading copyrighted materials were banned. However, music companies are able to acquire more profits despite illegal downloading because many people tend to purchase CDs or DVDs after watching or listening to copyrighted materials for free. Moreover, the research showed that people who download music illegally spent more money to buy music than people who did not download illegally. In addition, research conducted by the Swiss government informed that one-third of Swiss people downloaded copyrighted materials from the Internet because personal use of copyrighted materials is legal in Switzerland. Even though there is a fact that many people can download copyrighted materials from the Internet legally in Switzerland, the amount of money that people spend to buy copyrighted materials is not f...
With the popularity of the Internet, sales for CDs, DVDs, Movies, and many other products have increased. Along with the increase of sales has brought forth an ever increasing problem of illegal media being downloaded. Programs such as Bittorent, Kazaa, and other direct-connect networking programs have allowed the transferring of such illegal media. Downloading song files from the Internet over a free peer to peer network is the moral equivalent of shoplifting music CDs from the local mall.