Chapter 4: Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems

Question 1

Accountability

Answer 1

The mechanisms for assessing responsibility for decisions made and actions taken.

Question 2

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)

Answer 2

Type of RSI in which pressure on the median nerve through the wrist’s bony carpal tunnel structure produces pain.

Question 3

Computer Abuse

Answer 3

The commission of acts involving a computer that may not be illegal but are considered unethical.

Question 4

Computer Crime

Answer 4

The commission of illegal acts through the use of a computer or against a computer system.

Question 5

Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)

Answer 5

Eyestrain condition related to computer display screen use; symptoms include headaches, blurred vision, and dry and irritated eyes.

Question 6

Cookies

Answer 6

Tiny file deposited on a computer hard drive when an individual visits certain Web sites. Used to identify the visitor and track visits to the Web site.

Question 7

Copyright

Answer 7

A statutory grant that protects creators of intellectual property against copying by others for any purpose for a minimum of 70 years.

Question 8

Descartes’ Rules of Change

Answer 8

A principle that states that if an action cannot be taken repeatedly, then it is not right to be taken at any time.

Question 9

Digital Divide

Answer 9

Large disparities in access to computers and the Internet among different social groups and different locations.

Question 10

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Answer 10

Adjusts copyright laws to the Internet Age by making it illegal to make, distribute, or use devices that circumvent technology-based protections of copy-righted materials.

Question 11

Due Process

Answer 11

A process in which laws are well-known and understood and there is an ability to appeal to higher authorities to ensure that laws are applied correctly.

Question 12

Ethical “No Free Lunch” Rule

Answer 12

Assumption that all tangible and intangible objects are owned by someone else, unless there is a specific declaration otherwise, and that the creator wants compensation for this work.

Question 13

Ethics

Answer 13

Principles of right and wrong that can be used by individuals acting as free moral agents to make choices to guide their behavior.

Question 14

Fair Information Practices (FIP)

Answer 14

A set of principles originally set forth in 1973 that governs the collection and use of information about individuals and forms the basis of most U.S. and European privacy laws.

Question 15

Golden Rule

Answer 15

Putting oneself in the place of others as the object of a decision.

Question 16

Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative

Answer 16

A principle that states that if an action is not right for everyone to take it is not right for anyone.

Question 17

Information Rights

Answer 17

The rights that individuals and organizations have with respect to information that pertains to themselves.

Question 18

Informed Consent

Answer 18

Consent given with knowledge of all the facts needed to make a rational decision.

Question 19

Intellectual Property

Answer 19

Intangible property created by individuals or corporations that subject to protections under trade secret, copyright, and patent law.

Question 20

Liability

Answer 20

The existence of laws that permit individuals to recover the damages done to them by other actors, systems, or organizations.

Question 21

Nonobvious Relationship Awareness (NORA)

Answer 21

Technology that can find obscure hidden connections between people or other entities by analyzing information from many different sources to correlate relationships.

Question 22

Opt-Int

Answer 22

Model of informed consent permitting prohibiting an organization from collecting any personal information unless the individual specifically takes action to approve information collection and use.

Question 23

Opt-Out

Answer 23

Model of informed consent permitting the collection of personal information until the consumer specifically requests that the data not be collected.

Question 24

Patent

Answer 24

A legal document that grants the owner an exclusive monopoly on the ideas behind invention for 17 years; designed to to ensure that investors of new machines or methods are rewarded for their labor while making widespread use of their inventions.

Question 25

Privacy

Answer 25

The claim of individuals to be left alone, free from surveillance or interference from other individuals, organizations, or the state.

Question 26

Profiling

Answer 26

The use of computers to combine data from multiple sources and create electronic dossiers of detailed information on individuals.

Question 27

Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI)

Answer 27

Occupational disease that occurs when muscle groups are forced through repetitive actions with high-impact loads or thousands of repetitions with low-impact loads.

Question 28

Responsibility

Answer 28

Accepting the potential costs, duties, and obligations for the decisions one makes.

Question 29

Risk Aversion Principle

Answer 29

Principle that one should take the action that produces the least harm or incurs the least cost.

Question 30

Safe Harbor

Answer 30

Private self-regulating policy and enforcement mechanism that meets the objectives of government regulations but does not involve government regulation or enforcement.

Question 31

Spam

Answer 31

Unsolicited commercial e-mail.

Question 32

Spyware

Answer 32

Technology that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge.

Question 33

Technostress

Answer 33

Stress induced by computer use; symptoms include aggravation, hostility toward humans, impatience, and enervation.

Question 34

Trade Secret

Answer 34

Any intellectual work or produce used for a business purpose that can be classified as belonging to that business, provided it is not based on information in the public domain.

Question 35

Utilitarian Principle

Answer 35

Principle that assumes one can put values in rank order and understand the consequences of various courses of action.

Question 36

Web Beacons

Answer 36

Tiny objects invisibly embedded in e-mail messages and Web pages that are designed to monitor the behavior of the user visiting a Web site or sending e-mail.

Question 37

What ethical, social, and political issues are raised by information systems?

Answer 37

Information technology is introducing changes for which laws and rules of acceptable conduct have not yet been developed. Increasing computing power, storage, and networking capabilities– including the Internet– expand the reach of individual and organizational actions and magnify their impacts. The ease and anonymity with which information is now communicated, copied, and manipulated in online environments pose new challenges to the protection of privacy and intellectual property. The main ethical, social, and political issues raised by information systems center around information rights and obligations, property rights and obligations, accountability and control, system quality, and quality of life.

Question 38

What specific principles for conduct can be used to guide ethical decisions?

Answer 38

Six ethical principles for judging conduct include the Golden Rule, Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative, Descartes’ rule of change, the Utilitarian Principle, the Risk Aversion Principle, and the ethical “no free lunch” rule. These principles should be used in conjunction with an ethical analysis.

Question 39

Why do contemporary information systems technology and the Internet pose challenges to the protections of individual privacy and intellectual property?

Answer 39

Contemporary data storage and data analysis technology enables companies to easily gather personal data about individuals from many different sources and analyze these data to create detailed electronic profiles about individuals from many different sources and analyze these data to create detailed electronic profiles bout individuals and their behaviors. Data flowing over the Internet can be monitored at many points. Cookies and other Web monitoring tools closely track the activities of Web site visitors. Not all Web sites have strong privacy protection policies, and they do not always allow for informed consent regarding the use of personal information. Tradition copyright laws are insufficient to protect against software piracy because digital material can be copied so easily and transmitted to many different locations simultaneously over the Internet.

Question 40

How have information systems affected everyday life?

Answer 40

Although computer systems have been sources of efficiency and wealth, they have some negative impact. Computer errors can cause serious harm to individuals and organizations. Poor data quality is also responsible for disruptions and losses for businesses. Jobs can be lost when computers replace workers or tasks become unnecessary in reengineered business processes. The ability to own and use a computer may be exacerbating socioeconomic disparities among different racial groups and social classes. Widespread use of computers increases opportunities for computer crime and computer abuse. Computers can also create health problems, such as RSI, computer vision syndrome, and technostress.