The Importance Of Ethics In Information Technology: Issues And Concerns

The Impact of Information Technology on Society

Nowadays we thrive in a data driven society that is relies to a large extent on information. Essentially, IT-based communities are mainly present that necessarily depend on information. In actual fact, this might perhaps not be something new to the reader. In essence, media, educational articles, and discussions on a daily basis concentrate more and more on informational plus technology-driven spin that features this particular historical moment, in which extensively disseminated and radical alterationsat the same timehave an effect on both individuals as well as societies (Mason2017). This kind of alterations generatesnovel opportunities, and at the same time createsvarious new questions and sheds light onissuesstarting from individual welfare and management of communities. Thus, this aids in undertaking analysis of rules and directives of design as well asemployment of advanced technological artefacts, illustration of ‘good’ and ‘bad, helps in comprehension andawareness of genuineness (Kosinskiet al. 2015). In essence, these alterationslead torevolution of information, omnipresent and capillary diffusion of information technologies, in excess of just a technological disturbance; as it has aided in the process of redefining daily practises of individuals and altered social as well as political priorities of communities.

As suggested by Deneckeet al.(2015), computer ethics can be regarded to be a field of research thattotally devoted to tackle ethical issuesinitiated by revolution of information. Also, there are also scholars who refer to paper of James Moor’s 1985 as the start of computer ethics. This can be considered to be as a sub-area of applied ethics. In this research paper, Moor illustrated the alterationsbrought about by the information revolution and thenecessity for conceptual evaluation as aninitialphase to deal with them appropriately. Burbules(2018) suggests that this research paper considers that a little reflection divulges a conceptual disordereven though a problem might perhaps appear to be clear at first. In this regard, it can be hereby stated that in such cases analysis delivers a coherent conceptual framework within which it become possible to formulate a policy for action. More or less after three decades, with contemporary societies changing into information societies, strategy vacuums along with conceptual disorderabout information have become pressing concerns. According to Crawford and Finn (2015), comprehending and regulating privacy matters, maintenance of anonymity, precautions during this period of information can be considered to be compelling issues in the year 1985. Issues that have persisted during the last thirty years, together with new concerns that have surfaced regarding crucial notions such as identity, harm and evil, warfare and state authority and many others.

Computer Ethics and its Evolution

Almost three decades later, with contemporary societies turning into information societies, policy vacuums and conceptual muddles surrounding information have become pressing issues(Lunnayet al.2015). Understanding and regulating privacy, anonymity, and security in the information age were some of the most compelling problems in 1985, problems that have persisted during the past thirty years, along with new issues thathave surfaced concerning crucial concepts such as identity; harm and evil  agency; warfare and state power (Berzinet al. 2015). These concerns are being presented as new means that are played out as we build an intrinsically new way of observing oneself and actuality. However, it can be hereby mentioned that anyendeavour to fill updifferentstrategy vacuums regarding the design and usage of ICTs are improbable to be effective until and unless they are fastenedin elementary process of re-considering and rethinking information and its significance to society.

These scholarly interests in this specific area has developed since the period of 1985, and has drawn the attention of experts from diverse research fields, namely philosophy, science, social science as well as computer science (Schwalbe2015). In particular, this interdisciplinary job carries ondeveloping a novel as well as broad field of research that include Information and Computer Ethics.

The questions developed for the study are as mentioned below:

-What is the importance of maintenance of ethics in the arena of information technology?

-What are the existing ethical threats and ways of tackling the identified threats in this specific field of information technology that can lead to improvement of the overall situation?

Ethical and social influence of Information Systems

As suggested by Remley and Herlihy (2014), alterations in technology often exert impact on the society. This is said to alter individuals, education, social dealings, government and jobs. In essence, as a component of a community, each and every group has rights along with accountabilities to one another, namely right to seclusion and obligations concerning ethics. Again, the impacts of technology on individuals can prove to be beneficial otherwise detrimental. However, in majority of the cases, a modification in technology might help a specific group of individuals and can prove to be harmful to yet another set of individuals. Particularly, typical threats comprise of loss of privacy, depersonalisation along with alteration in incentives (DeGeorge2017). Essentially, the advantages entail low price levels, superior products as well as services. Majority of the issues does not exert impact on the society on the whole, but also raise several questions for the corporation and our place of work.  

Ethical Issues and Their Importance in Information Technology

Ethical Issues of Information Systems

Stair and Reynolds (2017) illustrate ethics as the primary principle and standard of right as well as wrong that different individuals acting as free moral agents utilize to arrive at choices to guide their behaviours. Also, systems of information also raise ethical questions for both individuals as well as community as they generate opportunities for different intense social alteration. Essentially, this can intimidate subsisting power distribution, finances, rights as well as obligations. Again, just as other technologies (for say, steam engines, electricity, telephones as well as radios) together with information system can necessarily be utilized to attain social advancement. On the other hand, it can also be utilized for the purpose of committing various crimes and intimidate treasured values. Galliers and Leidner(2014) suggest that development of specific information system can generate benefits and costs.

In addition to this, another ethical concern that is presenting a new urgency is essentially the increase in overall internet along with electronic commerce. As recommended by Pattersonet al.(2018), the internet along with digital technology have necessarily made it easier than ever for business corporations tom assemble, assimilate and distribute information, in that way, unleashing issues regarding appropriate usage of customers’ information, personal privacy as well as intellectual property. Again, other ethical concerns comprise of instituting accountability for diverse consequences of particularly information system, establishing standards for safeguarding quality of systems that shields overall safety of different individuals along with society, preserving values together with institutions regarded to be quality of life in a specific information society.  Other ethical concerns include the following:

Risks associated to health

There are a lot of health associated concerns namely Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Repetitive Stress Injury, Techno-stress and computerVision Syndrome among many others that are associated to prolonged usage of information systems. Individuals need to be aware regarding health concerns as people need to bear huge amount of costs and the because of the health issues (Brymanand Bell2015). Even though, ergonomics that can be illustrated as the science that explains safe work environment or the study of association between human and different machines can help in ascertaining that it is cheaper to buy equipment and tools that can lessen health risks related to information system. This includes diverse keyboards, computer screens and monitors that can lessen strains on eyes and suitable desks that can permit appropriate body positioning.

Risks associated to Employment

As suggested by Dipert(2016), work of reengineering is primarily considered in the information community as an important benefit of new information technology. In essence, it is less frequently observed that business process of redesigning can essentially cause loss of jobs of different middle level as well as clerical level workers.

Analyzing Ethical Issues Related to Information Technology

Privacy and confidentiality of information 

The issue of privacy can be considered to be a significant challenge related to systems of information as it can accommodate huge amounts of data. Therefore, it is important to decide the information that needs to be stored and specific individuals who can gain access to private information.  Each and every time a credit card is used, a phone call is made, draw money, make flight reservations or else register at educational institutes, all these business transactions necessarily get registered by diverse systems (Goulet 2017). In particular, these kinds of records can be utilized to find outpersonal information regarding individuals. Fundamentally, this information need not be made available to one and all. Eason (2014) suggests that information system is also utilized to store specific information regarding credit ratings that might perhaps ascertain their capabilities to draw money.

Ethical Evaluation

The present segment presents different step procedures of analyzing ethical issues when encountered with particular situations:

Identification and description of specific facts

Parker (2017) asserts that this step includes discovering specific aspects such as who does what to whom, when, where and how. According to MacKinnon and Fiala(2014), in majority of the cases, individuals might get surprised of different mistakes in the reported information. This can help other opposing parties engaged in an ethical dilemma to agree with different facts.

State about inconsistency and recognize different higher order values engaged

There are different parties engaged in disputes over ethical, social as well as political aspectsaver to pursue greater values namely confidentiality, freedom along with fortification of property. Nonetheless, it is crucial to define conflict in varied ethical concerns and recognize the ones having higher values (Glasnerand Rothman2017).

Identification of firm’s stakeholders

There is need for identification of stakeholders since every ethical, political as well as social concernhas stakeholders.

Identification of reasonable alternatives to choose 

It can be hereby notices that none of the alternatives might ever satisfy different interests involved whilst some of the alternatives are said to perform a better job in comparison to others (Dartet al.2016). Therefore, concluding at a good or else ethical solution might not always be considered to be a balance of diverse consequences to various stakeholders.

Identification of potential outcomes of selected alternatives

There are certain alternatives that might be ethically correct for some but prove to be disastrous from others viewpoint. Also, there are other alternatives that might work in one instance and not work in another identical situation (Haddon2016).

Social Influence of Information System

The enhancement in application of information system in the community has altered overall face of different aspects of community along with culture. Glasner and Rothman (2017) asserts that the most obvious influence of information system has been increase in the usage of internet along with its consequences  in terms of the way things can be communicated, people can socialize, learn and carry out business. Nevertheless, before taking into account implications of usage of internet fundamentally associated to that of the system of computer, it is important to explore some important characteristics of information system and what they mean to us.

Initially, it is important not to forget that the computer was principally formulated as a means of solving arithmetic, logic issues along with storage of data. Also, development of computers from modest roots can be regarded as complicated machines (Wilsonet al.2015). This permits solving intricate problems in a way that would have otherwise been unfeasible and store more information. In essence, this exerts impact on the community in two different ways. Particularly, on an individual level, this implies that that any individual in possession of some type of computer permits individuals to establish businesses and operate from home on a definite scale never witnessed before. On a larger scale, this permits scientific advancement that can accelerate mathematical issues incomprehensible to humans can worked out by uncomplicated programmed machines (Lunnayet al. 2015). Essentially, influence of storage capacity of computers is to entirely alter the way large scale corporations operate, by helping in the process of proper management of inventory, accelerating overall data storage to business concerns.

Yet another impact of information systems is the increase in computer games. In essence, this can developed serious concernregarding the way they exert impact on the ones that use them,particularly youths. According to Haluza and Jungwirth(2015), the debate and dispute still rages over whether huge number of violent computer games influence the ones who play to imitate this kind of behaviour. There are disturbing statistics that appear to be extremely addictive to overall quality of different games; most particularly the internet based ones. On the contrary, there are many who intended to observe potential computers as a means of acquiring education as unlike other conventional forms of learning tools, specific computer games has a propensity to amuse the student (Stahlet al.2014). Furthermore, businesses are already utilizing computers as an instructiveplans and technology development tools, particularly in the field of virtual reality games.

As suggested by Mason (2017), another interesting as well as undeniable influence is the utilization of the internet in the communities globally. In actual fact, this can connect and eliminate variances between geographically and at the same time culturally different communities. On the whole, internet can be considered to be an important means of communication. In essence, one of the most vital outcomes is to present important learning democratic.

Similar potential for multiplying information that makes internet grand also threatens the entire corporation as music, cinema in addition to other entertainment plus information get disclosed free of cost in the web. Due to this factor, sales of DVDs, CDs have inevitably dropped as utilization of the internet has increased and certainly overall speed of the growth of the web has made it feasible for different media firms to decipher ways of solving identified issues. Also, the internet also has different offensive sites growing at a considerable rate and can be regarded as a matter of worry as these are websites developed for the purpose of sharing different pedophilic contents (Kosinskiet al.2015). However, on the other hand, the internet also provides every single individual a mode for voicing their thoughts and shares the same with the entire world. In addition to this, the field of technology is also overtaken with diverse types of behaviour that can exert influence on anyone using technology namely computer crimes.

As suggested by Deneckeet al. (2015), computer crime can be considered to be a prevalent social issue of information system in the society. This can be illustrated as an act of utilizing a computer to commit an unlawful action, that is to say targeting a computer while committing an offence or utilizing a specific computer to commit a specific offence or using computers for the purpose of a criminal action. There are computer viruses as well as virus attacks that aim at destroying data, specific software and disturb services of computer.

Empirical Evidence

The high rate of utilization of the Internet has directed towards negligence towards other significant areas of life that includes sleep, academic attainment and work. Again, users in this internet environment can be considered to be unidentifiedand involve in behaviours that are unfitting in majority of physical groups. On the contrary, delivering speedy, cheap and suitableadmittance to immoral sites can be considered as a shortcoming of the use of the Internet.  There are several studies that reflect the fact that a higher percentage of employees in the place of work make use of Internet for different non-work reasons. In the meantime, the majority of the common non-work actions include visiting the chat rooms, diverse sports websites along with investments for stock investments (Burbules 2018). Besides this, computers along with internet have the potency to violate user’s confidentiality by hackers. Research studies reflect the fact that there are necessarily 75% of American children who are eagerto share individualinformation along with information with other internet users in discussion for access to services and products delivered on the Internet (Crawford and Finn2015). However, this can prove to be very risky.  

During the year 2011, a research was undertake on examining overall influence of computer-generated social networks on academic attainment of students studying in Birjand University of Medical Sciences. This study reveals that majority of time are spent on social networks during the night. Also, a research was conducted on the usage of Internet along with social isolation among different Iranian students (Lunnayet al.2015). Essentially, the study discovered that individuals who utilize Internet and are addicted to different social networks encounter social isolation. Also, it can be hereby observed that student’s addiction to internet make them feel lonelier and harm their level of confidence than different normal users. Regardless ofuseful application, various users of mobile can exert impact on privacy of others in different public places. Essentially, the cameras in the advanced mobile technology can capture specific images of individuals without their approval. Thus, it breaches their privacy as this can be published by the Internet and can be made available to different others (Berzinet al.2015). Again, a study undertaken in particularly the USA during the year 2012 among the men reflected the fact that exposure to unethical sites has directed to high risk sexual behaviour among the individuals.

There are several investigations that were undertaken on particular concern of sexually transmitted content since the period of 2009 in different nations of the world counting the United States, United Kingdom, China, Australia and Czech Republic among many others. Essentially, it should be hereby observed that researches undertaken in the area of National Campaign for Prevention of Juvenile Injuries and Pregnancies in the USA have reflected considerable results in the incidenceof sexting between young Internet and users of mobile phone. Apart from an easy admittance to specific websites, animated games are also advanced that can permit online gaming with the opposite sex. Thus, it is apparent that a wide range of users, counting children, can become obsessed with ease to different computer games whilst these games can have numerous destructive influences (Bryman 2016). Conversely, computer games are time and again related to hostile social phenomena namely violence and varied types of addiction among youngsters. An extensive range of computer games incites violence indirectly. Particularly, aggressive computer games not only spur violent thoughts as well as feelings, and incite hostile and antisocial behaviours.

Methodology of Research

Against the backdrop of the study, thispresent segment explains illustratively methodology of research that is used for the current study. In essence, this section reports on the design of the research, research approach, research design, sources of data and techniques of analysis and interpretation of acquired data (Gordon, 2017). Particularly, the entire discussion in this section orients around the identified research problem along with objectives of the study.

Research Onion

The notion of research onion was proposed by Saunders et al. (2007) for describingdifferentphases through which the learner must undertake when developing an effectual research methodology. Firstly, the philosophy of research calls for elaborate definition. Flick (2015) suggests that this generates the initial point for the suitable research approach that is undertaken in the following stage. However, during the third stage, strategy of research is undertaken, and the time horizon is identified in the fourth layer. Further, during the fifth stagereflects the phase at which methodology of collection of data is recognized. Therefore, theadvantages of research onion are that it generates a series of phases under which diversemechanisms of data collection can be comprehended(Jamshed2014). Also, application of the research onion also helps in illustratingdiverse steps by which a practical study can be explained.

Philosophy of Research:

The research paper intends to use positivism research philosophy as this helps ins ubstantiation of different concept. Fundamentally,positivism research philosophy lays stress on recognition of dependable information that in turn helps in development of effectual knowledge that issystematic in character. In addition to this, this is also a specific type of acquired knowledge (McCuskerand Gunaydin2015).

Justification of selection of positivism research philosophy

A research philosophy is not intrinsically better than the other, even though learners might favour one over the other. The philosophy simply delivers substantiation for the research methodology. In this case, the learner has adopted the philosophy of positivism for the research. This is becausepositivism supports development of knowledge that isvalid in nature. Well-founded knowledge can be deciphered from diverse valid along withverifieddatasources (Silverman 2016). As a result, employment of positivism in the research study can aid in attainment of secondary data that aresubstantiated and positive facts collected from diverse sources reflected as empirical evidence.  

For the purpose of the present study, the learner intends to undertake deductive approach of research since adoption of this approach can help in formulating research hypothesis. The deductive research approach helps in the process of formulating appropriate research hypotheses based on pre-subsisting theories and thereafter develops approach of research for examining the same (Walliman2017).

Fundamentally, deductive approach of research is adopted by the learner since this specific approach assists in presentation of reasoning that helps in moving from specific concepts to generalized theme. In addition to this, in case if there exists any causal association between that seems to the signified by a specific theme, then in this case, it might possibly be true in certain cases. Thus, the deductive approach of research can necessarily be considered to be a significant approach that can aid assessment of association otherwise linkage that can be realized from varied generic situations. Therefore, in this particular case, the deductive approach of research can aid in the process of formulating hypothesis in functional manner and put forwardlinkages between diverse variables (Flick 2015). Subsequently, this can help in assessment ofoutcomes of the research and substantiate or discard the research hypothesis.

The learner of the study proposes to implement descriptive design of research for the present study. In essence, this is a specific design that is adoptedto carry out the study, undertake investigationand presentspecific information on varied matters associated to the topic under deliberation (Jamshed2014). The study at hand assumes descriptive design of research since this utilizes secondary data together withcomprehensiveevaluation of formerlyrecognized facts that are noteworthy to huge extent.

Justification for selection of descriptive design of research

The study intends to aptly select descriptive design of research for reflecting experiences of participants on the whole. Therefore, this specific approach is said to be justified as this helps in completing an accurate analysis of the subject under consideration. Also, this assists in describing, explaining and validating findings. Descriptive research design can be implemented individually or in different combinations for ascertaining cause and effect (Walliman2017).

The learner intends to carry out the study using the secondary data.

As suggested by Bryman (2016), there are presence of different structured text (namely, reports writings, outcomes of different varied surveys, academic literature presented in books and journal)that are gathered as qualitative data for the study under consideration. Particularly, the data utilized for the study essentiallytakes account of theory that points out towards specific inter-linked themes, descriptionsandproposals that can bring to mind systemic opinionsconcerning events by indicating towards relations among different variables (Mackeyand Gass2015).

For the purpose of conducting the study, the learner intends to adopt qualitative method of analysisthat can essentially be used for beginning a procedure of investigation into specific reasons behind deedsand behaviours (ethical/unethical) of human beings (McCuskerand Gunaydin2015). The learner has the intention to evaluate prior case studies, undertake thematic and systematic analysis of academic literature for assessment of amassed qualitative data.

Specific plan for the current project

-The first and foremost part of this project explains about the background of the subject matter taken into consideration

-The second segment illustrates about the outline that is mainly followed in proposal of research (Silverman2016)

-The third segmentalso comprises of assessment of academic literature and works of prior scholars

-The fourth segment presents methodology of research along with approach of evaluating data

Task Particulars	Start date	End date	Duration (in total number of Days)
Analysis of Project Context	24-08-2018	25-08-2018	2
proposal of research presented by the learner	25-08-2018	31-08-2018	7
Systematic assessment of Literature	31-08-2018	02-09-2018	3
Research Methodology and evaluation of gathered information	02-09-2018	05-09-2018	4
Submission of the complete report	05-09-2018	10-09-2018	5

Conclusion

The above mentioned proposal of research helps in understanding the subject matter under consideration and the area that will be investigated in detail. This study explains in detail the background of the chosen area of research, presents the research questions to be interviewed and presents a preliminary review of literature. Thereafter, this study proposes illustratively the methodology that is to be followed for completing the current research and illustrates in detail the mechanism to be followed for the research. 

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