Chapter Title: Ethical Considerations for the Information Professions
Chapter Title: Ethical Considerations for the Information Professions
Name of the Book: Cyber Ethics
Library Reference: N/A
Amazon Link:
Quote:
“Ethics is the study of morality; the study of what we do. Morality could exist without ethics but there cannot be ethics without morality …morality is like eating; it is an inevitable part of everyone’s life. Ethics on the other hand, is like nutrition. It is crucial to living a good life but it is not an inevitable part of living or an activity engaged in by all. ”
Learning Expectations:
1. To know the ethical considerations for the information professions.
2. To know the philosophical foundations.
3. To understand deeply the code of ethics
4. To know the major issues stated in this chapter.
5. To know the three major realm in ethics.
Review:
The field of Information Ethics is relatively new. The issues specific to information ethics, however have certainly been with us for a longer time, yet continue to gain prominence and computer technologies. Information ethics bridges many disciplines, including library and information science, computer science, archival science records management, informatics, educational media technologies and more. Recognizing the importance of the ethical issues surrounding information assumes a critical role for information workers, librarians, or computer scientists alike. Certainly we are all becoming information workers in some form or another yet few of us receive any formal education on the ethics of information or ethics in general.
Today social obsession with technologies especially information technologies raises many serious concerns and considerations while we continue to explore and exploit seemingly unlimited potentials of technology and it’s powers serious reflection on the social, ethical and legal ramifications of technologies remains minimal. Moreover many existing moral principles and frameworks are being stretched and contorted to fit new found situations and issues, as technologies create here to therefore unheard of ethical dilemmas.
This chapter includes a brief introduction to the philosophical foundations of ethics and morality and an overview of basic principles of information ethics describes particular concerns of information professionals, and discusses codes of ethics for the information professions. An abbreviated resource list is included fro additional information and sources.
Information ethics must be understood as impacting each and every member of information society. As such, each member must accept certain responsibilities and act accordingly. Information ethics, as with information literacy, must become integral to formal and informal education
Learning’s/Insights:
• Philosophical foundations
• Major issues
• Flagrant quantitative imbalance
• Inequality in information resources
• De facto hegemony
• Lack of information in developing countries
• Survival of the colonial era
• An alienating influence in the economic, social and cultural spheres
• Code of ethics
• Issue definition and evaluation
• Action/Inaction Evaluation and implementation
Integrative Questions:
1. What are the three realms of ethics?
2. What is Descriptive Ethics?
3. What is Normative Ethics?
4. What is Meta Ethics?
5. What is Ethics?
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