Ethics, Information and Technology: Readings

by Richard N. Stichler, Robert Hauptman

Overview

Leaders in the emerging field of information ethics discuss five topics: freedom of information and the pursuit of knowledge; information, technology and education; information, rights and social justice; ethics and the Internet; and professional ethics. The essays have been drawn from many periodicals, including Library Journal, Daedalus, The Nation, Journal of Information Ethics and Wired.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786440955
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	02/12/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	331
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Richard N. Stichler is professor emeritus of Alvernia University in Reading, Pennsylvania. Robert Hauptman is professor emeritus of St. Cloud State University and editor of the Journal of Information Ethics.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Introduction     
Richard N. Stichler and Robert Hauptman

I. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE
Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion     
John Stuart Mill
New Threats to Free Thought     
Jonathan Rauch
Academic and Artistic Freedom     
Nadine Strossen
Untruth or Consequences?      
John C. Swan

II. INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND EDUCATION
Information, Technology, and the Virtues of Ignorance     
Daniel C. Dennett
Do Expert Systems Have a Moral Cost?      
Mark Alfino
Umberto Eco on Libraries: A Discussion of “De Bibliotheca”      
Michael F. Winter
Education and Technology: Virtual Students, Digital Classroom     
Neil Postman
Unabomber’s Secret Treatise: Is There Method in His Madness?      
Kirkpatrick Sale

III. INFORMATION, RIGHTS, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Utilitarianism, Information and Rights     
Partha Dasgupta
Communications Privacy: Implications for Network Design     
Marc Rotenberg
Ethics in the Information Market     
Richard N. Stichler
Librarianship and Public Culture in the Age of Information Capitalism     
Henry T. Blanke

IV. ETHICS AND THE INTERNET
The Freedom of Information Act: Public Access in the Computer Age     
Senator Patrick Leahy
Access Denied: Information Policy and the Limits of Liberalism     
Grant H. Kester
Justice and Social Equity in Cyberspace     
Ronald Doctor
Misconduct on the Information Highway: Abuse and Misuse of the Internet     
Susan Hallam
Computers, Pornography, and Conflicting Rights     
Virgina Rezmierski

V. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
The Origin of Professionalism: Sociological Conclusions and Ethical Implications     
Lisa Newton
The Ideological Use of Professional Codes     
John Kultgen
Professionalism or Culpability? An Experiment in Ethics     
Robert Hauptman

Appendix: Codes of Professional Ethics American Association of University Professors:
Statement on Professional Ethics
(from AAUP Policy Documents and Reports [1995] 105–106)     
Statement on Freedom and Responsibility
(from AAUP Policy Documents and Reports [ 1995] 107–108)     
Statement on Plagiarism
(from AAUP Policy Documents and Reports [1995] 109–110)     
American Library Association: ALA Code of Ethics     
Library Bill of Rights
(from Intellectual Freedom Manual, 3rd ed., p. 3)     

Notes on Contributors     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

recommended”—Library Journal; “a major contribution to the growing body of literature that seeks to define and expand information age paradigms...find space for this one”—Public Libraries; “introduc[es] the reader to a varied set of complex issues, and to some of the more thoughtful writers who have addressed those issues”—LISCA; “the collection affords the pleasure of discovering something to make one stop and think about information and how it affects values and ethics”—Booklist; “brings together essays that deal with key issues in information ethics from a variety of standpoints...worthwhile and perhaps salutary reading”—The Library Association Record; “useful”—Choice; “a collection of serious, well-documented essays which demand the reader’s full attention”—The Australian Library Journal; “these readings both teach and delight—Journal of the American Society for Information Science; “filled with useful information and challenging argumentation...should be of interest to anyone concerned with the ethical implications of recent developments in computer technology”—The Library Quarterly.

From the Publisher

Comprises a collection of 21 essays in which leaders and icons in the field of information ethics discuss the challenges associated with advances in technology. The essays are divided into five subject areas: freedom of information and the pursuit of knowledge; information, technology, and education; information, rights, and social justice; ethics and the Internet; and professional ethics. Authors range from John Stuart Mill to the ACLU's Nadine Strossen. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

introduc[es] the reader to a varied set of complex issues, and to some of the more thoughtful writers who have addressed those issues

LISCA

a major contribution to the growing body of literature that seeks to define and expand information age paradigms...find space for this one

Public Libraries

recommended

Library Journal