Summary of Social and Ethical Issues- privacy of the individual – security of data and information
- accuracy of data and information
- changing nature of work
- appropriate information use
- health and safety
- copyright laws
Social and ethical issues in collecting- bias in the choice of what and where to collect data
- accuracy of the collected data
- copyright and acknowledgment of source data when collecting
- the rights to privacy of individuals on whom data is collected
- ergonomic issues for participants entering large volumes of data into an information system
Social and ethical issues associated with organising- current trends in organising data, such as:
- the increase in hypermedia as a result of the world wide web
- the ability of software to access different types of data
- a greater variety of ways to organise resulting from advances in display technology
- the cost of poorly organised data, such as redundant data in a database used for mail-outs
- the appropriateness of a two digit date field at a time when storage and processing was more expensive, versus the current inappropriateness
Social and ethical issues associated with analysis- unauthorised analysis of data
- data incorrectly analysed
- erosion of privacy from linking databases for analysis
Social and ethical issues associated with storing/retrieving- the security of stored data
- unauthorised retrieval of data
- advances in storage and retrieval technologies and new uses such as data matching
Social and ethical issues associated with processing- types of computers on networks
- flexibility from the distributed processing of personal computers on networks
- security from the centralised processing of network computers (terminals)
- ownership of processed data
- bias in the way participants in the system process data
Social and ethical issues associated with transmitting and receiving- accuracy of data received from the Internet
- security of data being transferred
- net-etiquette
- acknowledgment of data source
- global network issues, time zones, date fields, exchange rates
- changing nature of work for participants, such as work from home and telecommuting
- current developments and future trends in digital communications, radio and television
- the impact of the Internet on traditional business
Social and ethical issues associated with displaying- communication skills of those presenting displays
- past, present and emerging trends in displays
- appropriate displays for a wide range of audiences, including:
- standards for display for the visually impaired
- displays suitable for young children
Social and ethical issues associated with Planning, Design and Implementation- machine-centred systems simplify what computers do at the expense of participants
- human-centred systems as those that make participants’ work as effective and satisfying as possible
- how the relationships between participants change as a result of the new system
- ensuring the new system provides participants with a safe work environment
- awareness of the impact the system may have on the participants:
- opportunities to use their skills
- meaningful work
- need for change
- opportunities for involvement and commitment
Social and ethical issues related to information systems and databases- acknowledgment of data sources
- the freedom of information act
- privacy principles
- accuracy of data and the reliability of data sources
- access to data, ownership and control of data
- new trends in the organisation, processing, storage and retrieval of data such as data warehousing and data-mining
Social and ethical issues related to communication systems- the use of communication systems to share knowledge, not just data
- issues related to messaging systems
- ideas delivered by this means appear less forceful and caring than ideas delivered personally
- danger of being misinterpreted
- power relationships
- privacy and confidentiality
- electronic junk mail
- information overload
- implications of Internet trading including:
- local taxation laws
- employment ramifications
- nature of business
- trading over the Internet and its commercial implications
- the difficulties of censoring content on the Internet
- issues arising from Internet banking, including:
- security of banking details
- changing nature of work
- branch closure and job loss
- the removal of physical boundaries by enabling:
- work from home
- virtual organisations, ie organisations structured around the communication system
- removal of national and international barriers to trade
- how participants are supported:
- individuals by providing a means for communication
- participant teams by enabling the exchange of ideas and data
- the emerging trend of accessing media such as radio and video across the Internet
Social and ethical issues related to multimedia systems- copyright: the acknowledgment of source data and the ease with which digital data can be modified
- appropriate use of the Internet and the wide spread application of new developments on it such as live video data
- the merging of radio, television, communications and the Internet with the increase and improvements in digitisation
- the integrity of the original source data in educational and other multimedia systems
Social and ethical issues related to transaction processing systems- changing nature of work and the effect on participants, including:
- the automation of jobs once performed by clerks
- the bypassing of clerks by people in the environment performing their former roles
(Eg collecting now done by customers using the bank's ATM machines instead of via the bank clerk)
- the need for non-computer procedures to deal with transactions when the computer is not available in real time systems
- bias in data collection:
- when establishing the system and deciding what data to collect
- when collecting data
- the importance of data in transaction processing, including:
- data security
- data accuracy
- data integrity
- control in transaction processing and the implications it has for participants in the system
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