0387982752.RVW 990308
"Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age", Joseph Migga Kizza,
0-387-98275-2, U$42.95
%A Joseph Migga Kizza
%C Springer-Verlag New york, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
%D 1998
%E D. Gries, F.B. Schneider
%G 0-387-98275-2
%I Springer
%O U$49.99
%P 172 p.
%T "Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age: Undergraduate
Texts in Computer Science"
Overview: "Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age" is an
excellent foundation and resource for defining ethics and morals in a
technological world. For any reader interested in exploring this often
shady area of life, I highly recommend this be your introduction. Along
with the clear and concise defintions, each chapter references real world
examples to help illustrate each point and make the reader aware of the
real and imaged concerns associated with each.
Chapter 1 - "Morality and the Law": If you can judge a book by the first
chapter, this book is a great read. The introduction to morality and the
law starts out with clear explanation of what morality is, moral theories,
moral decision making, as well as listing well established and general
moral codes (such as 'the golden rule'). By defining such concepts as
'guilt' and 'judgment', the reader is well equipped to move on and explore
the different facets of ethics, morals, and how they apply to technology.
Chapter 2 - "Ethics, Technology, and Values": The various definitions of
ethics and the theories of ethics is explained very well. Providing short
descriptions of major ethical theories, you begin to realize there are
many more concerns than may meet the eye. Continuing on, Kizza creates an
equation to explore the relation between ethics and the human mind. This
chapter also goes in depth on Codes of Ethics, defines Computer Ethics,
and explains *why* you should study Computer Ethics.
Chapter 3 - "Ethics and the Professions": Chapter three delves into
defining professional requirements and the codes that may apply to them.
Kizza describes four codes: professional, personal, institutional, and
community. From here, the four 'pillars' of professionalism are outlined
and described: Commitment, integrity, responsibility, and accountability.
The rest of this chapter deals with the making of an ethical profession,
and the attributes that go with it.
Chapter 4 - "Anonymity, Security, and Privacy": After defining each of
these concepts, real world examples are provided to illustrate each, and
help show the reason each is valuable and noteworthy. Perhaps the
strongest point is the defintion and breakout of 'privacy', and what it
truly entails.
Chapter 5 - "Intellectual Property Rights and Computer Technology": Before
you can define intellectual property rights, you must qualify what
property is in the technical and digital world. Once defined, there are
several factors that affect the value and right of use including 'public
domain', copyright, patents, 'trade secret' status, trademarks, and more.
Last, you must define ownership as well as define what infringement really
is. This chapter also goes into how you can better protect what is
valuable to you or your company.
Chapter 6 - "Computer-Augmented Environments: The Workplace": A few years
ago, the 'workplace' was easily defined by four walls in a set location.
In today's world, travelling, home and virtual offices have replaced that
idea. Chapter six defines this changing world and considers the effects
and benefits of each. Section 6.4 goes into explicit detail about the
implications and considerations of workplace privacy and surveillance. How
do you monitor virtual workers? What rights do you have to monitor home
activity?
Chapter 7 - "Software Issues": Since software in one form or another
controls every computer or computer component, it becomes a more important
and fundamental part of our life. Even though we may not understand the
languages that make up the software, we must be aware of the elements of
software that affect its use. Verification and Validation, reliability,
security, safety, and quality are some of the major points examined and
brought to light. Section 7.2 delves into the various reasons of why
software fails and who is responsible. More importantly, it covers what
consumer protection exists, the rights of software buyer's, and more.
Chapter 8 - "New Frontiers for Ethical Considerations: Artifical
Intelligence, Cyberspace, and Virtual Reality": Most literature on future
concepts in computing typically lack material justifying one stance or
another. This book differs as it provides solid definitions of areas of
computers barely defined, and more importantly, provides reference to
existing work in the fields of AI and VR.
Chapter 9 - "Ethical and Social Issues in Cyberspace": Perhaps one of the
most obscured and widely (mis?)used words to describe computer culture is
'cyberspace'. Rather than try to force an unwieldy definition on the word,
Kizza gives the reader a foundation and quick background for the word.
That in mind, he moves on to cover the role of copyright, patents,
identity, censorship, privacy, and security and how they are affected, as
well as how they affect cyberspace.
-o-
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