Understanding Ethical and Social Issues Related to Systems
In the past 10 years, we have witnessed, arguably, one of the most ethically challenging periods for U.S. and global business. In today’s new legal environment, managers who violate the law and are convicted will most likely spend time in prison. Ethics refers to the principles of right and wrong that individuals, acting as free moral agents, use to make choices to guide their behaviors. When using information systems, it is essential to ask, “What is the ethical and socially responsible course of actin?”
A Model for Thinking about Ethical, Social and Political Issues
Ethical, social, and political issues are closely linked. The ethical dilemma you may face as a manager of information systems typically is reflected in social and political debate.
Ethical And Social Issues in MIS - Management Information SystemFaHaD .H. NooR
Information ethics has been defined as "the branch of ethics that focuses on the relationship between the creation, organization, dissemination, and use of information, and the ethical standards and moral codes governing human conduct in society".[1] The term information ethics was first coined by Robert Hauptman and used in the book Ethical challenges in librarianship. It examines the morality that comes from information as a resource, a product, or as a target.[2] It provides a critical framework for considering moral issues concerning informational privacy, moral agency (e.g. whether artificial agents may be moral), new environmental issues (especially how agents should behave in the infosphere), problems arising from the life-cycle (creation, collection, recording, distribution, processing, etc.) of information (especially ownership and copyright, digital divide, and digital rights). It is very vital to understand that librarians, archivists, information professionals among others, really understand the importance of knowing how to disseminate proper information as well as being responsible with their actions when addressing information.[3]
Information ethics has evolved to relate to a range of fields such as computer ethics,[4] medical ethics, journalism[5] and the philosophy of information.
Dilemmas regarding the life of information are becoming increasingly important in a society that is defined as "the information society". The explosion of so much technology has brought information ethics to a forefront in ethical considerations. Information transmission and literacy are essential concerns in establishing an ethical foundation that promotes fair, equitable, and responsible practices. Information ethics broadly examines issues related to ownership, access, privacy, security, and community. It is also concerned with relational issues such as "the relationship between information and the good of society, the relationship between information providers and the consumers of information".[6]
Information technology affects common issues such as copyright protection, intellectual freedom, accountability, privacy, and security. Many of these issues are difficult or impossible to resolve due to fundamental tensions between Western moral philosophies (based on rules, democracy, individual rights, and personal freedoms) and the traditional Eastern cultures (based on relationships, hierarchy, collective responsibilities, and social harmony).[7] The multi-faceted dispute between Google and the government of the People's Republic of China reflects some of these fundamental tensions.
Ethical And Social Issues in MIS - Management Information SystemFaHaD .H. NooR
Information ethics has been defined as "the branch of ethics that focuses on the relationship between the creation, organization, dissemination, and use of information, and the ethical standards and moral codes governing human conduct in society".[1] The term information ethics was first coined by Robert Hauptman and used in the book Ethical challenges in librarianship. It examines the morality that comes from information as a resource, a product, or as a target.[2] It provides a critical framework for considering moral issues concerning informational privacy, moral agency (e.g. whether artificial agents may be moral), new environmental issues (especially how agents should behave in the infosphere), problems arising from the life-cycle (creation, collection, recording, distribution, processing, etc.) of information (especially ownership and copyright, digital divide, and digital rights). It is very vital to understand that librarians, archivists, information professionals among others, really understand the importance of knowing how to disseminate proper information as well as being responsible with their actions when addressing information.[3]
Information ethics has evolved to relate to a range of fields such as computer ethics,[4] medical ethics, journalism[5] and the philosophy of information.
Dilemmas regarding the life of information are becoming increasingly important in a society that is defined as "the information society". The explosion of so much technology has brought information ethics to a forefront in ethical considerations. Information transmission and literacy are essential concerns in establishing an ethical foundation that promotes fair, equitable, and responsible practices. Information ethics broadly examines issues related to ownership, access, privacy, security, and community. It is also concerned with relational issues such as "the relationship between information and the good of society, the relationship between information providers and the consumers of information".[6]
Information technology affects common issues such as copyright protection, intellectual freedom, accountability, privacy, and security. Many of these issues are difficult or impossible to resolve due to fundamental tensions between Western moral philosophies (based on rules, democracy, individual rights, and personal freedoms) and the traditional Eastern cultures (based on relationships, hierarchy, collective responsibilities, and social harmony).[7] The multi-faceted dispute between Google and the government of the People's Republic of China reflects some of these fundamental tensions.
Information Systems in Global Business Todaytvto1381
Explain why information systems are so essential in business today.
Define an information system from both a technical and a business perspective.
Identify and describe the three dimensions of information systems
Information Systems in Global Business Todaytvto1381
Explain why information systems are so essential in business today.
Define an information system from both a technical and a business perspective.
Identify and describe the three dimensions of information systems
The presentation is all about the issues in professional ethics. This talks about the failures of ethics in Information Technology. Sliding thru the powerpoint gives you a hint what are the ethical and social issues in information systems
A database management system (DBMS) is system software for creating and managing databases. The DBMS provides users and programmers with a systematic way to create, retrieve, update and manage data.
A database management system (DBMS) is system software for creating and managing databases. The DBMS provides users and programmers with a systematic way to create, retrieve, update and manage data.
A relational database management system (RDBMS) is a database management system (DBMS) based on the relational model invented by Edgar F. Codd at IBM's San Jose Research Laboratory. Most databases in widespread use today are based on his relational database model.[1]
Facebook is one of the most profitable businesses in the world, and its entire existence depends on the use of information technology and information systems.
Other successful companies such as Google, Amazon, eBay, and Financial Institutions- most of their success is due to technology.
This tutorial will look at the roles of MIS in the organization and how an organization can take advantage of MIS to gain competitive advantage.
Important roles of the Management information system in businessTonmoy zahid Rishad
A management information system (MIS) is a computerized database of financial information organized and programmed in such a way that it produces regular reports on operations for every level of management in a company. It is usually also possible to obtain special reports from the system easily. The main purpose of the MIS is to give managers feedback about their own performance; top management can monitor the company as a whole. Information displayed by the MIS typically shows "actual" data over against "planned" results and results from a year before; thus it measures progress against goals. The MIS receives data from company units and functions. Some of the data are collected automatically from computer-linked check-out counters; others are keyed in at periodic intervals. Routine reports are preprogrammed and run at intervals or on demand while others are obtained using built-in query languages; display functions built into the system are used by managers to check on status at desk-side computers connected to the MIS by networks. Many sophisticated systems also monitor and display the performance of the company's stock.
How can information systems contribute to build a digital bangladeshTonmoy zahid Rishad
Vision of Digital Bangladesh and the Governance of New Media
"Digital Bangladesh" is currently the most commonly used words in politics, media, among the intellectuals and the civil societies. The present government in its election manifesto pledged to develop a digital Bangladesh by 2021; it has given a great hope to the citizens of Bangladesh. Not too many people understood the concept of digital Bangladesh but they believed it, as something related to information technology. It has been widely accepted by a good number of young people, believing that the concept of Digital Bangladesh will solve most of our national crisis involving corruption, unemployment, illiteracy, poverty and price-hike. However, to make digital Bangladesh, what should be done first? What is actually necessary for making digital Bangladesh, as promised, by year 2021?
Electronic governance or e-governance is the application of information and communication technology (ICT) for delivering government services, exchange of information, communication transactions, integration of various stand-alone systems and services between government-to-citizen (G2C), government-to-business (G2B), government-to-government
Management information system of BD NU all Board questions-chapter 1 for BB...Tonmoy zahid Rishad
Management Information System, commonly referred to as MIS is a phrase consisting of three words: management, information and systems. Looking at these three words, it’s easy to define Management Information Systems as systems that provide information to management.
That is the simple definition of MIS that generally sums up what a Management Information System is, and what it should do. However, its role and impact on the smooth operation of a company can never be overemphasized. That is the reason why every successful company makes use of these systems in one way or another.
Information systems in global business today in Management information system...Tonmoy zahid Rishad
It's not business as usual in America anymore, or the rest of the global economy. In 2009, more wireless cell phone accounts were opened than telephone land lines installed. Eighty-nine million people in the United States access the Internet using mobile devices in 2010, nearly half the total Internet user population. Despite the recession, e-commerce and Internet advertising continue to expand. Google's online ad revenues surpassed $25 billion in 2009, and Internet advertising continues to grow at more than 10 percent a year, reaching more than $25 billion in revenues in 2010.
Now federal security and accounting laws, requiring many business to keep e-mail messages for five years, coupled with existing occupational and health laws requiring firms to store employee chemical exposure data for up to 60 years, are spurring the growth of digital information at the estimated rate of 5 exabytes annually, equivalent to 37,000 new Libraries of Congress.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND STRATEGY for management information s...Tonmoy zahid Rishad
Identify and describe important features of organizations that managers need to know about in order to build and use information systems successfully.
•Demonstrate how Porter’s competitive forces model helps companies develop competitive strategies using information systems.
•Explain how the value chain and value web models help businesses identify opportunities for strategic information system applications.
Global e business and collaboration ,Management information system for BBA Ho...Tonmoy zahid Rishad
Business Processes
Business processes are the collection of activities required to produce a product or service. These activities are flows of material, information, and knowledge among the participants in business processes. Business processes also refer to unique ways in which organizations coordinate work, information, and knowledge, and the ways in which management chooses t coordinate work. To a large extent, the performance of a business firm depends on how well its business processes are designed and coordinated.
How Information Technology Improves Business Processes
Today, information technology can do much more. New technology can actually change the flow of information, making it possible for many more people to access and share information, replacing sequential steps with tasks that can be performed simultaneously, and eliminating delays in decision making. New information technology frequently changes the way in business works and supports entirely new business models.
Types of Information Systems
A typical business organization has systems supporting processes for each of the major business functions - systems for sales and marketing, manufacturing and production, finance and accounting, and human resources. It also has different systems supporting the decision-making needs of each of the main management groups.
Introductions to Project management-chapter 1 for BBA Hons Professional cour...Tonmoy zahid Rishad
A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.
And a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal. So a project team often includes people who don’t usually work together – sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies.
The development of software for an improved business process, the construction of a building or bridge, the relief effort after a natural disaster, the expansion of sales into a new geographic market — all are projects.
And all must be expertly managed to deliver the on-time, on-budget results, learning and integration that organizations need.
Project management, then, is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.
Promise + written content on a note=Promissory notes
Features-
Instrument
Unconditional undertaking
Signed
Certain sum of money
Order
Person
Bearer
Instrument
Promissory note -Banking and insurance policyPromissory note -Banking and insurance policyPromissory note -Banking and insurance policy
Rural Entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh-Problems and prospects and s...Tonmoy zahid Rishad
Rural Entrepreneurship development means to develop the overall sectors such as business ,agriculture, Farm in rural areas.
Entrepreneurship is the capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit. The most obvious example of entrepreneurship is the starting of new businesses
Partnership business full file by Dhaka commerce college BBATonmoy zahid Rishad
What is a Business Partnership?
A partnership in a business is similar to a personal partnership. Both business and personal partnerships involve:
1.Pooling money toward a common purpose
2.Sharing individual skills and resources, and
3.Sharing in the good and bad times.
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership).[1] Shareholders are able to transfer their shares to others without any effects to the continued existence of the company.
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
Introduction to AI for Nonprofits with Tapp NetworkTechSoup
Dive into the world of AI! Experts Jon Hill and Tareq Monaur will guide you through AI's role in enhancing nonprofit websites and basic marketing strategies, making it easy to understand and apply.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
Honest Reviews of Tim Han LMA Course Program.pptxtimhan337
Personal development courses are widely available today, with each one promising life-changing outcomes. Tim Han’s Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course has drawn a lot of interest. In addition to offering my frank assessment of Success Insider’s LMA Course, this piece examines the course’s effects via a variety of Tim Han LMA course reviews and Success Insider comments.
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
Embracing GenAI - A Strategic ImperativePeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
This chapter examines the ethical, social, and political issues raised by information systems. It can be useful to ask students to help you put together a list of these issues categorized into ethical, social, and political columns.
Ask students if they know they are tracked on the Web. Would they like to know what information companies such as Google have about them? Do they feel comfortable that they can control and manage their online personal information, or, do they feel they have no control over this information? Ask students to imagine that, when they turn on their televisions to watch a show, more than one hundred cameras are activated inside the TV watching their every move, comment, and of course what show they are watching. Many Web sites today have more than one hundred tracking programs (“bugs”) on their home page.
There are numerous examples of business ethical failures to ask students about. You could ask how information systems or their absence might have been related to the current financial crisis in the United States, the investment banks that have suffered heavy losses, and individuals who were able to defraud investors of millions. What role did IS have in this crisis? The Madoff Ponzi scheme is instructive: systems were used for more than twenty years to fool investors, regulators, and investigators about the true nature of Madoff’s business.
Ask students to describe some of the ethical dilemmas that are presented by information systems and new developments in technology. Privacy is an important issue—mention the opening case again and explain that the business models of Google, Facebook, and many other sites depend on getting users to give up their personal information so it can be used to market and sell them products.
Can students provide any examples of how IT has challenged some area of ethics, social life, or legal arrangements?
Explain to students that the graphic displays the five moral dimensions listed in the caption. Consider online P2P bit torrent shared music as an example of how a new technology has ethical, social, and eventually political (legal) ramifications. If music can be ripped off, why pay any money for it? Why should anyone care about record labels or artist’s income?
Give examples of each of the five major issues. For example, an issue dealing with information rights might be, what rights do individuals possess with respect to themselves? What do they have a right to protect? An issue dealing with quality of life might be: what values should be preserved in an information- and knowledge-based society? An issue dealing with system quality might be: what standards of data and system quality should we demand to protect individual rights and the safety of society?
Which of these trends do students believe might have the most adverse consequences? Why do they feel this way? Do the positives outweigh the negatives for all four issues? Why or why not?
Online profiling is one of the most controversial computer-related ethical, social, and political issues today. Although it is used fairly extensively on the Internet, it is also used by insurance firms, health insurance firms, casinos, and of course national authorities around the globe for finding potential terrorists.
Explain that NORA is used by both the government and the private sector for its profiling capabilities. Ask students to provide potential examples of NORA (other than the one mentioned in the caption) for both governmental and business purposes. One such example might be an airline identifying potential terrorists attempting to board a plane. Another might be government identifying potential terrorists by monitoring phone calls.
Explain that information systems do not exist in a vacuum and that these concepts are instrumental in understanding the impact of systems and measuring their success. Ask students why liability and due process are such important ethical concepts? (A rough answer would be that they provide recourse to individuals negatively effected by mismanagement of information systems, providing incentive to “play by the rules”.)
Do students believe that any aspect of ethical analysis is lacking from this process? If so, what? Can students offer a brief example of an ethical dilemma and how they would resolve it using this process? One class exercise is to work with students to identify an ethical situation they are aware of, or that may have been in the news. Then, go through the ethical analysis described in the slide to illustrate the process of analyzing an ethical situation.
Ensure students understand the difference between the categorical imperative and the rule of change. Briefly, the difference is that the categorical imperative spans the entirety of the populace, whereas the rule of change applies to the decisions of one person over time. For example, the categorical imperative applies to an employee who tries to steal money from his employer. He shouldn’t do this, because if all employees attempted to do so, the company would fail. The rule of change applied to the same situation might run as follows: although the employee’s stealing one dollar from the company would not lead to any true problem, repeatedly stealing one dollar, or stealing a lot of dollars, would be unacceptable and ultimately lead to the destruction of the company.
How does the “no free lunch” rule relate to copyrights, patents, and trademarks? (These concepts are discussed in later slides.)
Explain that the appearance of unethical behavior is as harmful as actual unethical behavior at times, so adherence to these principles are critical. In an age of “open source software” how does the principle of “no free lunch” work out? Open source software is an example of an economic good which is licensed by the creator for distribution often without charge, or even attribution. In this case, there is a “free lunch.” But it occurs because the creators of the software consent to this arrangement.
Other ethical dilemmas include companies trying to use new systems to reduce the size of their workforce, such as telephone companies using automated systems to reduce the need for human operators. Emphasize that in cases like these, right and wrong are not clearly defined, but instead, contrasting values are at odds with one another (companies value productivity, employees value their work).
Do students believe that there are sufficient protections for privacy in law? If not, what are possible methods of developing appropriate privacy protections? Table 4-3 in the text lists a variety of other laws affecting both the government and private institutions, but few areas of the private sector are as well regulated with respect to privacy. Do an in-class poll and ask students who among them feel they can control the use of their personal information on the Internet. You should get no one raising their hand.
Explain what is meant by a “mutuality of interest between record holder and individual.” (Briefly, the individual wants to engage in a transaction, and the record holder needs information about the individual to support the transaction—both are interested parties in the transaction.)
Do students believe that the Web sites they visit actually disclose their data collection and utilization practices? Is it difficult to find where?
These five Fair Information Practices provide the foundation for all privacy legislation in the United States, and much of Europe. You might go to a popular Web site, find its privacy policy, and see how well the site conforms to the principles above. Chances are good that the Web site you choose will have several statements in their policies which permit them to do anything they want with personal information. Also, do a search on “FTC privacy” and go to one of the reports listed. A search on “FTC behavioral targeting” also produces many fine reports on the topic.
EU protections of privacy are far more powerful than the United States because they require informed consent before a firm can do anything with personal information besides support the transaction at hand. In Europe, there is no junk postal mail for instance because advertising firms are prohibited from using personal information obtained from third parties, and without the consent of the individual.
What are students attitudes toward these technologies? Emphasize that cookies can be useful at trusted sites, but perhaps invasive at others. Have students had any experience with spyware or Web bugs on their own computers? How would they know they are being tracked?
Ask students to pinpoint where potential privacy invasions might occur in the process shown above. Students may suggest that no real privacy violation is occurring in the figure, which is a legitimate point of view. If so, ask them how they might feel about a Web site they did not trust engaging in the displayed process.
Do students believe that businesses should be pressed to provide more comprehensive privacy protections online? Explain that businesses prefer the looser regulation, but that individuals may not. Also emphasize that most individuals do not take the proper steps to ensure their own privacy in any case. Most people do not know how to protect their privacy online. Does that mean that privacy is unimportant or that people don’t care?
Does tracking cell phones cause harm to people? What harm could result?
Do students believe that the property rights guaranteed by trade secrets, copyrights, and patents are strong enough to avoid the theft of intellectual property online? Give an example of a trade secret (the formula for Coke; a method of doing business or business process). Give an example of a copyright (which could include the copyright of a photo or newspaper article). And give an example of a patent (such as Amazon’s One Click shopping as a business process patent, or Kodak’s claim to have a patent on digital still cameras with digital displays for a viewfinder).
Students may be unwilling to admit to infringing upon intellectual property rights themselves, but ask them whether they are familiar with the Internet and its ability to bypass intellectual property protections. Do they believe that legislation such as the DMCA is having any effect? How many have friends who download “free” music from P2P sights? Free videos?
Using the example from the text, who do students consider to be the liable party for the incident involving Bank of America customers whose paychecks were denied due to an operating error at the bank’s computer center? Is it the designers of the systems at the center? Is there no liability involved? Explain that it is difficult to ascribe liability to software developers for the same reason that it is difficult to ascribe a publisher liability for the effects of a book.
Do students have any opinion about when software is “good enough?” Does it depend on the particular product? For example, distinguish between software used by air traffic controllers and software used for word processing. Do students believe that there are different levels of acceptable quality for these products?
Ask students whether they have witnessed any of these negative consequences first hand. It’s likely that they know someone who has become dependent on their computer to some extent or have even experienced something similar first hand. Which of the above consequences do students feel is the most alarming?
Ask students what experience they have had with spam. A notable statistic is that spam accounts for more than 75% of all e-mail traffic and is relatively unlikely to decrease, because it is so difficult to regulate and so cheap to send.
Do students believe that the end result of continuing advances in information technology will be rising unemployment and a small number of elite corporate professionals? Students may enjoy debating this idea, which is somewhat far-fetched, but conceptually stimulating. There is some evidence that today’s manufacturing technology (including robots and computer controlled machines) is displacing factory jobs.
Have students encountered any of these health risks, either from personal experience or from someone they know?
Ask students for examples of where they have felt the pressure of “too much information.” How many students surf the Web while they watch TV. Will any admit to texting while driving (either reading or writing)? Probably not. Do any have friends who do this? Probably.