an article by Jessica Roberts (Universidade Catolica Portuguesa, Lisbon, Portugal) published in Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society Volume 17 Issue 4 (2019)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider the implications of the shift from citizen journalist to social media user by examining how ethics are addressed on social media sites compared to citizen journalism sites.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper applies the framework of a 2012 study of ethics on citizen journalism sites to social media sites’ guiding documents to compare how they discuss ethics and what they ask of the users, offering suggestions for how social media sites might imbue users with a sense of their responsibilities and obligations.
Findings
The analysis finds that ethics are largely ignored on social media sites, written in legalistic language and framed in negative terms, rather than in terms of responsibilities or obligations.
Originality/value
When citizen journalism was subsumed by social media, much of the language – lacking as it may have been – around users’ responsibilities to each other was lost. This paper suggests social media sites should seek to raise rather than lower the barriers to entry, and imbue users with a sense of the responsibility they accept when sharing information online.
Showing posts with label ethics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ethics. Show all posts
Monday, 9 December 2019
Tuesday, 26 November 2019
Why It’s Essential to Treat Corporations as Persons, Except When It’s Not
a post by Chris MacDonald for The Business Ethics Blog
I’ve long held that you can’t understand much about business ethics if you don’t understand a bit about markets (their role and limits), corporations (their nature and purpose), and managers (their role and the limits on it). Of those three, it is perhaps the corporation that raises the most controversy, although the other two certainly generate their share.
A corporation is, very roughly, an entity recognised by the law and that exists independently of the people who form it. The general term “corporation” includes business corporations (Walmart, Amazon, etc.), as well as cooperatives (such as ACE Hardware and Dairy Farmers of America) and nonprofit corporations (including charities, universities, hospitals, etc.). Some churches are corporations too.
Corporations are treated as persons under the law just about everywhere. The notion has raised controversy in the US, especially in the wake of the 2010 Citizens United* decision of the US Supreme Court. But that controversy sometimes leads people to miss the fact that corporate personhood isn’t some idiosyncratic American thing. Corporations are treated as persons pretty much everywhere. (If you know an exception, let me know in the Comments section below). Take Canada’s criminal code, for example. The Criminal Code is full of sentences that say “every one who” or “every person who” does such-and-such is guilty of a crime. In the Definitions section of the Code, it clarifies that those terms (“every one” and “person”) are to be read as including organisations, and that “organisation” means “a public body, body corporate, society, company, firm, partnership, trade union or municipality” (and certain kinds of associations).
Continue reading noting that the examples are from North America. I have read it carefully and can find, from my limited knowledge of corporate law, nothing that cannot be applied in the UK.
I’ve long held that you can’t understand much about business ethics if you don’t understand a bit about markets (their role and limits), corporations (their nature and purpose), and managers (their role and the limits on it). Of those three, it is perhaps the corporation that raises the most controversy, although the other two certainly generate their share.
A corporation is, very roughly, an entity recognised by the law and that exists independently of the people who form it. The general term “corporation” includes business corporations (Walmart, Amazon, etc.), as well as cooperatives (such as ACE Hardware and Dairy Farmers of America) and nonprofit corporations (including charities, universities, hospitals, etc.). Some churches are corporations too.
Corporations are treated as persons under the law just about everywhere. The notion has raised controversy in the US, especially in the wake of the 2010 Citizens United* decision of the US Supreme Court. But that controversy sometimes leads people to miss the fact that corporate personhood isn’t some idiosyncratic American thing. Corporations are treated as persons pretty much everywhere. (If you know an exception, let me know in the Comments section below). Take Canada’s criminal code, for example. The Criminal Code is full of sentences that say “every one who” or “every person who” does such-and-such is guilty of a crime. In the Definitions section of the Code, it clarifies that those terms (“every one” and “person”) are to be read as including organisations, and that “organisation” means “a public body, body corporate, society, company, firm, partnership, trade union or municipality” (and certain kinds of associations).
Continue reading noting that the examples are from North America. I have read it carefully and can find, from my limited knowledge of corporate law, nothing that cannot be applied in the UK.
Thursday, 21 November 2019
History and future of human-automation interaction
an article by Christian P. Janssen and Stella F. Donker (Utrecht University, the Netherlands), Duncan P. Brumby (University College London, UK) and Andrew L. Kun (University of New Hampshire, USA) published in International Journal of Human-Computer Studies Volume 131 (November 2019)
Highlights
We review the history of human-automation interaction research, assess its current status and identify future directions.
We start by reviewing articles that were published on this topic in the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies during the last 50 years.
We find that over the years, automated systems have been used more frequently
Hey ho, back to the future anyone?
Highlights
- We review the history of human-automation interaction research in IJHCS.
- Automated systems are used by non-professional users, in more dynamic contexts.
- Given the expansion of the field, there is a continued need for HCI contributions.
- We discuss important future areas for human-automation interaction research.
We review the history of human-automation interaction research, assess its current status and identify future directions.
We start by reviewing articles that were published on this topic in the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies during the last 50 years.
We find that over the years, automated systems have been used more frequently
- in time-sensitive or safety-critical settings,
- in embodied and situated systems, and
- by non-professional users.
- issues of function and task allocation between humans and machines,
- issues of trust, incorrect use, and confusion,
- the balance between focus, divided attention and attention management,
- the need for interdisciplinary approaches to cover breadth and depth,
- regulation and explainability,
- ethical and social dilemmas,
- allowing a human and humane experience, and
- radically different human-automation interaction.
Hey ho, back to the future anyone?
Monday, 7 October 2019
For ethical reflection, establish a clear technical foundation
an article by Chuck Huff (St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, USA) published in Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society Volume 17 Issue 3 (2019)
Abstract
Purpose
This viewpoint aims to highlight the necessarily technical nature of ethics in software development, propose a label (ethical bypassing) for ethical analysis that does not lead to ethical action and introduce a philosophical foundation for technical analysis that leads to ethical software development.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach is one of technical analysis that is aware of social science and philosophical knowledge bases.
Findings
The findings establish a clear technical foundation that is crucial to ethical analysis that will actually inform software development.
Research limitations/implications
The idea that beginning with technical expertise is the best way to begin ethical reflection on a technical implementation has been often suggested, but not really empircally tested. Research using cases or other qualitative approaches would need to be done to add credibility to the claim.
Practical implications
This approach suggests that collaboration between technically informed ethicists and ethically informed technical experts should begin with the exploration of the technical questions rather than with ethical speculation.
Social implications
A common approach to ethical education is to concentrate on ethical theory and its application in technical contexts. This approach suggests that this may lead to ethical bypassing by the student, the avoidance of the making technical decisions by extensive ethical reflection.
Originality/value
This paper introduces a new term, ethical bypassing, to the literature on the ethics of software development.
Abstract
Purpose
This viewpoint aims to highlight the necessarily technical nature of ethics in software development, propose a label (ethical bypassing) for ethical analysis that does not lead to ethical action and introduce a philosophical foundation for technical analysis that leads to ethical software development.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach is one of technical analysis that is aware of social science and philosophical knowledge bases.
Findings
The findings establish a clear technical foundation that is crucial to ethical analysis that will actually inform software development.
Research limitations/implications
The idea that beginning with technical expertise is the best way to begin ethical reflection on a technical implementation has been often suggested, but not really empircally tested. Research using cases or other qualitative approaches would need to be done to add credibility to the claim.
Practical implications
This approach suggests that collaboration between technically informed ethicists and ethically informed technical experts should begin with the exploration of the technical questions rather than with ethical speculation.
Social implications
A common approach to ethical education is to concentrate on ethical theory and its application in technical contexts. This approach suggests that this may lead to ethical bypassing by the student, the avoidance of the making technical decisions by extensive ethical reflection.
Originality/value
This paper introduces a new term, ethical bypassing, to the literature on the ethics of software development.
Monday, 23 September 2019
Exceptionalisms in the ethics of humans, animals and machines
an article by Wilhelm E.J. Klein (City University of Hong Kong) published in Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society Volume 17 Issue 2 (2019)
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine exceptionalisms in ethics in general and in the fields of animal and technology ethics in particular.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews five sample works in animal/technology ethics it considers representative for particularly popular forms of “exceptionalism”.
Findings
The shared feature of the exceptionalisms exhibited by the chosen samples appears to be born out of the cultural and biological history, which provides powerful intuitions regarding the on “specialness”.
Research limitations/implications
As this paper is mostly a critique of existing approaches, it contains only a limited amount of counter-proposed alternative approaches.
Practical implications
This is a discussion worth having because arguments based on (human or biological) exceptionalism have more chance of resulting in significantly altered theoretical conclusions and practical suggestions for normative guidance than non-exceptionalist perspectives.
Social implications
The approaches critiqued in this paper have a significant effect on the way the authors approach animals, machines/technologies and each other.
Originality/value
The paper identifies intuitive notions of exceptionalism and argues in favour of a reformist, ethical expansionist stance, which views humanity as residing (and other biological organisms) on the same plane of ethical significance as any other entity regardless of its material composition.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine exceptionalisms in ethics in general and in the fields of animal and technology ethics in particular.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews five sample works in animal/technology ethics it considers representative for particularly popular forms of “exceptionalism”.
Findings
The shared feature of the exceptionalisms exhibited by the chosen samples appears to be born out of the cultural and biological history, which provides powerful intuitions regarding the on “specialness”.
Research limitations/implications
As this paper is mostly a critique of existing approaches, it contains only a limited amount of counter-proposed alternative approaches.
Practical implications
This is a discussion worth having because arguments based on (human or biological) exceptionalism have more chance of resulting in significantly altered theoretical conclusions and practical suggestions for normative guidance than non-exceptionalist perspectives.
Social implications
The approaches critiqued in this paper have a significant effect on the way the authors approach animals, machines/technologies and each other.
Originality/value
The paper identifies intuitive notions of exceptionalism and argues in favour of a reformist, ethical expansionist stance, which views humanity as residing (and other biological organisms) on the same plane of ethical significance as any other entity regardless of its material composition.
Friday, 30 August 2019
Analyzing the legal roots and moral core of digital consent
an article by Elizabeth Edenberg and Meg Leta Jones (Georgetown University, USA) published in New Media & Society Volume 21 Issue 8 (August 2019)
Abstract
We will argue that clarifying the “moral core” of consent offers a common metric by which we can evaluate how well different legal frameworks are able to protect the central moral rights and interests at stake.
We begin by revisiting how legal frameworks for digital consent developed in order to see where there may be common moral ground and where these different cultures diverge on the issue of protection of personal information.
We then turn to ethics to clarify the central interests and rights at stake in morally transformative consent, in order to provide a common basis for evaluating the different legal frameworks.
Ultimately, we seek the moral core of digital consent in order to reimagine its role in international conflicts.
Full text (PDF 20pp)
Hazel’s comment:
There are a number of things about which I ask myself is it moral, is it ethical as against the legality of a specific action. Just because the law allows something does not make it right and the opposite is also true.
The authors of this piece have struck what seems to me to be a good balance.
Abstract
We will argue that clarifying the “moral core” of consent offers a common metric by which we can evaluate how well different legal frameworks are able to protect the central moral rights and interests at stake.
We begin by revisiting how legal frameworks for digital consent developed in order to see where there may be common moral ground and where these different cultures diverge on the issue of protection of personal information.
We then turn to ethics to clarify the central interests and rights at stake in morally transformative consent, in order to provide a common basis for evaluating the different legal frameworks.
Ultimately, we seek the moral core of digital consent in order to reimagine its role in international conflicts.
Full text (PDF 20pp)
Hazel’s comment:
There are a number of things about which I ask myself is it moral, is it ethical as against the legality of a specific action. Just because the law allows something does not make it right and the opposite is also true.
The authors of this piece have struck what seems to me to be a good balance.
Monday, 19 August 2019
Morals ex Machina: Should we listen to machines for moral guidance?
an article by Michael Klenk published in 3 Quarks Daily
I live and work in two different cities; on the commute, I continuously ask my phone for advice: When’s the next train? Must I take the bus, or can I afford to walk and still make the day’s first meeting? I let my phone direct me to places to eat and things to see, and I’ll admit that for almost any question, my first impulse is to ask the internet for advice.
My deference to machines puts me in good company. Professionals concerned with mightily important questions are doing it, too, when they listen to machines to determine who is likely to have cancer, pay back their loan, or return to prison. That’s all good insofar as we need to settle clearly defined, factual questions that have computable answers.
Imagine now a wondrous new app. One that tells you whether it is permissible to lie to a friend about their looks, to take the plane in times of global warming, or whether you ought to donate to humanitarian causes and be a vegetarian. An artificial moral advisor to guide you through the moral maze of daily life. With the push of a button, you will competently settle your ethical questions; if many listen to the app, we might well be on our way to a better society.
Concrete efforts to create such artificial moral advisors are already underway. Some scholars herald artificial moral advisors as vast improvements over morally frail humans, as presenting the best opportunity for avoiding the extinction of human life from our own hands. They demand that we should take listen to machines for ethical advice. But should we?
Continue reading
I live and work in two different cities; on the commute, I continuously ask my phone for advice: When’s the next train? Must I take the bus, or can I afford to walk and still make the day’s first meeting? I let my phone direct me to places to eat and things to see, and I’ll admit that for almost any question, my first impulse is to ask the internet for advice.
My deference to machines puts me in good company. Professionals concerned with mightily important questions are doing it, too, when they listen to machines to determine who is likely to have cancer, pay back their loan, or return to prison. That’s all good insofar as we need to settle clearly defined, factual questions that have computable answers.
Imagine now a wondrous new app. One that tells you whether it is permissible to lie to a friend about their looks, to take the plane in times of global warming, or whether you ought to donate to humanitarian causes and be a vegetarian. An artificial moral advisor to guide you through the moral maze of daily life. With the push of a button, you will competently settle your ethical questions; if many listen to the app, we might well be on our way to a better society.
Concrete efforts to create such artificial moral advisors are already underway. Some scholars herald artificial moral advisors as vast improvements over morally frail humans, as presenting the best opportunity for avoiding the extinction of human life from our own hands. They demand that we should take listen to machines for ethical advice. But should we?
Continue reading
Tuesday, 2 April 2019
General strain theory of Internet addiction and deviant behaviour in social networking sites (SNS)
an article by AR Mubarak (Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia) and Steve Quinn (Swinburne University of Technology Faculty of Science Engineering and Technology, Melbourne, Australia) published in Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society Volume 17 Issue 1 (2019)
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the association between internet addiction and problem behaviours on social networking sites (SNS) using the general strain theory (Agnew, 1992).
Design/methodology/approach
Using the purposive sampling method, a survey was conducted, which collected data from 414 college students studying in two public universities in South Australia. The Delphi method was used to develop the questionnaire used for the survey.
Findings
'Results of this research indicated a significant association between internet addiction and problem behaviours on SNS. Respondents who had engaged in problem behaviours on SNS had high internet addiction test scores (Young, 1998). On the basis of this finding, the present research argues that the general strains associated with the suffering of newly emerging challenges such as internet addiction might contribute to victimisation and deviant and problem behaviours on SNS in specific and possibly in cyberspace in general.
Research limitations/implications
Results of the present study need to be interpreted cautiously due to many limitations it has. This research is a cross-sectional study, which might not adequately explain the associations between internet addiction and problem behaviours on SNS. Longitudinal studies involving larger samples might have added significant value to this study. The present study uses purposive sampling technique, which has limited its generalizability, and its findings may not be generalised to large populations.
Originality/value
Limited information is available pertaining to the association between problem behaviours on SNS and internet addiction. The present study is a pioneering effort, which argues that rapid popularity of SNS is likely to increase internet addiction and the frustration of not getting proper treatment for their internet addiction might lead to deviant behaviours on SNS.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the association between internet addiction and problem behaviours on social networking sites (SNS) using the general strain theory (Agnew, 1992).
Design/methodology/approach
Using the purposive sampling method, a survey was conducted, which collected data from 414 college students studying in two public universities in South Australia. The Delphi method was used to develop the questionnaire used for the survey.
Findings
'Results of this research indicated a significant association between internet addiction and problem behaviours on SNS. Respondents who had engaged in problem behaviours on SNS had high internet addiction test scores (Young, 1998). On the basis of this finding, the present research argues that the general strains associated with the suffering of newly emerging challenges such as internet addiction might contribute to victimisation and deviant and problem behaviours on SNS in specific and possibly in cyberspace in general.
Research limitations/implications
Results of the present study need to be interpreted cautiously due to many limitations it has. This research is a cross-sectional study, which might not adequately explain the associations between internet addiction and problem behaviours on SNS. Longitudinal studies involving larger samples might have added significant value to this study. The present study uses purposive sampling technique, which has limited its generalizability, and its findings may not be generalised to large populations.
Originality/value
Limited information is available pertaining to the association between problem behaviours on SNS and internet addiction. The present study is a pioneering effort, which argues that rapid popularity of SNS is likely to increase internet addiction and the frustration of not getting proper treatment for their internet addiction might lead to deviant behaviours on SNS.
Tuesday, 5 March 2019
Dog words – or, How to think without language
an article by Mariam Motamedi Fraser (Goldsmiths University of London, UK) published in The Sociological Review Volume 67 Issue 2 (March 2019)
Abstract
This article is situated in the context of debates about animals and language, and animal–human relations. It is informed by the argument that words are neither the exclusive property of language, nor the exclusive property of humans. The article illustrates this point by exploring how some companion dogs make ‘dog words’ with their bodies and, further, how they are able/can be enabled to transform the meanings of these words by inventing and/or participating in word encounters.
In the spirit of Lev Vygotsky, the article argues that such encounters are a way of thinking with words in ‘complexes’. Through a series of concrete examples, it shows how intimacy is integral to such thinking, in its every aspect.
The ethically optimistic dimension of this analysis, however, simultaneously draws attention to how fragile are the relations between dogs, humans and words, and how proximate intimacy is to ‘other kinds of relations’.
With this in mind, the article addresses three ‘other kinds of relations’ that potentially limit animal–human ‘talking’ and thinking: scientific behaviourism, speciesism and ‘languagism’.
Abstract
This article is situated in the context of debates about animals and language, and animal–human relations. It is informed by the argument that words are neither the exclusive property of language, nor the exclusive property of humans. The article illustrates this point by exploring how some companion dogs make ‘dog words’ with their bodies and, further, how they are able/can be enabled to transform the meanings of these words by inventing and/or participating in word encounters.
In the spirit of Lev Vygotsky, the article argues that such encounters are a way of thinking with words in ‘complexes’. Through a series of concrete examples, it shows how intimacy is integral to such thinking, in its every aspect.
The ethically optimistic dimension of this analysis, however, simultaneously draws attention to how fragile are the relations between dogs, humans and words, and how proximate intimacy is to ‘other kinds of relations’.
With this in mind, the article addresses three ‘other kinds of relations’ that potentially limit animal–human ‘talking’ and thinking: scientific behaviourism, speciesism and ‘languagism’.
Tuesday, 4 September 2018
Tertiary-level internet users’ opinions and perceptions of cyberhate
an article by Serkan Celik, (Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey) published in Information Technology & People Volume 31 Issue 3 (2018)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the opinions and perceptions of internet users regarding online hate speech, and bring cyberhate to the attention of internet users and policy stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
A sectional research design and survey method was adopted throughout the study to examine the opinions and perceptions of internet users regarding cyberhate by descriptively exploring the existing situation from various perspectives. The participants of the study were determined by purposive sampling methods to attain maximum variety among internet users who are considered as highly literate in technology use. The data were collected through a personal data form and a survey (Cyberhate Perception Scale) from 372 internet users living in Turkey and the USA.
Findings
The findings of the study revealed that the majority of participants do not perceive cyberhate as a part of freedom of speech and they believe that online hate behaviors, which they also consider to be a violation of human rights, should be deemed illegal and be punished accordingly. The findings, which were discussed in line with the existing research, indicated some significant predictors of internet users’ perceptions on cyberhate.
Originality/value
As cyberhate is an understudied area that raises concerns in terms of internet user exposure, the objective of this research is to understand tendencies about the opinions and perceptions of internet users regarding online hate speech, and bring cyberhate to the attention of internet users and policy stakeholders.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the opinions and perceptions of internet users regarding online hate speech, and bring cyberhate to the attention of internet users and policy stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
A sectional research design and survey method was adopted throughout the study to examine the opinions and perceptions of internet users regarding cyberhate by descriptively exploring the existing situation from various perspectives. The participants of the study were determined by purposive sampling methods to attain maximum variety among internet users who are considered as highly literate in technology use. The data were collected through a personal data form and a survey (Cyberhate Perception Scale) from 372 internet users living in Turkey and the USA.
Findings
The findings of the study revealed that the majority of participants do not perceive cyberhate as a part of freedom of speech and they believe that online hate behaviors, which they also consider to be a violation of human rights, should be deemed illegal and be punished accordingly. The findings, which were discussed in line with the existing research, indicated some significant predictors of internet users’ perceptions on cyberhate.
Originality/value
As cyberhate is an understudied area that raises concerns in terms of internet user exposure, the objective of this research is to understand tendencies about the opinions and perceptions of internet users regarding online hate speech, and bring cyberhate to the attention of internet users and policy stakeholders.
Friday, 13 April 2018
Do I want to pay to download movies: Factors affecting acceptance of legal movie download services
an article by Sunghan Ryu (City University of Hong Kong College of Business, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong) and Byungho Park, (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) College of Business, Seoul, The Republic of Korea) published in Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society Volume 16 Issue 1 (2018)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the nature and characteristics of legal movie download services and to explore the factors that influence user acceptance of the services.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyzed the three aspects (i.e. hedonic information systems, ethical and legal consideration and user characteristics) of legal movie download services and empirically examined how they affect the potential users’ behavioral intent to adopt the services based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA). An online survey of 142 respondents about a real legal movie download services, currently operated by a major online service provider, was conducted.
Findings
Perceived playfulness and perceived usefulness had statistically significant effects on attitude. The relationships between subjective norms and its influencers are validated for moral judgment as well as risk aversion. The influence of price consciousness and past experience on behavioral intent to adopt the service are both supported. In the TRA model, attitude and subjective norms had statistically significant influence on behavioral intent to adopt the services.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to extending the literature on online pirating behavior from the different perspective, i.e. adoption of new legal alternatives. The study shows that the specific boundary conditions, i.e. hedonic attribute of information systems and existence of illegal alternatives, would generate the different results from the theories and previous literature.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the nature and characteristics of legal movie download services and to explore the factors that influence user acceptance of the services.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyzed the three aspects (i.e. hedonic information systems, ethical and legal consideration and user characteristics) of legal movie download services and empirically examined how they affect the potential users’ behavioral intent to adopt the services based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA). An online survey of 142 respondents about a real legal movie download services, currently operated by a major online service provider, was conducted.
Findings
Perceived playfulness and perceived usefulness had statistically significant effects on attitude. The relationships between subjective norms and its influencers are validated for moral judgment as well as risk aversion. The influence of price consciousness and past experience on behavioral intent to adopt the service are both supported. In the TRA model, attitude and subjective norms had statistically significant influence on behavioral intent to adopt the services.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to extending the literature on online pirating behavior from the different perspective, i.e. adoption of new legal alternatives. The study shows that the specific boundary conditions, i.e. hedonic attribute of information systems and existence of illegal alternatives, would generate the different results from the theories and previous literature.
Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Goals for algorithmic genies
an article by Hassan Masum (Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation, University of Waterloo, Canada) and Mark Tovey (Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration, Western University, Canada) published in First Monday Volume 23 Number 2 (February 2018)
Abstract
Algorithmic genies built from growing computational capabilities bring risks like automating well-paying jobs, yet we suggest that if supplied with suitable goals and supporting infrastructure they can help in meeting many human needs. We argue that algorithmic genies can be harnessed to raise the baseline experience of people worldwide (raising the floor), especially if such harnessing is informed by wide consensus and deep evidence.
Examples show how algorithmic genies could raise the floor for widely agreed human needs like health, education, and other components of the Social Progress Index.
Ensuring that both the least well off and the majority share in the benefits of progress can help to ensure the floor is raised for all (floored progress). Floored progress can apply beyond basic human needs to problems that people across the economic spectrum struggle with (shared floors).
We include three tables with illustrative opportunities, and conclude by summarizing the value of raising floors individually and in concert.
Full text (HTML)
Abstract
Algorithmic genies built from growing computational capabilities bring risks like automating well-paying jobs, yet we suggest that if supplied with suitable goals and supporting infrastructure they can help in meeting many human needs. We argue that algorithmic genies can be harnessed to raise the baseline experience of people worldwide (raising the floor), especially if such harnessing is informed by wide consensus and deep evidence.
Examples show how algorithmic genies could raise the floor for widely agreed human needs like health, education, and other components of the Social Progress Index.
Ensuring that both the least well off and the majority share in the benefits of progress can help to ensure the floor is raised for all (floored progress). Floored progress can apply beyond basic human needs to problems that people across the economic spectrum struggle with (shared floors).
We include three tables with illustrative opportunities, and conclude by summarizing the value of raising floors individually and in concert.
Full text (HTML)
Saturday, 17 February 2018
How to tell the truth about climate change
an article by Kellan Anfinson (University of South Florida, Tampa, USA) published in Environmental Politics Volume 27 Issue 2 (2018)
Abstract
Scientific knowledge, it is argued, is insufficient to overcome climate skepticism. Spiritual truth is proposed as a way to do so.
First, the cases of Eric Holthaus and Paul Kingsnorth are examined. Though they knew about climate change, they were only able to tell the truth and act on it after a personal collapse that transformed them. Telling the truth in this way carried a political force that their previous advocacy did not.
These figures help animate and adapt Foucault’s notion of spiritual truth for climate change.
Finally, this theory of spiritual truth is compared to Naomi Klein’s argument that climate science determines political truth and Bruno Latour’s argument that politics should decide the truth of climate science.
Spiritual truth accommodates the insights these perspectives provide while adding transformation as a key element for telling the truth about climate change.
Abstract
Scientific knowledge, it is argued, is insufficient to overcome climate skepticism. Spiritual truth is proposed as a way to do so.
First, the cases of Eric Holthaus and Paul Kingsnorth are examined. Though they knew about climate change, they were only able to tell the truth and act on it after a personal collapse that transformed them. Telling the truth in this way carried a political force that their previous advocacy did not.
These figures help animate and adapt Foucault’s notion of spiritual truth for climate change.
Finally, this theory of spiritual truth is compared to Naomi Klein’s argument that climate science determines political truth and Bruno Latour’s argument that politics should decide the truth of climate science.
Spiritual truth accommodates the insights these perspectives provide while adding transformation as a key element for telling the truth about climate change.
Monday, 20 March 2017
The moral frontiers of English education policy: governmentality and ethics within an alternative provision free school
an article by Francis Farrell, Vicky Duckworth, Monika Reece and Philip Rigby (Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK) published in Educational Review Volume 69 Issue 3 (2017)
Abstract
This article is a critical poststructuralist analysis of Conservative led free school policy in England focusing on claims made by the New Schools Network and in the 2010 White Paper that free school provision promotes social justice.
The article presents an empirical study of an alternative provision free school as a lens through which these claims can be interrogated. Drawing from Foucault’s concept of governmentality the article analyses the narratives of teachers working in the school in order to gain insights into the microphysics of the policy rationalities mobilised within the discursive site of the free school and claims that such provision promotes social justice.
The teachers interviewed demonstrate a strong alignment to free school policy discourse, but also a blurring of pastoral and disciplinary rationalities expressed in terms of the rehabilitation of students on the educational boundaries of the “normal”.
The article concludes that the school is a tactical move within neoliberal education policy in which the state responsibilises a new polity of actors, including teachers, sponsors and communities contracting out its interventions in order to govern the ungovernable.
The article calls for further empirical research of free school provision in order to contest neoliberal discourses which obfuscate complex systemic failure and the social reality of intergenerational unemployment and disadvantage.
Abstract
This article is a critical poststructuralist analysis of Conservative led free school policy in England focusing on claims made by the New Schools Network and in the 2010 White Paper that free school provision promotes social justice.
The article presents an empirical study of an alternative provision free school as a lens through which these claims can be interrogated. Drawing from Foucault’s concept of governmentality the article analyses the narratives of teachers working in the school in order to gain insights into the microphysics of the policy rationalities mobilised within the discursive site of the free school and claims that such provision promotes social justice.
The teachers interviewed demonstrate a strong alignment to free school policy discourse, but also a blurring of pastoral and disciplinary rationalities expressed in terms of the rehabilitation of students on the educational boundaries of the “normal”.
The article concludes that the school is a tactical move within neoliberal education policy in which the state responsibilises a new polity of actors, including teachers, sponsors and communities contracting out its interventions in order to govern the ungovernable.
The article calls for further empirical research of free school provision in order to contest neoliberal discourses which obfuscate complex systemic failure and the social reality of intergenerational unemployment and disadvantage.
Monday, 10 August 2015
Does It Pay to Be Moral? How Indicators of Morality and Competence Enhance Organizational and Work Team Attractiveness
an article by Anne-Marie van Prooijen (Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Belgium) and Naomi Ellemers (Leiden University, the Netherlands) published in British Journal of Management Volume 26 Issue 2 (April 2015)
Abstract
Based on a social identity analysis, the authors argue that people are attracted to teams and organizations with positive features. Such features can refer to the competence and achievements of the organization, or to its moral values and ethical conduct.
However, in work contexts, ethics and achievements do not necessarily go together.
The paper reports three studies that examine the relative and combined impact of perceived competence vs morality of a team or organization on its attractiveness to individuals.
Study 1 (n = 44) reveals that students prefer to seek employment in a moral rather than a competent organization, when forced to choose between these organizational features on a bipolar scale.
Study 2 (n = 100) replicates these findings in a design where the competence and morality of a fictitious organization were manipulated orthogonally.
Study 3 (n = 89) examines responses to experimental task teams that systematically differed from each other in their competence and morality.
Results of all three studies converge to demonstrate that the perceived morality of the team or organization has a greater impact on its attractiveness to individuals than its perceived competence.
The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
Abstract
Based on a social identity analysis, the authors argue that people are attracted to teams and organizations with positive features. Such features can refer to the competence and achievements of the organization, or to its moral values and ethical conduct.
However, in work contexts, ethics and achievements do not necessarily go together.
The paper reports three studies that examine the relative and combined impact of perceived competence vs morality of a team or organization on its attractiveness to individuals.
Study 1 (n = 44) reveals that students prefer to seek employment in a moral rather than a competent organization, when forced to choose between these organizational features on a bipolar scale.
Study 2 (n = 100) replicates these findings in a design where the competence and morality of a fictitious organization were manipulated orthogonally.
Study 3 (n = 89) examines responses to experimental task teams that systematically differed from each other in their competence and morality.
Results of all three studies converge to demonstrate that the perceived morality of the team or organization has a greater impact on its attractiveness to individuals than its perceived competence.
The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
Thursday, 30 July 2015
A cross-cultural analysis of factors influencing choice in volunteering activities
an article by Evan H. Offstein and Rebecca M. Chory (Frostburg State University, Maryland, USA) and J. Stephen Childers Jr (Radford University, Virginia, USA) published in Competitiveness Review Volume 25 Issue 1 (2015)
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to offer insights into the contextual and situational variables that influence volunteering choices.
Design/methodology/approach
An analysis of European and US business students’ volunteering experiences is performed. Cross-cultural and experiential outcomes are compared and contrasted at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Findings
A majority of volunteering decisions are made without thoughtful reflection, based on convenience in an effort to reduce personal hardship, and influenced heavily by institutional and organizational structures.
Originality/value
These results call into question the notion that volunteering-related choices are deeply personal, purposeful and/or reflective decisions. Moreover, the findings begin to explain why volunteerism continues to be dogged by labels such as “ineffective”, “inefficient” or “lacking in value” when benchmarked against expectations.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to offer insights into the contextual and situational variables that influence volunteering choices.
Design/methodology/approach
An analysis of European and US business students’ volunteering experiences is performed. Cross-cultural and experiential outcomes are compared and contrasted at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Findings
A majority of volunteering decisions are made without thoughtful reflection, based on convenience in an effort to reduce personal hardship, and influenced heavily by institutional and organizational structures.
Originality/value
These results call into question the notion that volunteering-related choices are deeply personal, purposeful and/or reflective decisions. Moreover, the findings begin to explain why volunteerism continues to be dogged by labels such as “ineffective”, “inefficient” or “lacking in value” when benchmarked against expectations.
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Beyond the Business Case: An Ethical Perspective of Diversity Training
an article by Kristen P. Jones, Eden B. King and David S. Geller (George Mason University), Johnathan Nelson (Morehead State University) and Lynn Bowes-Sperry (Western New England University) published in Human Resource Management Volume 52 Issue 1 (January/February 2013)
Abstract
Extant literature on diversity training programs continues to yield little evidence of their overall effectiveness. Whereas the most common approach to diversity training entails justifying the value of diversity on the basis of its contribution to the organization’s bottom line, we argue that approaching diversity training from an ethical perspective may bolster the effectiveness of traditional approaches.
Specifically, to the degree that traditional bottom-line justifications are enhanced with social justice arguments, training effectiveness will increase.
In the following article, we discuss traditional approaches to diversity training, provide a general overview of ethics, discuss how theory and research from behavioural ethics literature might help to address some of the challenges faced in diversity training, and draw from ethics literature to make specific, novel suggestions about the implementation and presentation of diversity training.
Abstract
Extant literature on diversity training programs continues to yield little evidence of their overall effectiveness. Whereas the most common approach to diversity training entails justifying the value of diversity on the basis of its contribution to the organization’s bottom line, we argue that approaching diversity training from an ethical perspective may bolster the effectiveness of traditional approaches.
Specifically, to the degree that traditional bottom-line justifications are enhanced with social justice arguments, training effectiveness will increase.
In the following article, we discuss traditional approaches to diversity training, provide a general overview of ethics, discuss how theory and research from behavioural ethics literature might help to address some of the challenges faced in diversity training, and draw from ethics literature to make specific, novel suggestions about the implementation and presentation of diversity training.
Thursday, 13 September 2012
The virtues in international society
an article by Jamie Gaskarth (University of Plymouth, UK) published in European Journal of International Relations Volume 18 Number 3 (September 2012)
Abstract
Although there has been a significant growth in the literature on the ethics of international politics in recent years, much of this has focused on the normative structure of international relations and has downplayed the role of individuals in constituting the understandings and actions in this practice.
However, individual agency and accountability are apparent in recent world events. Meanwhile, developments in moral philosophy have increasingly led scholars to re-examine the role that individual character traits – virtues – have in affecting how norms are selected and operationalised.
Building on these insights, I argue here that a fully realised appreciation of the morality of international politics requires us to consider what character traits – virtues – its individual participants are expected to exhibit to support and realise its norms.
To do so, I begin by outlining how the virtues are deemed to underpin ethical practice and highlight two forms of analysis that may be used to explore this: decision-oriented virtue ethics and constitutive virtue ethics. I then suggest that these can be used to analyse the ethical foundations of international society.
Specifically, I adopt a constitutive virtue ethics approach to show how the virtues help to constitute international society using the case study of the establishment of the International Criminal Court. In the process, I aim to highlight both the extent to which the virtues are a feature of the rhetoric of global politics, and – more importantly – how they play a significant role in normative practice.
Hazel’s comment:
In answer to the question about relevance of this article to careers information I have to say, “Not much”. However, as we are living in an increasingly globalised society, and given that many young people are becoming more concerned about ethical practices than former generations I thought it was at least interesting.
Abstract
Although there has been a significant growth in the literature on the ethics of international politics in recent years, much of this has focused on the normative structure of international relations and has downplayed the role of individuals in constituting the understandings and actions in this practice.
However, individual agency and accountability are apparent in recent world events. Meanwhile, developments in moral philosophy have increasingly led scholars to re-examine the role that individual character traits – virtues – have in affecting how norms are selected and operationalised.
Building on these insights, I argue here that a fully realised appreciation of the morality of international politics requires us to consider what character traits – virtues – its individual participants are expected to exhibit to support and realise its norms.
To do so, I begin by outlining how the virtues are deemed to underpin ethical practice and highlight two forms of analysis that may be used to explore this: decision-oriented virtue ethics and constitutive virtue ethics. I then suggest that these can be used to analyse the ethical foundations of international society.
Specifically, I adopt a constitutive virtue ethics approach to show how the virtues help to constitute international society using the case study of the establishment of the International Criminal Court. In the process, I aim to highlight both the extent to which the virtues are a feature of the rhetoric of global politics, and – more importantly – how they play a significant role in normative practice.
Hazel’s comment:
In answer to the question about relevance of this article to careers information I have to say, “Not much”. However, as we are living in an increasingly globalised society, and given that many young people are becoming more concerned about ethical practices than former generations I thought it was at least interesting.
Friday, 22 June 2012
Not learning in the workplace: austerity and the shattering of illusion in public service
an article by Helen Colley, (School of Education and Professional Development, University of Huddersfield) published in Journal of Workplace Learning Volume 24 Issue 5 (2012)
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to discuss the impact of UK government austerity policies on learning in public service work, specifically youth support work. It also aims to argue that austerity policies intensify “ethics work”, create emotional suffering, and obstruct workplace learning in a variety of ways.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopts narrative methods and a critical interpretive paradigm to investigate practitioner perceptions within a broader analysis of neo-liberal change. It draws on Bourdieu’s sociology as an interpretive framework.
Findings
Austerity is shifting the “stakes” of the youth support field from a client-centred ethos to the meeting of economically-driven targets. This shatters the illusio of practitioners committed to client-centred ethics, resulting in emotional suffering, difficulty in learning to cope with new demands, and an erosion of professional capacity.
Research limitations and implications
A particular limitation is the lack of longitudinal data. There is a pressing need for more research on ethics work, emotional suffering and (not) learning in public service workplaces facing austerity, and to continue theorising this nexus more thoroughly.
Practical and social implications
There is a need to promote a feminist ethics of care in such workplaces. There is also a need to stimulate public debate about the ethical impact of austerity on public service work as a whole. These might allow workplaces to encourage learning more effectively.
Originality/value
This paper departs from traditional discussions of workplace learning to consider instances of “not learning”. It introduces the innovative concept of “ethics work”, discusses ethics as a form of work, through a sociological rather than philosophical lens, and utilises Bourdieu’s key concept of illusio, not previously addressed in workplace learning research.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to discuss the impact of UK government austerity policies on learning in public service work, specifically youth support work. It also aims to argue that austerity policies intensify “ethics work”, create emotional suffering, and obstruct workplace learning in a variety of ways.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopts narrative methods and a critical interpretive paradigm to investigate practitioner perceptions within a broader analysis of neo-liberal change. It draws on Bourdieu’s sociology as an interpretive framework.
Findings
Austerity is shifting the “stakes” of the youth support field from a client-centred ethos to the meeting of economically-driven targets. This shatters the illusio of practitioners committed to client-centred ethics, resulting in emotional suffering, difficulty in learning to cope with new demands, and an erosion of professional capacity.
Research limitations and implications
A particular limitation is the lack of longitudinal data. There is a pressing need for more research on ethics work, emotional suffering and (not) learning in public service workplaces facing austerity, and to continue theorising this nexus more thoroughly.
Practical and social implications
There is a need to promote a feminist ethics of care in such workplaces. There is also a need to stimulate public debate about the ethical impact of austerity on public service work as a whole. These might allow workplaces to encourage learning more effectively.
Originality/value
This paper departs from traditional discussions of workplace learning to consider instances of “not learning”. It introduces the innovative concept of “ethics work”, discusses ethics as a form of work, through a sociological rather than philosophical lens, and utilises Bourdieu’s key concept of illusio, not previously addressed in workplace learning research.
Thursday, 31 May 2012
The Psychic Cost of Doing Wrong: Ethical Conflict, Divestiture Socialization, and Emotional Exhaustion
an article by John D. Kammeyer-Mueller and Lauren S. Simon (University of Florida) and Bruce L. Rich (California State University, San Marcos) published in Journal of Management Volume 30 Number 3 (May 2012)
Abstract
Many employees feel ethically conflicted at work, but research has yet to identify the specific mechanisms that give rise to this sense of ethical conflict.
The authors propose that ethical conflicts occur when companies encourage employees to behave counter to their own sense of right and wrong during the process of organizational socialization. Employees who are subject to these pressures experience psychological distress.
The authors’ study of 371 early career lawyers found that divestiture socialization was positively related to ethical conflict and that ethical conflict was related to higher emotional exhaustion and lower career fulfilment. Ethical conflict partially mediated the relationship between divestiture socialization and emotional exhaustion.
Narrative comments provided by respondents reinforced the relationship between divestiture socialization and ethical conflict.
Hazel’s comment:
I wasn't sure about the phrase “divestiture socialization” and found this article by Van Maanen, J. and E. H. Schein from 1979 helpful. I hope you do to (or maybe you didn’t need it!)
Abstract
Many employees feel ethically conflicted at work, but research has yet to identify the specific mechanisms that give rise to this sense of ethical conflict.
The authors propose that ethical conflicts occur when companies encourage employees to behave counter to their own sense of right and wrong during the process of organizational socialization. Employees who are subject to these pressures experience psychological distress.
The authors’ study of 371 early career lawyers found that divestiture socialization was positively related to ethical conflict and that ethical conflict was related to higher emotional exhaustion and lower career fulfilment. Ethical conflict partially mediated the relationship between divestiture socialization and emotional exhaustion.
Narrative comments provided by respondents reinforced the relationship between divestiture socialization and ethical conflict.
Hazel’s comment:
I wasn't sure about the phrase “divestiture socialization” and found this article by Van Maanen, J. and E. H. Schein from 1979 helpful. I hope you do to (or maybe you didn’t need it!)
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