The Role of Ethics in Developing Professionalism Within the Global ICT Community.

Thornley, Clare; Murnane, Sinéad; McLoughlin, Stephen; Carcary, Marian; Doherty, Eileen; Veling, Louise

doi:10.4018/ijhcitp.2018100104

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Professional bodies continue to play a very important role in producing and disseminating ethical and standard guidelines for ICT professionals, for example the IEEE Ethically Aligned Design Guidelines provide guidance for ICT professionals (Shahriari and Shahriari, 2017). It should be noted that in contrast to other professions such as Medicine or Law, which have codes of ethics and possible penalties in place for noncompliance, the ICT profession still lacks of a coherent umbrella ethical framework (Thornley et al , 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives on computing ethics: a multi-stakeholder analysis

Gordon

Stavrakakis

Gibson

et al. 2021

JICES

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Purpose Computing ethics represents a long established, yet rapidly evolving, discipline that grows in complexity and scope on a near-daily basis. Therefore, to help understand some of that scope it is essential to incorporate a range of perspectives, from a range of stakeholders, on current and emerging ethical challenges associated with computer technology. This study aims to achieve this by using, a three-pronged, stakeholder analysis of Computer Science academics, ICT industry professionals, and citizen groups was undertaken to explore what they consider to be crucial computing ethics concerns. The overlap between these stakeholder groups are explored, as well as whether their concerns are reflected in the existing literature. Design/methodology/approach Data collection was performed using focus groups, and the data was analysed using a thematic analysis. The data was also analysed to determine if there were overlaps between the literature and the stakeholders’ concerns and attitudes towards computing ethics. Findings The results of the focus group analysis show a mixture of overlapping concerns between the different groups, as well as some concerns that are unique to each of the specific groups. All groups stressed the importance of data as a key topic in computing ethics. This includes concerns around the accuracy, completeness and representativeness of data sets used to develop computing applications. Academics were concerned with the best ways to teach computing ethics to university students. Industry professionals believed that a lack of diversity in software teams resulted in important questions not being asked during design and development. Citizens discussed at length the negative and unexpected impacts of social media applications. These are all topics that have gained broad coverage in the literature. Social implications In recent years, the impact of ICT on society and the environment at large has grown tremendously. From this fast-paced growth, a myriad of ethical concerns have arisen. The analysis aims to shed light on what a diverse group of stakeholders consider the most important social impacts of technology and whether these concerns are reflected in the literature on computing ethics. The outcomes of this analysis will form the basis for new teaching content that will be developed in future to help illuminate and address these concerns. Originality/value The multi-stakeholder analysis provides individual and differing perspectives on the issues related to the rapidly evolving discipline of computing ethics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives on computing ethics: a multi-stakeholder analysis

Gordon

Stavrakakis

Gibson

et al. 2021

JICES

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“…While the ICT field has a plethora of professional bodies, each with their own ethical guidelines, the voluntary nature of these organizations limits the effectiveness and reach of proposed standards and guidelines (Stahl et al, 2013). Not only does ethical noncompliance have no repercussions in ICT, there is also a lack of educational preparedness in ethical issues for aspiring professionals (Thornley et al, 2018).…”

Section: Responsible Innovationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responsible innovation for digital identity systems

Anand

Brass

2021

Data & Policy

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Digital identity (eID) systems are a crucial piece in the digital services ecosystem. They connect individuals to a variety of socioeconomic opportunities but can also reinforce power asymmetries between organizations and individuals. Data collection practices can negatively impact an individual’s right to privacy, autonomy, and self-determination. Protecting individual rights, however, may be at odds with imperatives of profit maximization or national security. The use of eID technologies is hence highly contested. Current approaches to governing eID systems have been unable to fully address the trade-offs between the opportunities and risks associated with these systems. The responsible innovation (RI) literature provides a set of principles to govern disruptive innovations, such as eID systems, toward societally desirable outcomes. This article uses RI principles to develop a framework to govern eID systems in a more inclusive, responsible, and user-centered manner. The proposed framework seeks to complement existing practices for eID system governance by bringing forth principles of deliberation and democratic engagement to build trust amongst stakeholders of the eID system and deliver shared socioeconomic benefits.

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“…The path is less clear than the other aspects of professionalism as people can disagree on ethical priorities and there are some cultural differences (Sherry, 2013). A recent review of ethics as part of ICT policy revealed both core agreements and differences within the EU, for example, former Eastern bloc countries held different perspectives than some Western European countries (Thornley et al, 2018).…”

Section: Ict Professionalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Good to know’: An Exploration of the role and Influence of Professional Ethics in ICT Bodies of Knowledge (BoKs)

Thornley¹,

Wanda²,

McLoughlin³

et al. 2021

EJKM

Self Cite

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As our dependency on ever-more complex, opaque, and ubiquitous information and communication technologies (ICTs) increases, ethical concerns about the development of those technologies are also rising. One approach to mitigate these concerns is to improve the maturity of the ICT profession through codification of its knowledge base and professional ethics. In this paper, some key theoretical approaches to ethics with a long-established tradition within Philosophy are explored and how these approaches may manifest in the codification of knowledge within ICT Bodies of Knowledge (BoKs) is discussed. BoKs provide a common vocabulary and knowledge inventory to aid communication and encourage shared values and practices, particularly in emerging professional areas such as the ICT profession. Thus, identifying and understanding how ethics are codified in ICT BoKs is important for maturing ICT professional practice in general, and more specifically, for the resolution of ethical concerns. This paper 1) explores considerations and approaches to how ethics are incorporated within ICT BoKs, and 2) conducts content analysis on how ethics are codified within the content structure of ICT Boks. It is found that theoretical ethical approaches are rarely explicated cited in BoKS though, in the more mature BoKs, the discussion of ethics does include consideration of most of the major philosophical approaches. The implications of how knowledge about ethics is described and integrated into the wider knowledge infrastructure of the ICT profession including curriculum guidelines and accreditation processes is discussed. In a wider contribution to the Knowledge Management discipline, potential lessons to increase maturity for other emerging professions through the development of BoKs are also outlined.

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The Role of Ethics in Developing Professionalism Within the Global ICT Community.

Cited by 6 publications

References 33 publications

Perspectives on computing ethics: a multi-stakeholder analysis

Perspectives on computing ethics: a multi-stakeholder analysis

Responsible innovation for digital identity systems

‘Good to know’: An Exploration of the role and Influence of Professional Ethics in ICT Bodies of Knowledge (BoKs)

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