Digital%20Society,%20Ethics,%20and%20Gloablization

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Digital Society, Ethics, and Gloablization
Chapter 12

• Living Online
• Freedom of Speech
• Privacy Issues
• Ethics and Social Responsibility
• Globalization
• Conclusion

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Our Connected World

• Technology supports an increasingly distributed
  workforce, where portions of product development
  may be accomplished in different parts of the
  world.

IBM employees coordinate teams of project workers
from around the globe over high-speed network
connections in the Global Services Network Center
in Boulder, Colorado
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12.1 Living Online
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Computers and Community

• Virtual space is the environment that exists in
  the mind rather than in physical space.

Navigating virtual space and real space
simultaneously can lead to problems.
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Computers and Community

• A flash mob is organized via Internet and cell
  phone for the purpose of some public
  demonstration.

http//www.flashmob.com/ http//en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Flash_mob
Flash mob at the Louvre, Paris in 2004.
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Health Issues Keeping a Balance

• Balancing time spent in virtual space with time
  in real space can avoid health issues
• Carpel tunnel syndrome is the aggravation of the
  pathway for nerves that travel through the wrist.
• Excessive computer use can lead to stress, and
  addiction.

A Balanced Life A Balanced Life
Virtual space Real Space
Alone time Social time
Indoor time Outdoor time
Ergonomics is the study of the design and
positioning of computer equipment for a healthy
work environment.
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12.2 Freedom of Speech
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Challenging the Establishment and Traditional
Institutions

• The Internet has been grasped as a tool to
  empower those who have traditionally been without
  a public voice.

Consumer-generated media is challenging and
complimenting traditional mainstream media.
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Discussion Mainstream Media vs. Consumer
Generated Media
PROS CONS
Dan Rather on http//www.cbsnews.com
A blogger interview also see http//www.current.
tv
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Laws and Censorship

• Top 10 Censored Countries
• North Korea
• Burma
• Turkmenistan
• Equatorial Guinea
• Libya
• Eritrea
• Cuba
• Uzbekistan
• Syria
• Belarus

• Censorship is when a government or authority
  controls speech and other forms of expression.

Chinese army officer oversees internet usage.
Protestors at Stanford against Googles
compliance with censoring in China.
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Laws and Censorship

• Content-filtering software works with the Web
  browser to check each Web site for indecent
  materials (defined by the installer of the
  software) and only allows decent Web pages to
  be displayed

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Laws and Censorship

• Dangerous Information Some information is
  censored because it is deemed to be dangerous to
  the public.

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National Security vs. Civil Rights

• Information Awareness Officehttp//en.wikipedia.or
  g/wiki/Information_Awareness_Office
• US Patriot Acthttp//www.aclu.org/safefree/resourc
  es/17343res20031114.html

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12.3 Privacy Issues
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Surveillance Technologies

• Wiretapping
• Video Surveillance
• Audio Surveillance
• Satellite
• GPS
• RFID
• The Internet/Web

• Surveillance is the close monitoring of behavior.
  
• Computer-controlled surveillance technologies
  combined with ubiquitous networks and powerful
  information processing systems have made it
  possible to gather huge quantities of
  information, video, audio, and communications
  signals and process them to reveal personal
  information.

One of thousands of Chicagos Police Cameras
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Surveillance Technologies

• Companies like ChoicePoint collect and combine
  information from the credit bureaus public
  records of numerous local, state, and federal
  government agencies telephone records

• liens deeds and other sources to develop
  detailed information about individuals,
  businesses, and organizations which it then sells
  to other individuals, businesses, organizations,
  and even government agencies.

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12.4 Ethics and Social Responsibility
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Computer Ethics

• Computer Ethics deals with what is generally
  considered right or wrong in regards to computer
  use.
• personal computer ethics are highly subjective
  except in issues of local, state, and federal
  law, where ethical issues are clearly defined
• Professional computer ethics involve the ethical
  issues faced by professionals in their use of
  computer systems as part of their jobs.
• Governmental computer ethics include the added
  responsibility of guiding the influence of
  technology on the population.

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Government Computer Ethical Issues

• Accessible Computing for the Disabled

Retailers rethinking Web sites with blind in
mind Tue Oct 24, 2006 1110am ET By Angus Loten,
Some online retailers are rethinking their Web
sites in light of a recent federal court ruling
that says they must be more accessible to the
blind. In a class-action lawsuit filed in
Berkeley, Calif., by the National Federation of
the Blind, a federal district court judge ruled
that the Target online shopping site, which has
no audio component, violated the Americans with
Disabilities Act and could be sued.
http//www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/
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Government Computer Ethical Issues

• Socioeconomic Digital Divides
• If humans are to utilize the Internet to build a
  global community, it is clear that the more
  affluent neighborhoods in this community cannot
  ignore the needs of the less fortunate.

http//www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/itafe/ITAcce
ssForEveryone
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12.5 Globalization
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Globalization

• Globalization refers to changes in societies and
  the world economy resulting from dramatically
  increased international trade and cultural
  exchange.
• The largest contributors to globalization are
  computers, a global telecommunication
  infrastructure, and the Internet.

Shanghai, China
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Globalization

• Outsourcing is a business use of an outside
  company to take over portions of its workload.
• Offshoring is a business practice that relocates
  an entire production line to another location,
  typically in another country, in order to enjoy
  cheaper labor, lower taxes, and other forms of
  lower overhead.

Bangalore, the city at the heart of India's
booming information-technology industry
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12.6 Conclusion
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The Torch

• The torch is technology. The torch is
  information. The torch is power, freedom, and
  responsibility. You may take up this torch to
  propel yourself forward to meet your personal and
  professional objectives, to achieve more than you
  ever thought possible, to impact those around
  you, your government, your culture, and the
  world. You may take up this torch to propagate
  negativity, hate, and dissonance. Or, you may
  leave this torch for someone else to pick up. The
  choice is yours.

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Chapter 12 Questions?