Chapter 12: Digital Society,
Ethics and Globalization
Succeeding with Technology:
Second Edition
Objectives

Describe how technology is affecting the definition of
community, and list some physical and mental
health dangers associated with excessive computer
use
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Describe the negative and positive impact of
technology on freedom of speech, and list forms of
speech and expression that are censored on the
Web
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Objectives (continued)

Explain the ways in which technology is used to
invade personal privacy, and provide examples of
laws that protect citizens from privacy invasion

List ethical issues related to digital technology that
confront individuals in personal and professional life,
businesses, and governments

Explain what globalization is, what forces are behind
it, and how it is affecting the United States and other
nations
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Living Online
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Virtual space
 An environment that exists in the mind rather than in
physical space
People find virtual space
 In a daydream
 In a book
 In a movie
 On a cell phone
 On the Internet
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Computers and Community

Flash mob
 Group of people who assemble suddenly in a public
place, do something unusual, and then disperse
 Participants
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Given precise instructions on where to meet, how to
act, and what to say if questioned
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Health Issues: Keeping a Balance
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Repetitive stress injury (RSI)
 Injury such as tendonitis and tennis elbow, caused
by a repetitive motion
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)
 Aggravation of the pathway for nerves that travel
through the wrist (the carpal tunnel)
 Typically caused by long hours at the computer
keyboard
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Health Issues: Keeping a Balance
(continued)
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Internet addiction
 May exist if people are online for long periods of
time
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Cannot control their online usage
Jeopardize their career or family life from excessive
Internet usage
Lie to family, friends, and coworkers about
excessive Internet usage
Ergonomics
 Designing and positioning work environment and
computer equipment in a healthy manner
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Freedom of Speech
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First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
 Guarantees citizens the right to free speech
Internet
 Used to espouse the views and beliefs of every
religious and political group
Web sites
 May include points of view that many find offensive
and even dangerous
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Challenging the Establishment and
Traditional Institutions
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Bloggers
 Are becoming an increasingly important component
in journalism
Proliferation of digital cameras and camera phones
 Has led to many amateur photographers having
their photos published
Consumer-generated media (CGM)
 Role of the public in capturing and reporting news
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Laws and Censorship
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Libel
 The deliberate act of defamation of character by
making false statements of fact
Censorship
 Occurs when a government or authority controls
speech and other forms of expression
Content-filtering software
 Works with Web browser to check each Web site for
indecent materials
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Privacy Issues

Being free from intrusion
 The right to be left alone
 Freedom from surveillance
 Control over the information collected and kept
about one’s self
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Personal Information Privacy
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Much of the information gathered about individuals
 Done without their knowledge
Internet
 Acts as a supercharged tool for invisible information
gathering
ChoicePoint collects and combines information from
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The three big credit bureaus
Public records of numerous local, state, and federal
government agencies
Telephone records; liens; deeds; and other sources
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Privacy and Government
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Privacy Act of 1974
 Primary law controlling what many government
agencies can and cannot do with information they
hold
PATRIOT Act
 Gave federal government certain liberties regarding
access to private information and the treatment of
suspected terrorists
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Surveillance Technologies
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Surveillance
 The close monitoring of behavior
Wiretap requests
 Increased by 85 percent in the three years following
the September 11 attacks
FBI surveillance
 Grew from telephone networks to broadband cable
networks in 2004
 Extended to VoIP communications in 2005
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Video and Audio Surveillance
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Video cameras in public places
 Are assisting in capturing criminals who may
otherwise escape
Chicago
 Has the most advanced video surveillance system
High-resolution cameras attached to satellites and
trained on the earth
 Are providing us with amazing new mapping
technologies
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GPS and RFID Surveillance
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Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID)
 Are useful, but can be used to invade privacy
 Are being used to track ex-cons
US privacy laws control who can be monitored
 Lack of funding limits ability to monitor
Three scenarios
 Full privacy
 Full trust
 Full transparency
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Ethics and Social Responsibility
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Ethics
 Deals with what is generally considered right or
wrong
Computer ethics
 Issues that deal with computer use
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Personal Ethical Considerations
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Personal computer ethics
 The responsible use of computers outside of
professional environments
Feeling of social responsibility
 May guide a computer user to treat others online
with respect
A person’s own sense of morality
 May keep him/her from becoming involved with Web
content that has a negative impact
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Professional Ethical Considerations
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Associations that have developed a code of ethical
conduct
 Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
(CPSR)
 Association of Information Technology Professionals
(AITP)
 The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE)
 The British Computer Society (BCS)
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Governmental Ethical
Considerations
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The digital divide
 The social and economic gap between those who
have access to computers and the Internet and
those who do not
Economic digital divide in the United States
 Has been shrinking since the turn of the millennium
Global digital divide
 Provides a greater social and ethical challenge
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Globalization
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Changes in societies and the world economy
resulting from dramatically increased international
trade and cultural exchange
Largest contributors to globalization
 Computers
 A global telecommunication infrastructure
 The Internet
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Outsourcing
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Use of an outside company to take over portions of
the business workload
Bangalore
 Has become known as the Silicon Valley of India
 Major presence
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Microsoft, IBM, Texas Instruments, HP, GE, and
many others
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Offshoring
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Business practice that relocates an entire production
line to another location, typically in another country,
Beijing (China)
 The global center of offshoring
When China joined the World Trade Organization
and agreed to follow international trade laws
 It opened a floodgate for trade and innovation
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Business Challenges in Globalization
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Culture
Language
Time and distance
Infrastructure
Currency
State, regional, and national laws
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Conclusion
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Positive effects of technology on society
 Finding cures for deadly diseases
 Eroding the power of totalitarian governments and
dictators
 Developing alternate environmentally friendly
energy source
Widespread access to information
 Is building a more transparent society
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Summary
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The Internet
 Provides an entire virtual world of information,
people, and groups in which you can literally lose
yourself
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
 Guarantees citizens the right to free speech
Libel and direct, specific threats
 Not protected under the First Amendment
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Summary (continued)
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Privacy issues that concern most people
 Being free from intrusion
Computer profiling
 Primary service provided by private information
service companies such as ChoicePoint
The field of ethics
 Deals with what is generally considered right or
wrong
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Summary (continued)
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Professional computer ethics
 Involve the ethical issues faced by professionals in
their use of computer systems as part of their jobs
Globalization
 Changes in societies and the world economy
resulting from dramatically increased international
trade and cultural exchange
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