[Air-l] Fwd: AoIR ethics draft statement

[Steve Jones]

At 7:14 AM -0500 5/18/02, Charles Ess wrote:
>Colleagues:
>On behalf of the aoir ethics working committee, I am pleased to call your
>attention to a DRAFT statement, "Ethical decision-making and Internet
>research" -
><http://www.cddc.vt.edu/aoir/ethics/public/draftthree.html>
>
>This new document approaches issues of Internet research ethics in terms of
>the questions and issues that researchers from a variety of disciplines
>frequently encounter, and diverse ethical / cultural / national / legal
>responses to those questions and issues.  It is emphatically _not_ an effort
>to legislate specific ethical requirements: it is rather intended as a way
>of helping researchers and those who may have oversight responsibilities for
>Internet research to sift through common issues and problems in ways that
>reflect both the considerable research experience of the aoir ethics working
>committee _and_ our best overview of the pertinent literatures (including
>conference presentations), etc.
>
>The document is also emphatically a DRAFT.  We present it to you now for
>comment, in hopes that the aoir membership will help us see ways to improve
>and revise the document.  The final version of the document will be
>presented to the aoir membership for discussion and (we hope) approval at
>the October meeting in Maastricht.  We'd very much like to work through your
>comments and insights as much as possible prior to the October meeting so
>that we can develop a document that represents reasonably well the aoir
>membership.
>
>I note this in the report, but let me reiterate it here: my profound thanks
>to the members of the committee who have generously shared their time,
>expertise, and care through discussion and critical evaluation of the issues
>raised in this document.  The committee includes: Poline Bala - Malaysia;
>Amy Bruckman - USA; Sarina Chen - USA; Brenda Danet - Israel/USA; Dag
>Elgesem - Norway; Charles Ess - USA; Andrew Feenberg -  USA; Stine Gotved -
>Denmark; Christine M. Hine - UK; Soraj Hongladarom - Thailand; Jeremy
>Hunsinger - USA; Klaus Jensen - Denmark; Storm King - USA; Chris Mann - UK;
>Helen Nissenbaum - USA; Kate O'Riordan - UK; Paula Roberts - Australia;
>Wendy Robinson - USA; Leslie Shade - Canada; Malin Sveningson - Sweden;
>Leslie Tkach - Japan; John Weckert - Australia.
>
>My thanks also to Jeremy Hunsinger who has served as our webmaster with
>unswerving efficiency and grace, and to Steve Jones for his continuing
>support and encouragement.  As well - there was a recent discussion of
>Internet research ethics on the aoir list, including a nice summary by David
>Eddy Spicer.  I have incorporated the several suggestions for pertinent
>literature in the document, noting the original contributors.  Thanks
>especially to David, Yvonne Waern, Lois Ann Scheidt, Vincent Dwyer, and
>Amanda Lenhart for their contributions!
>
>FWIW: I'm out of the States until June 10 - in part, in order to participate
>in some lectures, a conference, and a graduate course organized by aoir's
>very own Gitte Stald, Janne Bromseth, and Dag Elgesem (and announced on this
>list by Gitte and Janne: please contact them for more details if you're
>interested!  Gitte Stald <stald at hum.ku.dk>, Janne Bromseth
><janne.bromseth at hf.ntnu.no>).  I hope to have e-mail in those most wired of
>all possible worlds - but I may not have the leisure to reply specifically
>to responses until we return in June.
>
>Thanks again to all who have contributed to this document - beyond those
>mentioned above, this includes a number of aoir members who have commented
>on our preliminary report and the panel presentation on Internet research
>ethics at aoir 2.0, and others who have corresponded with me and the
>committee over time regarding specific concerns and debates.
>
>On behalf of the ethics working committee, I very much look forward to your
>comments and discussion.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Charles Ess
>Director, Interdisciplinary Studies Center
>Drury University
>900 N. Benton Ave.                          Voice: 417-873-7230
>Springfield, MO  65802  USA            FAX: 417-873-7435
>Home page:  http://www.drury.edu/ess/ess.html
>Co-chair, CATaC 2002: http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac02/
>"...to be non-violent, we must not wish for anything on this earth which the
>meanest and lowest of human beings cannot have." -- Gandhi