[Air-L] CFP--ethics

[Robert Mason]

Hawaiian International Conference on System Sciences

Personal and Organizational Relationships in a Global Networked World: Emergent Ethical Challenges

This mini-track for HICSS-42 examines ethical issues related to work-life balance, virtual world behavior, privacy, intellectual property, accuracy, accountability, and similar issues posed by the design and adoption of information systems in a globally networked world.  Our personal and professional decisions for the design and adoption of information technologies make implicit (and sometimes explicit) choices to enable or inhibit particular behavioral norms.  Such decisions have ethical dimensions that may not always be evident, and the purpose of this mini-track is to stimulate a discourse on these ethical dimensions.

Researchers are encouraged to send papers to one of the organizers that deal with challenges presented by the rise of global networks in the developed world.  Papers can range from philosophical to practical, from policy arguments of equity and cultural differences to issues of design and implementation of systems.   Papers are especially encouraged that combine theory and fundamental concepts with empirical findings.  Contact any of the organizers with questions or ideas for papers at any time.  The deadline for submission of completed papers is June 15, 2008.
Examples of specific issues and challenges that may be addressed in this mini-track include the following:

*       New capabilities of web 2.0-how do these change the approaches to ethical discourse?
*       Norms of behavior in virtual worlds:  how does a diversity of norms affect individual identity and behavior in non-virtual worlds (is there a difference?)
*       How does a sense of personal identity change as the distinction between "public" and "private" becomes blurred (or porous) with technology-enabled social networking?
*       Organizational policy and knowledge management:  should organizations adapt or embrace the behavioral norms of digital natives as they enter the knowledge work force?  (If so, how?)
*       Education:  if the need exists to increase the awareness of ethical issues for students in management and information studies, as some studies would suggest, how can we do this?
*       Wellness and human flourishing:  how can we balance work and personal life in a hyper-connected world?
*       Health care:  managing the conflicting needs for public information with the personal expectations of privacy
*       Government policy on intellectual property:  can it be (should it be) responsive to the public values as expressed through emerging capabilities of e-government feedback mechanisms?
*       Social justice and information access-how we can assess the effectiveness of public policy?  What are the implications of current laws on property and privacy?
*       Understanding the ethical dimensions of decision making in design, implementation, and use of information technology

Organizers

Robert M. Mason (primary contact)
The Information School
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-2840
rmmason at u.washington.edu

Richard O. Mason
Carr P. Collins Professor, emeritus
Edwin L. Cox School of Business Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas 75205
rmason at mail.cox.smu.edu

Antonino Vaccaro
Department of Engineering and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh PA 15213
vaccaro at andrew.cmu.edu

(see also http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_42/minitracks/os-por.htm )