As computer-based information systems start to have a great impact on people, organizations, and society as a whole, there is much debate about information technology in relation to social control and privacy, security and reliability, and ethics and professional responsibilities. However, more often than not, these debates reveal some fundamental disagreements, sometimes about first principles. This essay will present four articles taken from journals, magazines and newspaper discussing the different ethical dilemmas associated with the use of information technology.
Cutting 1: International Trade and Development
ICT Examples in Developing Countries
Keyword: ICT – Information and Communication Technology
This is a magazine article taken from the Presidents and Prime Ministers, Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2000, published by EQES, Inc. This excerpt is from a speech by Anne Kristin Sydnes, Minister of International Development of Norway, at the High-Level Segment of 2000 Substantive Session Meeting of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in New York on July 6, 2000 (see Appendix A).
1. What are the main ethical issues in Information Technology currently being discussed in the article?
Two ethical issues have been argued by the author in this article and these are: capability to have access on information technology and censorship. With reference to the first IT ethical issue, the author stated that the significance of IT in helping people particularly in Africa in addressing health problems can be realized if people's access to information will not be limited. The interplay of power dynamics can be seen here as there is an unequal sharing of IT resources around the world in which Africa is only recipient by merely two percent particularly in availability of telephone lines.
The issue of censorship has always been one of the issues that constantly haunts the IT industry particularly with internet access. I would define the censorship based on the concept of the historian-philosopher Michel Foucault of the “said” and the “unsaid.” This simply means that what can be gleaned on the internet are the cultural values extolled by the Western countries which might come in conflict with those of developing countries. The only thought that might exist (the said) around the world via the internet will be those of the West and those of the developing countries will be reduced to a whimper (the unsaid). The author argued that the internet should not be an “ethics free zone” where the law does not rule. As an example she referred to the Norwegian government as it has developed a set of rules to help children in navigating the internet, which the author referred as “the info-jungle.”
2. In what way is the technology raising these issues?
The deprivation of access to IT is not result of the technology itself for it is only a tool to better the quality of life of people all over the world. But the fact that such deprivation exists with regard to access to IT goes against the standards of the freedom to information and improved living standards of people. The ethical issue however is more in the area of political economy and equity pervading the structure of IT dynamics.
About censorship, the issue is raised on people who have access to internet and do not have the capability to decipher the truth of the information that is read. It must be recognized that the internet can also be a venue for expressing opinions and ideas in any manner an individual may want to; may it be passive or active. Whatever the case, the values of those individuals are being conveyed through their use of the Internet. These values are of different origins and orientations and may have difference or similarity with the other individuals who are also, accessing the Internet. The potential input of ideas or values that may affect an individual through the use of it depends on their discretions. The question raised here is if that individual is a minor and those ideas and values are found to be not fitted to his/her orientation.
3. How well the issues raised and what are the substance of the arguments put in the article? (use a reasonable diagram)
In this article, the author emphasized that aid from the government will be a big to lessen the divide of those who have access to IT and those who have not. The author also provided supporting details in explaining the programs that the Norwegian government is doing in developing the information and communication technology of their country. The author brought up that new technology can be put to work to meet the basic human needs. Moreover, the author strongly proposed that the “international community must to their best in promoting the dissemination of information and practices that will help to develop appropriate institutional arrangements and make sound investments.”
Diagram 1 of Cutting 1: Reasons put by the author.
Diagram 2 for Cutting 1: Critiques for the reasons put by the author.
4. If the problems are real ones, how might they be solved? If you do not think that they are real problems, say why.
Deprivation to IT is a real problem that needs to be addressed though this will be a difficult to address without addressing first issue of political economy particularly in abolishing poverty. As of now, only the middle and upper classes have access to IT.
With regard to the problem on censorship, values are deeply inculcated in the culture of different communities. IT does not have solid control on its flow and effect on the users’ cognition. To implement the promotion of information technology in certain societies, particularly in developing countries, information and communication technology institutions should first study the effects (especially the negative ones) of ICT in developed countries during the introduction of IT programs and systems. In doing so, problems in IT use and application could be avoided.
5. Do you believe that you as an IT professional, or a potential one, have any moral obligations or responsibilities relating to these issues? Why or why not?
As an IT professional, I have the obligations of studying the various effects of IT in different societies or communities. IT professionals deal not only with how to use technology in information dissemination, but also, with how to implement IT with consideration on the negative and positive effects of it in the condition of human living.
End of Cutting 1
Cutting 2: Spam E-mails
Battling Spam Not Hopeless Scenario
This is a newspaper article taken from The Washington Times, December 31, 2002, published by News World Communications, Inc. This article was written by Mark Kellner (see Appendix B).
What are the main ethical issues in Information Technology currently being discussed in the article?
In this article, the author argued that spam e-mails are menace. Basically the ethical question to be put into consideration is invasion of privacy and wasting other people’s time. Spam-emails are unsolicited e-mails from unknown sources. It floods the Internet with many copies of the same message in an attempt to force the message to people who would not otherwise choose to receive it. Most spam is commercial advertising, often for dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or quasi-legal services. The author encourages Internet users to wage a war against it.
In what way is the technology raising these issues?
Email spam targets individual users with direct mail messages. Email spam lists are often created by scanning Usenet postings, stealing Internet mailing lists, or searching the Web for addresses. Email spams typically cost users money out-of-pocket to receive. Many people-anyone with measured phone service - read or receive their mail while the meter is running, so to speak. Spam costs them additional money. On top of that, it costs money for ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and online services to transmit spam, and these costs are transmitted directly to subscribers. If a person is using office facility to check his/her e-mails, the proliferation of spam mails eats up with the time he/she should have spent for office work and thus nit an efficient way of dispensing the company‘s resources.
How well the issues raised and what is the substance of the arguments put in the article? (use a reasonable diagram)
The author mentioned that spam e-mails “threatens the productivity, privacy and in his case, his sanity.” However, he did not support these menaces with sufficient evidence. Furthermore, the author did not draw details about it and suggested instead, different software packages that could help Internet users from receiving spam e-mails.
Diagram 1 for Cutting 2: Reasons put by the author.
Diagram 2 for Cutting 2: Critiques for the reasons put by the author. Objection: The Internet users have the choice of using software packages against spam e-mail. (average support) Spam e-mail threatens the user’s privacy. (strong support) Spam e-mail in some cases threatens the users’ sanity. (very weak support) Spam e-mail threatens the users’ productivity. (weak support) Internet users should wage war against spam e-mail.
If the problems are real ones, how might they be solved? If you do not think that they are real problems, say why.
Spam e-mails really distract an individual’s privacy. Internet users can prevent receiving spam e-mails in many ways. Some of these are by spam reporting, tracing the spam, hiding addresses from spammers, spam e-mail blocking and filtering, by stopping popup on Windows and by stopping blog spasm (Promote Responsible Net Commerce: Fight Spam!, 1996).
Do you believe that you as an IT professional, or a potential one, have any moral obligations or responsibilities relating to these issues? Why or why not?
As an IT professional, I have the moral obligation and responsibility to design technologies that will help Internet Service Providers in lessening, if not eliminate, the receipt of spam e-mail to Internet users. Even if Internet technology is not my line and I am not capable of designing such, I still have the responsibility of researching other areas of concern with regards to this technology because it is in the line of my discipline. It will help other IT professionals specializing in Internet technology in designing appropriate technology for spam e-mail.
End of Cutting 2
Cutting 3: IT in Libraries
Modernized Libraries Embrace Technology
This is a newspaper article taken from The Washington Times, November 3, 2003, published by News World Communications, Inc. This article was written by Michelle Rothman (see Appendix C).
1. What are the main ethical issues in Information Technology currently being discussed in the article?
Modernized libraries can make studying much better, according to the article. The author reported that the use of online databases on libraries helps students, particularly the busy students, in studying. The author’s source, students need not go to the library to research and could just access the library’s web site. The question remains if informations access through the web sites and Internet links are reliable for the students to use.
2. In what way is the technology is raising these issues?
Internet does not limit individuals in their access to informations. The set back is that these informations may just come from anyone and without validity and reliability. Likewise, without hindrance in information access, plagiarism could be widely practiced by students.
3. How well the issues raised and what is the substance of the arguments put in the article? (use a reasonable diagram)
The author mentioned that modernized libraries using new information technology equipments help students in studying and doing their research. However, the author reported that Internet can not replace a library in where to study.
Diagram 1 of Cutting 3: Reasons put by the author.
Diagram 2 for Cutting 3: Critiques for the reasons put by the author.
4. If the problems are real ones, how might they be solved? If you do not think that they are real problems, say why.
Modernization of education should be a priority to provide quality education. It encourages students to learn unexciting topics through the use of modern learning equipments. Private schools that have sufficient resources should invest to the modernization of their school’s learning equipments, especially on computers. On the other hand, public schools should propose to their board modernization program that the government will likely approve.
5. Do you believe that you as an IT professional, or a potential one, have any moral obligations or responsibilities relating to these issues? Why or why not?
As an IT professional, I believe I am responsible for designing a student-friendly web site that students can easily use in gathering information for their researches. I can also give advice to faculties and schools on what are the sites that are reliable to get information from, and furthered enhance the students ability in the proper way of doing a research using the Internet.
End of Cutting 3
Cutting 4: Information Sharing
There they go again: in the name of (surprise!) security, the government blocks access to public information
This is a magazine article taken from American Journalism Review, Vol. 25, Issue 1, January-February 2003. This article was written by Jane Kirtley, a the Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota's School of Journalism and Mass Communications (see Appendix D).
- What are the main ethical issues in Information Technology currently being discussed in the article?
The author argued that information sharing among federal and state agencies and private industry are being kept in secret from the public to help them avert terrorist attacks. In other words, the ethical issue is about the public's right to know and right to privacy. The author mentioned “security legislation resulted in compromise language attempting to strike a balance between legitimate confidentiality provisions and the public's right to know.” In gathering information, the government is using electronic surveillance and centralized databases. Given this circumstances, it will be quite difficult for the government to “preserve rights and protect people's privacy while helping to make them all safer." What will be the government's standards criteria that will make it invade people's privacy? Or better yet, what can stop the government from digging in into people's private lives when the citizenry does not even know what the people in the espionage committee is up to for they work in secret? Is not the US government trying to play the role of God in trying to invade even the private aspect of people's lives?
- In what way is the technology is raising these issues?
The use of technology specifically of developing and “Orwellian centralized database enabling the government to create dossiers on everyone” or in gathering information enhances the government in collecting any data and information that can be found valuable in their attempt to deter terrorist attacks. But using information technology equipment almost invades public privacy. They will never know what informations are kept secret from them. The fear of using information against them is their concern. Government can now detect some of their own “secrets” and if it is an anomalous one, they are surely will be questioned and probably, harassed for questioning. The bottom line here is the problem of secrecy. It is the government's secret activities that make it possible for them to invade in people's private affairs for the people do not know what the latter is up to. We can compare this to Foucault's idea of the panopticon where the prisoners' lives are in constant danger of being observed. The government does not only play the role of being a security guard in here, they are playing the role of God.
- How well the issues raised and what is the substance of the arguments put in the article? (use a reasonable diagram)
The issue on the use of electronic surveillance and centralized databases in gathering information, the author’s statements are not conclusive enough to say that it will be used to invade the public’s privacy.
Diagram 1 of Cutting 4: Reasons put by the author.
Diagram 2 for Cutting 4: Critiques for the reasons put by the author.
- If the problems are real ones, how might they be solved? If you do not think that they are real problems, say why.
The government should convey informations that are deemed to be important for the public to know especially if it is about vulnerabilities in transportation, energy and utilities. It will promote the trust that the public have for the government in protecting them from terrorist attacks. Furthermore, information dissemination could help avoid incidences like what happened in the 9/11 terrorists attack. Transparency from the government rather than secrecy will help it more in dealing with terrorist attacks. Terrorism is not just an issue that needs to be addressed by the government, it is also an issue that needs to be addressed by the citizenry.
- Do you believe that you as an IT professional, or a potential one, have any moral obligations or responsibilities relating to these issues? Why or why not?
As an IT professional, I have the obligation of relaying or censoring information that I may deem important for the safety of the public. Even if it will go against the privacy of the few, I will still consider first the safety of the masses. It is still reasonable however that a sound criteria must be established in determining when an information is for public consumption or government secrecy/security.
End of Cutting 4
Summary Assessment
Computer ethics is a distinct sub-discipline of applied ethics by appealing to various versions that computer ethics is unique in one or more important respects. Recent events involving IT, as outlined in this essay and in the articles discussed, continue to stretch and strain the boundaries of society’s ethical concepts and normative policies. It involves just war theory, virtual harm, moral agency, civil disobedience and the concept of reliable information itself.
9/11 has made the distinction between wartime and peacetime tenuous, since the “war on terrorism” is an ongoing one that will probably last a long time. The current use of computers in war and in military-related activities in peace requires that people must attend to certain moral principles that have not been discussed sufficiently in the context of “just war theory.” The component of the just war theory concerned with the conditions that must be satisfied in carrying a just war. Nations with more advanced technology must use more restraint, despite the fact that those nations also are more vulnerable to disruption because of their advanced technology. People must engage in general and public discussion of the policies and moral guidelines governing computers and their wartime applications.
In examining the issues of virtual harm, the application of moral language to interactions in cyberspace begs two fundamental philosophical questions: 1) Are the interactions in cyberspace real events or are domains of the virtual and the real mutually exclusive? 2) Are the harms that some people claim to have suffered in cyberspace real moral harms? Specifically, can an individual commit a moral wrong against another person if that individual’s actions take place entirely in the cyberspace? It is indeed possible to have real moral wrongs in virtual communities. Real people can act in virtual communities in ways that both establish practices and moral expectations and warrant strong identifications between themselves and their online identities (Austin as cited by Tavani, et. al., 2003).
In discussing privacy, it is a derivative right accounted for in the unpacking of an individual’s natural rights to life, liberty and property. There is a neutrality of privacy language to concepts of the good life and virtues. The viewing of privacy as a derivative right would focus attention where it should be: on how data is used and how the government should protect individuals rather than restrict information flow.
To determine the reliability of the information on the Internet, Vedder and Wachbroit (2003) propose a framework, which they believe can help identify how the Internet as a source of information can be improved. According to them, “content and pedigree criteria” should be used to determine reliability of information. The fault can lie with either the provider or receiver of the information. The provider might not display the pedigree of the information or maintain certain standards that will earmark his/her information as reliable. The receiver might not be able to recognize reliable information based on his/her background knowledge or ability to assess the criteria of reliability.
Finally, copyright law needs revision because it has become so complicated and counterintuitive. Many content providers and copywright lawyers tend to propagate “made-up rules” that purport to clarify ambiguities such as the legality of sharing music on peer-peer file sharing networks. Copyright rules, however, are in considerable flux these days and very little is clear about these technologies. People have no obligations to follow made-up rules, although it is sometimes easy to confuse these specious requirements with real ones. Therefore, the need for copyright reform is urgent.
References:
Kellner, Mark. (December 31, 2002). “Battling spam Not Hopeless Scenario.” The Washington Times. Washington, DC: News World Communications, Inc.
Promote Responsible Net Commerce: Fight Spam! (1996). Available at [www.spam.abuse.net]. Accessed [18/06/04].
Rothman, Michelle. (November 3, 2003). “Modernized Libraries Embrace Technology.” The Washington Times. Washington, DC: News World Communications, Inc.
Sydnes, Anne Kristin. (July 2000). ”ICT Examples in Developing Countries.” Presidents and Prime Ministers. Vol. 9, Issue 4. Norway: EQES, Inc.
Tavani, Herman T. (2003). “Computer ethics in the Post-September 11 world.” Ethics and Information Technology, Vol. 5, pp.181-182. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Vedder, Anton and Robert Wachbroit. (2003). “Reliability of Information on the Internet: Some distinctions.” Ethics and Information Technology, Vol. 5, pp. 211-215. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Appendix A
ICT Examples in Developing Countries
by Anne Kristin Sydnes
Presidents and Prime Ministers
Vol. 9, July 2000
The rapid development of Information and Communication Technology has revitalized international trade and development. It has become one of the driving forces behind the globalization process. Information and knowledge have emerged as strategic factors in social and economic progress. The experiences of Costa Rica, India, Mauritius, Mali and others show how developing countries can make use of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) as a means of becoming integrated into the global economy. At the regional level, innovative cooperative efforts can be utilized to meet the needs of small island developing states and the wider international community.
The possibilities are immense, and far from being fully realized. But we also note the words of caution: Information and communication technology is not a magic wand. It provides us with a powerful tool to do more of the right things more effectively, but it does not relieve us from actually doing the job--from making the right political choices. Connectivity and applications are not universally and equally spread. The "digital divide" between developing and industrialized countries reflects the huge inequality of opportunity and power in the global economy.
At least 80 per cent of the world's population lack access to the most basic forms of telecommunication. Africa has 20 per cent of the world's population, but only 2 per cent of its telephone lines. Africa's access to the Internet remains marginal. Furthermore, there is need for more local content to increase the relevance and value of available information to African users and users in other developing countries.
The dominance of ideas and values originating in developed countries and reflecting Western culture may come in conflict with the values of local communities in developing countries. Cyberspace is not a value neutral area. We all worry about things like racist propaganda and our children's access to pornography. Save the Children, Norway, has developed a set of "netsmart rules" to help children to navigate in the info-jungle. The Internet must never become an ethics free zone. We must bring our values also to cyberspace. It must not become a place where the rule of law does not apply.
I strongly endorse the Secretary-General's recommendation to support the creation of knowledge locally and the need to address concerns about cultural intrusion, language barriers and the social impact of the new economy. The Secretary-General's announcement of a new Health InterNetwork is also welcome as a practical example of how the new technology can be put to work to meet basic human needs. Combating the AIDS pandemic would be one obvious priority. We must lose no time in bringing HIV/AIDS education to cyberspace. Surely, the Internet can serve no better purpose than saving the lives of its users.
In recent years, the Norwegian Government has been placing greater emphasis on information and communication technology as an integral part of our development policy. An information and communication technology strategy is currently being developed. I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about two different programs we have assisted in this field.
The first of these is the Grameen Phone project, also referred to by the Deputy Secretary-General yesterday. In this project, the Grameen Bank, in collaboration with a Norwegian telecommunications company, is developing a cellular phone system in rural Bangladesh.
In a village phones pilot project, 950 women are reselling phone services within their villages. A research program linked to the project has yielded some interesting findings:
* The village phone operator being a woman markedly improves other women's access to telecommunication services.
* The village phone enables poor households to gain access to market informations, allowing them to increase their earnings and profits.
* Cumbersome regulatory practices lead to high cost technological solutions and excessively high rates--at the expense of the poor.
Since 1994, the Government of South Africa and the Universities of the Western Cape and Cape Town have been working to develop a Health Information System Program. The University of Oslo and NORAD have been partners in the process. Mozambique joined the program in 1998. The program aims to use information technology to empower marginalized communities and to develop systems and practices to support primary health care and decentralized health management. The program has been successfully implemented in all districts in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces and is about to be implemented countrywide. Work has also started in three pilot districts in Mozambique.
The international community must do its utmost to promote the dissemination of information and best practices that can help countries to develop appropriate institutional arrangements and make sound investments.
Information technology, like any technology, is a means to an end. To what end will be determined by the political choices we make, or fail to make. If we seize the opportunities, ICT can become an information highway from poverty to prosperity.
This excerpt is from a speech by Anne Kristin Sydnes, Minister of International Development of Norway, at the High-Level Segment of 2000 Substantive Session Meeting of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in New York on July 6, 2000.
Appendix B
Battling spam not hopeless scenario
Byline: Mark Kellner, THE WASHINGTON TIMES
December 31, 2002, News World Communications, Inc.
You and I must worry about a technology war in 2003. It's a war we can win, but only if we're ruthless, and only if we work together.
The war, specifically, is against spam e-mails. And it's a war we must not lose.
They come - and keep coming - offering everything from a supposedly "hot" toy to products that'll spice up your love life or trim your waistline, or a way to get a Ph.D. from a "prestigious, non-accredited university" without cracking a book. Then there's the pornographic e-mails, of which the less said the better in a family setting.
Short of hitting the delete button, what can you do? Plenty, it turns out. And plenty is, frankly, what we each will have to do to defeat this menace. It threatens our productivity, our privacy and, in my case, oftentimes my sanity.
Some suggestions:
Get filtering software. Personal computer users might want to check out the 2003 version of Symantec Corp.'s "Norton Internet Security," which retails for $69.95. The software detects and flags spam messages in their "subject lines." Users then can delete the message or set a rule to file future ones, automatically, in a special mail folder. The Norton Spam Alert feature, I'm told, works within Windows-based e-mail clients, such as Microsoft Outlook. Information on the software can be found at www.symantec.com.
On the Macintosh side, I grabbed a copy of Spamfire Pro, $29 from www.matterform.com, the Web site of Matterform Media, which has developed the software. If all you have is one e-mail account, get the "lite" version for $19, but most users will want the "pro" edition, since it can handle multiple e-mail accounts. What makes this software worth the cost is that while other anti-spam programs will reject a message that contains a single suspect keyword, Spamfire uses cumulative, fuzzy-logic filtering for much more reliable results.
In early testing, Spamfire snagged all the really bad stuff I have been getting, and, yes, a fair number of messages that weren't spam. But you can adjust controls to make the e-mail filtering more user-friendly.
Use a script to send "uce" to the FTC: In other words, take advantage of what your taxes pay for, the Federal Trade Commission's "Unsolicited Commercial E-mail" monitoring service, uce@ftc.gov. A little poking around on the Web will lead you to www.railheaddesign.com, which offers a reporting script for use with Microsoft Entourage on the Mac. A visit to www.versiontracker.com will reveal the way to SpamSource, a similar add-in for Microsoft Outlook that can forward your spam reports to the feds. Both are free.
Make your e-mail address invisible: Stop using it for "public" postings and the like. Get a free e-mail address for your Internet list servers and other groups and use that instead. If you're a Webmaster, or if you publish a Web site, check out an article on the ethics of spamming - and spam reporting - at www.tamingthebeast.net/ articles/EmailMarketingEthicsSpamReporting.htm. It offers a good way to help "hide" e-mail addresses on your company or organization's Web page, while still allowing the public to communicate with you.
Finally, and most important, don't: Don't ever buy anything from a spam e-mail sent to you. If you don't know the vendor, trash it. Don't ever sign up for an e-mail list, contest, online lottery, or whatever, with an address where you don't want to get spam. Above all, don't add to the problem by sending out spam to others. You may or may not turn that $25 "investment" into $75,000, but by sending spam, you'll upset folks such as me. And, buddy, we're gonna fight back.
*Write - but don't spam - the author at MarkKel@aol.com, or visit his Web site, www.kellner2000.com.
Appendix C
Modernized Libraries Embrace Technology
Byline: Michelle Rothman, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
November 3, 2003, News World Communications, Inc.
University libraries are no longer just stuffy old buildings offering rows of books, partitioned desks and total silence. They have moved beyond those traditional services, creating a whole new image.
Now they are electronic books, online databases and group study rooms. They are movable furniture, coffee shops and e-mail. They are software, plasma screens and editing equipment.
They have moved into the 21st century, where flexibility is key.
Technology has helped library staffs revamp services and the ways students access them. Although some students still pull dusty hardcover books from library shelves, students increasingly are researching through the libraries' Web sites, says Mark Jacobs, associate university librarian at Georgetown University.
Libraries often provide students with access to databases of journal and newspaper articles, Mr. Jacobs says. Sometimes even complete books can be downloaded from a library's Web site, although their length makes them more difficult to read than an article, he says.
Accessible from anywhere with an Internet connection, these resources are a dream come true for busy students and those who shudder at the thought of setting foot inside the library.
"Today's students will change a research topic if it means not having to give up the use of electronic resources," says Mike Neuman, interim associate university librarian at Georgetown. "They have come to prefer them."
Cora Weissbourd, a sophomore comparative literature major at Georgetown, says she frequently uses a database of journal articles for research papers.
"You don't actually have to go to the library; you can just go through its Web site," she exclaims, marveling at the technology. "It is really helpful. That is great. It's saved my life."
By providing online resources, university libraries ensure that students have a place to go for reliable information, says Patty MacDonald, head of reference services at Loyola Notre Dame Library, which serves Loyola College and the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore.
"They might go to the Web first, instead of a book," Ms. MacDonald says. "Part of our mission is to show them where the really good information that we pay for is available. It's better than just using a Web site, where you don't know the reliability of the information or whether or not it's up to date."
The Internet cannot replace having a library in which to study, however, Miss Weissbourd says.
When she needed to concentrate on studying for exams last year, she headed to Georgetown's main undergraduate library, Lauinger Memorial Library.
"I just had to get out of the room," she says. "When I need somewhere really, really quiet, I go there. There's no distractions."
Like Miss Weissbourd, Michael Sellitto, a senior political science major at Loyola College, fled to the campus library during his sophomore year when distractions in his dorm room made studying for an English final exam difficult.
Mr. Sellitto says he likes having the option of studying at the library.
"I don't think they should actually stop having a physical building, just to have to go study, to have the physical displacement of your mind, to change your mind-set," he says.
He says he doesn't study there often, though, because it isn't as comfortable as his dorm room or other study lounges on Loyola's campus.
"They would probably need to have coffee and snacks and be open 24 hours in order to encourage people to come in," he says.
The University of Virginia in Charlottesville has done just that. In the past three years, the university has updated its main undergraduate library, Clemons Library, extending its hours to stay open around the clock five days a week. Group study rooms have been opened, and coffee and vending machines have been added, says Vicki Coleman, the library's director.
"They seem to be very comfortable here," she says. "They come in groups. ... All their pages are spread out, and no one is harassing them about the food."
At Georgetown's Lauinger, students can take breaks in the building's coffee shop, which opened in January.
"It's easier because you can take breaks and go get some caffeine," Miss Weissbourd says. "[The library is] not that welcoming, so having the coffee shop makes it a lot better."
Libraries also accommodate changes in faculty members' teaching styles. Many professors seem to assign more group work than in the past, Ms. Coleman says, so the library provides group-study rooms where students can talk and move around the furniture. Some rooms have plasma screens and computers, which can be used to watch videos or slides.
"They can collaborate, and they can do this without disturbing others," she says. "The demand for the rooms is just so enormous. It seems we can't accommodate the demand."
Georgetown's Gelardin New Media Center, which opened two years ago, is one way the university has responded to faculty members' new demands of students. At Gelardin, located on the first floor of Lauinger, students can work on projects that require production and editing equipment, Mr. Jacobs says.
"This is all in response to the changing way that information is being processed," says Irene Hoffman, director of personnel, planning and assessment at Georgetown. "It used to just be print. Now we can get it in many dimensions. It couples with and goes with the ways professors are teaching and beginning to teach."
Miss Weissbourd says she plans to take advantage of Lauinger's new and old resources, as well as the quiet atmosphere provided there, many more times during the rest of her time at Georgetown.
"I will be there," she says. "I will actually go, stop by and compulsively write a paper or something . ... Yeah, I'll definitely go there."
Appendix D
There they go again: in the name of (surprise!) security, the government blocks access to public information
by Jane Kirtley
The federal Freedom of Information Act has become another casualty of 9/11, and most Americans neither know nor care.
A little over a year after President Bush signed the sweeping USA Patriot Act, which granted unprecedented authority for the government to conduct electronic surveillance, Congress passed the equally bulky Homeland Security Act. Its 484 pages are chock-full of provisions ostensibly designed to increase our safety by facilitating information-sharing among federal and state agencies, as well as private industry to help avert terrorist attacks. Specifically, it encourages companies to voluntarily cough up "critical infrastructure information," broadly defined to include any kind of material that relates to actual or potential threats to security.
One could hardly expect chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers, or computer conglomerates and nuclear power plants, to share information about their vulnerabilities with the government without getting something in exchange.
No, it's not money. It's secrecy.
The lengthy wrangling over the homeland security legislation resulted in compromise language attempting to strike a balance between legitimate confidentiality provisions and the public's right to know At the tail end of this debate, revisions were slipped into the House version. They gut the FOTA by exempting any critical infrastructure information that eventually finds its way to the new Department of Homeland Security, even if it is initially filed with another agency. Not only will the information itself be withheld from the public, but the identity of the company that submitted it will be secret as well.
In the event that the federal government decides to share the information with state or local authorities, they are sworn to secrecy, too. The Homeland Security Act explicitly says that state open-records laws can't be used to pry loose critical infrastructure information. And just to make sure that everything stays locked up tight, the act makes it a crime for a federal government employee to disclose this material to anyone who isn't authorized to receive it. That's you and me, and everybody else outside government.
The usual open-government advocates, including media organizations and public interest groups, tried to sound the alarm. It seemed so obvious. How could the public relinquish the right to find out about vulnerabilities in transportation, energy and utilities? As Kevin Goldberg, legal adviser to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, told the Associated Press, "If there's a problem so pervasive and so dangerous that a private company needs to discuss it with the government, it's probably important enough for the public to know."
But in this climate of escalating secrecy, the public appears content not to know, at least if the enthusiastic support of Congress is any indication. And although it may have been a coincidence, it didn't hurt the supporters of the exemption that, on the eve of the voting, the FBI issued a new warning about a threat of "spectacular" terrorist attacks. The FBI's announcement was not specific, but it did remind us that "the highest priority targets remain within the aviation, petroleum, and nuclear sectors"--many of the industries that would benefit from the new FOIA exemption. As Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., put it, the Homeland Security Act brought about "the most severe weakening of the Freedom of Information Act in its 36-year history."
Yet that's OK with most of us. The message from the American public to Congress seems to be: "Information is dangerous. I don't want to take any responsibility for my own security Keep me safe. And don't tell me how you do it."
Meanwhile, John Poindexter, retired Navy rear admiral and Reagan national security adviser, comfortably ensconced at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency at the Pentagon, thinks the government needs more tools to spy on us. He proposes the creation of a new program, Total Information Awareness, that will use computer technology to allow the government to "mine" data about our everyday electronic transactions, like sending e-mail, making telephone calls and buying stuff with credit cards.
Columnists ranging from Nat Hentoff in the Village Voice to William Safire in the New York Times have denounced the plan as an attempt to spawn an Orwellian centralized database enabling the government to create dossiers on everyone. But don't worry Poindexter promised that the technology will "preserve rights and protect people's privacy while helping to make us all safer."
I'll bet that means the public won't have access to this information, either. But that's OK.
Just keep me safe. Don't tell me how you do it.
Jane Kirtley (kirtl001@tc.umn.edu) is the Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota's School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
No comments:
Post a Comment