Suchergebnisse

This white paper discusses the topic of digital ethics and considers the topic within the background of theories on ethics and how they apply within the digital realm. It explores the issues of internet governance, net neutrality, freedom of expression, and privacy and considers how they impact on the work of the information profession and wider society. Issues around internet governance challenge us from the point of view of net neutrality and the tensions between the original ethos of the Internet pioneers and the enhanced role of governemnts and corporations in Interent governance. The concept of "code" as law, introduced by Lawrence Lessig, is explored in terms of how it challenges ethical behaviour. Freedom of expression is a constant challenge as we are presented with calls to limit acess to certain information types, and are increasingly charged with considering filtering systems to do so. The increasing emergence of online trolls also challenges freedom of expression rights. Privacy is under challenge via both government and corporate interests in our activities and our data. Overall the need to be aware of fundamental rights versus how those rights may impact on wider society is the primary concern around digital ethics.

This paper highlights some of the tensions faced in public libraries in the United Kingdom between the desires to support patrons' rights to privacy and freedom of expressions, versus the reality of modern practice. Considering both privacy and freedom of expression as ethical concepts, it then discusses some examples from the UK where the tensions between privacy and freedom of expression manifest in practice, including around filtering and government initiatives to tackle extremism, as well as issues around cloud storage of user data. It concludes with a discussion on how public libraries and the profession in the UK must struggle to balance the competing interests of patrons and the state, and encourages the profession to address the tensions head on by regular and rigorous debate as to the issues.

This paper highlights some of the tensions faced in public libraries in the United Kingdom between the desires to support patrons' rights to privacy and freedom of expressions, versus the reality of modern practice. Considering both privacy and freedom of expression as ethical concepts, it then discusses some examples from the UK where the tensions between privacy and freedom of expression manifest in practice, including around filtering and government initiatives to tackle extremism, as well as issues around cloud storage of user data. It concludes with a discussion on how public libraries and the profession in the UK must struggle to balance the competing interests of patrons and the state, and encourages the profession to address the tensions head on by regular and rigorous debate as to the issues.

The over-arching political philosophy of the past 30 years has seen a movement from the Utilitarian principles that had dominated since the mid to late Victorian period to a more Kantian, rights-based approach to justification of public services and professions. Political philosophy has a major impact on the ethical parameters in which professions operate. In publically-funded libraries a change in such philosophy can alter the aims and objectives of the organisation, and even the justification for its very existence. In a sector that grew out of the Utilitarian era, such as public libraries, old arguments for advocacy that have been used historically hold little sway with elected officials and managers inculcated within a rights-based framework. LIS professional education rarely fills such gaps; while many LIS courses contain modules that deal in professional ethics, a key tangential issue is the understanding of political philosophy and the motivations and beliefs of those who fund library services. Conversely many elected officials come to public service with an education that covers the broadest range of political philosophy. In the UK, North America and Europe, for instance, the PPE degree (politics, philosophy, and economics) and its variants are a staple of the ruling classes. Such a background sees them well able to understand and be able to rebut any arguments for justifying services that do not fit into the rights-based approach. LIS professionals' ethical reflection must become more strategic and be aimed at advocacy that is effective and will be understood by elected officials influenced by rights-based arguments. Utilising the public library service as an example, this paper will identify how many in the profession may have strategically misfired in terms of their advocacy approach, and instead suggest how ethical reflection could be enhanced by presenting the justification of library services within the philosophical context of the day, and how in doing so fill a major gap in the knowledge of many library and information professionals. It will be argued that used in partnership with ethical codes, such a focused ethical reflection can take such static documents and apply them to myriad real scenarios, enabling them to become a living embodiment of active ethical reflection in library and information services.

This paper reports the findings of research into young people's experiences of political information. We used a phenomenographic approach to identify variations in experiences of political information. The research explores how young people use information and technology to mediate political information to develop knowledge to become informed citizens. It focuses on how processes of discovery, production, retrieval, manipulation, dissemination, use, and evaluation of information are utilised in different ways by young people through a range of information behaviour techniques. 23 interviews and 3 focus groups were conducted with pupils aged 14-15 at a secondary school in England. The interviews and focus groups were recorded and transcripts and notes taken during the data collection sessions formed the data for analysis. Phenomenographic analysis was carried out, utilising manual coding and NVivo software. A phenomenographic outcome space represents the six qualitatively different ways in which the participants experienced political information, and identifies a range of political information sources, including social media and online news sources, which inform young people's political knowledge and attitudes. The outcome space illustrates the differences in ways young people experience political information and suggests potential for development to more complex ways of understanding the information they encounter. This represents a contribution to understanding the variation in information experiences and is of theoretical and practical value.

Purpose: This paper explores young people's conceptions of political information. The study sought to identify what political information sources young people encounter, how they construe these sources and the messages they communicate, and how the information experiences of young people may be better understood to inform information literacy interventions to support the development of political agency. Design/methodology/approach: Using personal construct theory as a conceptual framework, repertory grid interviews were used to explore the different ways in which 23 young people aged 14-15 from a town in northern England conceive of political information and how they evaluate its quality and authority. Findings: The study identified the sources of information young people engage with for finding and receiving what they understand as political information. The results from the repertory grid interviews indicated that young people use a wide range of sources of political information to become informed about politics and the world around them. These sources of information include family, friends, teachers, television news, newspapers, radio shows, comedy shows, social media and community meetings. Participants were aware that they passively encounter information sources as well as actively engage in debate and discussion with other sources. Some participants had difficulty critically evaluating the political information sources they encounter. The nature of young people's experiences of political information varied greatly. The degree of complexity in the experiences of political information varied not only between participants but was also dependent on their particular relationship with the information sources under scrutiny. Research limitations/implications: The paper has implications for personal construct analysis as a research approach broadly, from the point of view of its use within library and information science research. It is the first study to apply the personal construct approach to the study of young people's political information use and to consider implications for information literacy support that would have been difficult to access using other approaches. Practical implications: The paper provides insight into an understudied area; that of young people's conceptions of political information. This insight may be used to inform the improvement of political information provision and information literacy support for young people. Social implications: A deeper understanding of the different ways in which young people identify, engage with and use information for political purposes may contribute to a clearer understanding of young people's information needs, ideally leading to improved political education and a strengthened democratic process. Originality/value: The paper explores a relatively under-researched area of library and information science research, and does so using a relatively under-used method in the domain. Insights into the perceived characteristics of different sources of political information are novel and contribute to the development of information behavior and information literacy fields in terms of information for empowerment and democracy.

This book looks at all of the ethical issues facing information and library professionals in one overarching, and practically-focused, text. As such, it is of great benefit to both practitioners and to LIS students. The focus of the book is two-fold: (1) It contains a detailed discussion of the issues that impact on the day-today practice of information workers in the 21st century; and (2) contains case studies discussing potential solutions to ethical problems faced. The book provides sections which work like flowcharts leading from ethical issues through decision points to proposed solutions