Today, the earth is an interconnected globe humming with electronic transmissions-a chattering planet nestled in the provident silence of space. The ethical question is whether this is contributing to authentic human development and helping individuals and peoples to be true to their transcendent destiny. The new media are powerful tools for education, cultural enrichment, commercial activity, political participation, intercultural dialogue and understanding. They also can serve the cause of religion. Yet the new information technology needs to be informed and (...) guided by solidarity in the service of the common good bridging the digital divide within and among nations. The value-laden message of Western secular culture to people and traditional societies in many cases ill-prepared to evaluate it leads to widespread crisis, for example, in regard to marriage and family life. This technology can be a means for solving human problems, promoting the integral development of persons, creating a world governed by justice, peace, and love. It also can help men and women in their age-old search for self-understanding. Like today's world itself, the world of media, including the Internet, has been brought by Christ, inchoately yet truly, within the boundaries of the kingdom of God and placed in service to the word of salvation. (shrink)

The study examines the need to train future teachers using modern information and communication technologies in the context of adaptation to the aspects of postmodern society. It was found that contemporary postmodern education is impossible without application of information and communication technologies, the use of which gradually leads to changes in the content, the methods and technologies of training future teachers. The analysis of scientific literature, which confirms recognition of ICT as a key technology of the 21st (...) century and the urgency of the problem of development and application of educational technologies capable of modernizing and reforming traditional forms of education in order to meet the level of education of future teachers to the present-day requirements. The current trends of ICT in the training of future teachers in postmodern times are considered, modern practices of ICT use which are the most popular in the educational process of future teachers are singled out. The content of the following compulsory components, according to the authors, of professional training of future teachers, is generalized and concretized: didactic, legal, social and methodological. Discussion issues and perspective directions of future scientific research related to complex ethical contradictions due to uncertainty or lack of necessary knowledge, unexpected effects and insufficient transparency of functioning of information and communication technologies are outlined. (shrink)

This contribution deals with taking up the challenge of sustainable development through human centred systems which aim at the creation and repatriation of global quality in each society, and which are seen to operate as a whole, on a local, regional or even a planetary scale. The paper argues that, particularly in a field such as information, communication, environment, technological processes and innovations, which have structurally revolutionised first of all manufacturing but also education and daily living at the (...) same time. However, producing new pathogenous structures require, by necessity, a political ecology in order to relate these fields to new figures of meditation/mediance and crossbreeding built up by associative networks. PRELUDE'S experience, as an international networking programme of scientists pursuing with other social factors objectives of codevelopments (in response to the failure of bad development in the North and in the South), and its contribution to the theme Global Perspective 2010 of the CE-FAST Programme suggest the actual relevance and, turning to the future, the decisive function of associative networks as a way of approaching more efficiently, because of their flexibility, complex, highly heterogeneous situations to be tackled in a systemic and global fashion. In complementing institutions and established companies these networks give their new performances and efficacity to institute, and so doing displace acquired balances, and increase their capacity to innovate. (shrink)

Information and communication technology has become the great technological fix of our time and not the least in the education system. There seems to be no end to the hype of ICT and the accompanying promises that education will be revolutionized—“smart” pupils will be made and the so-called knowledge society propelled. This master narrative has many co-authors, some of whom have the best intentions and realize the big challenge of educating the world population. In response to the two (...) insightful reviews of my article, I want to question this master narrative further and in doing so make clear where I agree and disagree with the reviewers. (shrink)

The most fundamental changes of information exchange and communication in society today have been caused by the fast and thorough penetration of all facets of life through networked computers and mobile phones, which will both soon merge with our traditional TV. In this report, these developments will be discussed on four different levels: individuals, groups, organisations and networks. Furthermore contradictory developmental patterns are considered: global versus regional development, entrepreneurship on different scales, data availability versus data security, reality versus (...) virtuality, education, and the ethics of multimedia and the Internet. (shrink)

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) open up the possibility of new forms of relationship and engagement, which form part of the sociality of modern society, leading some to characterize this as a transition to an "information society", a "network society", or a "third industrial revolution". This has implications for Social Quality, especially in terms of social cohesion, social inclusion and social empowerment. Drawing upon recent research we find that ICTs have added new dimensions to social (...) life in ways that go beyond the original formulations of the digital divide. Conversely, Social Quality can also add important insights into our understanding of the relationship between society and technology. The article argues that discussions of Social Quality should take these dimensions into account. (shrink)

This book discusses key ethical and deontological problems concerning the use of the most common information and communication devices. It focuses on the challenges of the new environments we now find ourselves in thanks to these technologies, and the issues arising from the newly established relationship between the virtual sphere and the real world. Each aspect is analysed by starting from a very specific example or a case study presenting a dilemma that can only be resolved by making a (...) reasoned ethical choice. Rather than thematically addressing only one of the many aspects mentioned above, the book presents a comprehensive introduction to, and a co-ordinated overview of, the various deontological and ethical issues regarding the spread of the most common information and communication technologies. (shrink)

Abstract:This essay applies lessons from John Dewey’s theory of democracy and democratic education to the modern development of information communications technologies and the assertion that the development of such technologies will lead to a more open, more democratic society. Given the continuity of the technology and its applications with structures of oppression within modern society, any attempt to resolve or democratize technology through skills-based training is bound to fail, as this does not resolve the cultural habits that (...) enable oppression through technology. To this end, what is necessary is democratic education that recognizes the unique contexts in which students become individuals and furnishes flexible habits of transaction. (shrink)

The article deals with the self-education of future specialists in the field of culture and art within the context of philosophical, psychological, and pedagogical studies of the postmodern era. This substantiates the need to use e-learning in professional training. The use of cloud computing technologies is one of the educational process’ innovations. As shown by our research and personal experience implementing cloud computing technologies into the educational process proves to be feasible for training future professionals in the field of culture (...) and art, including their self-education. The article shows that the aim of self-education of the future professionals in the field of culture and art is personal and professional perfection, and also achievement, at the maximum possible level, of the creative ideal. Today their professional training is focused on self-perfection, ability to self-educate, skill to foresee the consequences of their professional activity and search for the new ways to solve their professional tasks using ICT. The article justifies that cloud computing technologies allow spreading content in the Internet, they facilitate posting the text messages, photographs, pictures and musical files. Accessibility, openness, interactivity of the cloud computing technologies cause their wide use for both on-line and off-line communication, data sharing of text, multimedia and audio resources for all participants of the educational process that enriches the self-education of future professionals in the field of culture and art and makes it rich in content, practically-oriented and enhances professional competence. The article concludes that e-learning best meets methodological requirements of the postmodern society. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to present some of the findings (which were reported on more extensively in earlier work) regarding the visibility of gender issues in the literature on selected information and communication technologies (ICTs) with a view to make predictions about potential ethical issues that the application of these ICTs may bring about in the future. On the basis of the analysis of around 100 published sources, which dealt with various aspects of selected ICTs, conclusions have (...) been drawn regarding gender issues and concerns that the applications of these ICTs may cause. The authors' analysis is theoretically informed by critical discourse analysis (CDA) which assumes that texts, both written and spoken, as well as other forms of symbolic representations, are indicative of social practices. Of particular methodological relevance was the survey of methods of text and discourse analysis presented in Titscher et al and especially the application of keyword search as a way to measure the prominence of each investigated method. This approach to literature surveying proved very useful in selecting analytic material: only those published sources on the selected four ICTs have been included in the survey, for which the analysis of keywords, abstracts and indexes of terms indicated authors' interest in gender issues. Findings - First, ICTs such as affective computing, ambient intelligence, and artificial intelligence, have been found to have the potential of positively affecting gender power relations and thus positively affecting gender balance in the areas of labour market related to ICT across EU countries and worldwide. Second, more research on the relationship between gender and ICT design, application and representation is needed, so as to enhance a better understanding of ethical issues resulting from unequal participation of women and men in all aspects of ICT production and implementation, which in itself is an ethical dilemma with which both the ICT business and legislators have to grapple. The paper offers insight into the relationship between the level of attention devoted to particular ICTs by ICT researchers, as evidenced in the reviewed literature, and the likelihood of the application of a particular ICT in the future, which is looked at and assessed from a gender perspective. (shrink)

The construction of a secure and safe society using information and communication technology is recognised as an urgent issue in Japan. This recognition is based on public fear about crime related to manufactured risk caused by modernisation or industrial civilisation. This fear has created a social atmosphere that has led to the rapid development and implementation of security systems using ICT, such as security cameras, smart IC cards and mobile phones, to establish security and safety in Japanese (...) class='Hi'>society. However, the never-ending quest for social security and safety with ICT will inevitably cause further manufactured risk, which could lead to serious problems in the future. We have to recognise such risk and control it appropriately. (shrink)

Socio-cultural reality of the present time is marked by quite significant events. First, the active penetration into society of the latest information and communication technologies, which arose as a result of the rapid development of electronics. And secondly, the formation and spread of a special type of worldview under the general name of "postmodernism". It is the need for a philosophical understanding of these two events and determined the main idea of this article. The article also shows the (...) role of information technology in the transformation of the cultural reality of postmodernism. Also the main directions of application of information systems and innovative technologies in the field of education and science in general, and at studying of disciplines of a natural cycle in particular are covered. Peculiarities of studying natural sciences by students are revealed, didactic potential of ICT and its realization in the process of studying natural disciplines is considered, methodical analysis of the problem of application of information technologies in natural education is carried out. The principle of integration, multimedia clarity, interactive interaction of participants of educational process at application of new information technologies at studying of natural disciplines is allocated. It is determined that ICT in the teaching of natural sciences can intensify the educational process, accelerate the transfer of knowledge and experience, as well as improve the quality of teaching and education. (shrink)

This article examines the fairness of business competition in the field of information and communication technologies. In the era of "postcontemporary society" economy, the dominant factor of development is the use of information. The share of business in the field of information and communication technologies in the economy is constantly growing. For businesses, its integration into the Internet, which has become an important market for the sale and promotion of goods and services, is becoming increasingly important. (...) Various digital innovations, social networks, mobile applications, information and communication technologies have become commonplace in today's society, which affects the need to study their impact on business. Technology transfer is the basis of innovative activities of small businesses and a means of their sustainable development, a guarantee of profit and social impact. It is noted that in order to win in the competition, personal brand and trademarks, strategic management and balanced business plans are of special importance. A characteristic feature of leading high-tech companies is the use of digital platforms through which they provide their services. Digital platforms are used for interaction in social networks, use of search and payment systems, exchange of information materials. The need for high start-up costs leads to the difficulty of entering this market and the concentration of large amounts of data in the hands of a small number of players, which carries the threat of monopolization in the market of digital platforms. (shrink)

Various consequences of social networks in virtual space are expanding as a new phenomenon in Islamic societies in line with other societies. Social science thinkers point to the two-sided role of the Internet and virtual space in economic, cultural and religious development. Humans need to communicate collectively based on their inherent nature. The media and means of mass communication, which had a slow growth in the past, have faced significant changes in the present era, in such a way that the (...) present age is called the age of information and communication. At such a time when virtual space and social networks have turned the world into a small village and people with different cultures and beliefs are connected with each other, the issues of children’s education (especially in Islamic societies where the focus is on Islamic education) has faced the challenge, what is important for parents in this age is to get familiar with the basics of education and to pay attention to the educational challenges of social networks in the virtual space. One of the necessities of the era of information and communication in Islamic societies is the need for education in accordance with religious teachings that prepares people to face the changing and unpredictable challenges of life. New media are accused of creating new challenges in life from two perspectives. On the one hand, the media are competitors of educational activities in the field of education, and on the other hand, they are considered to be the foundation of many new challenges. In addition, it is worth mentioning that the religious teachings that form the basis of Islamic governments are the answer to all the problems of the human society and its requirements in every age. Contribution: This research presents the effectiveness of religious teachings (Qur’an, Sunnah and Hadiths) as the best sources of Islamic education, which can be used in the cultural policy of virtual space and raise the level of awareness of families and individuals in knowing the points of threat and opportunity in the virtual space. (shrink)

The diffusion of digital information and communication technologies is strongly supported by many countries of the world. Today, as well as in the past, new technologies are charged with high expectations, but at a closer look one can see that these expectations then are very different from now. Today they depend on the various interests of different groups of people. Globally acting enterprises see DICT as essential stra-tegic instruments in gaining competitive power; some governments hope to reach military hegemony, (...) others to control terrorism and crime, while grass root movements expect to become more influential on some aspects of society. The paper identifies and analyses basic tendencies which promote the various hopes: the effects of DICT on reducing production and transaction costs, and the possibility to transform information goods into marketable services or commodities. The final part of the paper is devoted to a few examples of how the potential of DICT can be used for social improvements. (shrink)

Informatization of postmodern society is a promising path to economic, social and educational development. The informatization of education is aimed at the formation and development of the intellectual potential of the nation, the improvement of the forms and content of the educational process, the introduction of computer teaching and testing methods, allows solving problems at the highest level, taking into account world requirements. One of the important directions in the development of informatization of education in the context of a (...) pandemic is new computer technologies. Interactivity, intensification of the learning process, feedback - are the real advantages of these technologies, which necessitated their application in various fields of human activity, primarily in those related to education and professional training. Now, in a pandemic, the number of studies has noticeably increased, the subject of which was the use of information and communication technologies in the educational process. The article deals with the problem of psychological and didactic aspects of the introduction of information communication technologies in the process of teaching students of higher educational institutions. An analysis of the problems and prospects of using information communication technologies in higher educational institutions was carried out, as a guarantee of building an intensive process of assimilating knowledge, skills, and abilities of students of higher educational institutions. (shrink)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of internet filtering, and its impact on marginalized groups including non‐governmental organizations, female activists, ethnic, and religious minorities, the younger generation and the increase of the digital divide in Iran.Design/methodology/approachThe paper raises two main questions: to what extent do information and communications technologies and in particular, the internet, promote freedom of speech, and gender equality in Iran? What is the impact of state censorship and ICT filtering on these activities? (...) To answer these research questions, the author uses narratives of the internet's usage along with a comparison study with other Middle Eastern countries to analyze the impact of ICTs on citizen's freedom of expression.FindingsThe paper argues that restrictions imposed on ICT tools and services by the Government of Iran which has been claimed to protect country's national security against the corruption and immorality imposed by Western countries not only affect the expansion of ICTs negatively but also civil liberties – thus increasing the digital divide internally, regionally, as well as on a global scale.Research limitations/implicationsAlbeit this research is limited to the case study of Iran, the author believes that lessens learned from the Iran's case study can be applied to other Islamic countries and in particular countries located in the Middle East region.Practical implicationsICT tools and services such as the internet and short message service are effective emancipatory media for citizens' participation and mobilization in democratic processes.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the existing knowledge and understanding of the impact of ICTs on freedom and democracy. (shrink)

This article, first of all, supports the idea that the undeniable process of ICT-based technological convergence implies the social, cultural and business unification of the world of media and culture. The poor performance of the megamerger is a clear indicator of the unstable ground of the convergence hypothesis. Secondly, it argues in favour of cooperation between different expertise, skills and cultures to make multimedia products or to supply multimedia services, instead of creating from scratch a brand new class of hybrid (...) skills and professions. Thirdly, a variety of new possible and realistically achievable professional profiles in cultural industries and institutions are illustrated. Eventually a set of public policies, in the light of a new role for cities and regions, is developed. (shrink)

The present paper is meant to summarise and enlighten the theoretical implications of the twin theories of text comprehension and of text compression. Compatibility and non-exclusiveness of particle-like analysis of language and wave-like analysis of intentionality are also demonstrated within the newly established quantum linguistics framework. The informative state of language is viewed as being relatively stable; once activated and subject to motion, therefore reaching a communicative state, different phenomena occur, which may be observed, analysed and visualised through CPP-TRS (...) observational devices. Relativity theory may therefore be organised in terms of quanta with continuity and no contradiction. (shrink)

Purpose This paper aims to examine the challenges facing fish farmers in the use of information and communication technology in information sharing on fish farming. Design/methodology/approach This study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. It involved 240 fish farmers who were randomly selected. Questionnaires, focus group discussions, observation and key informant’s interviews were used as methods of data collection. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse quantitative data, while content analysis was used for qualitative data. Findings (...) It was found that the most frequently used ICTs by fish farmers in sharing agricultural information were mobile phones, radio and television. Also, the study revealed that major challenges facing fish farmers in sharing information include unfavourable radio or television broadcasting time, high cost of acquiring and maintenance of ICT facilities, lack of training on ICT, poor network connectivity and low level of literacy. Moreover, it was further found that there was negative significant relationship between challenges associated with the use and degree of ICT usage by fish farmers. Originality/value The study is original with the exception of areas where citations have been made. Besides, it provides awareness and understanding of the challenges facing fish farmers in ICT usage in information sharing on fish farming, and this will enable improvement of timely provision and access to relevant information and hence improved fish farming production. (shrink)

This paper uses the network perceived usefulness scale, Information and Communication Technology self-efficacy scale, teacher support questionnaire and higher vocational students’ information literacy scale to explore the multiple intermediary functions of network perceived usefulness and ICT self-efficacy in teacher support and higher vocational students’ information literacy from the perspective of multiple intermediary effects, and uses structural equation model for data modeling and analysis. The results show that the information literacy of higher vocational students is positively correlated (...) with teacher support, usefulness of network perception and ICT self-efficacy. Teachers’ support is positively correlated with ICT self-efficacy and network perceived usefulness, and network perceived usefulness and ICT self-efficacy play a significant mediating role between teachers’ support and information literacy of higher vocational students. Based on the research results, some suggestions are put forward to guide teachers to help students clearly recognize the role of information technology, improve ICT self-efficacy, improve information literacy and better integrate into digital society. (shrink)

This article discusses some possible issues and tasks that are particularly important for information and communication sciences. It deals with ethical and technological issues, the role and responsibility of information and communication intellectuals, anthropological issues in information and communication sciences, political economy, propaganda and public relations, corporations and post-politics, practical foundations of information and communication sciences, creation, the utopian dimension of information and communication sciences, libraries and the market, challenges in the education of information (...) and communication experts, and a look into the future. Deliberations about questions and tasks of information and communication sciences emphasise the need for their humanisation. This means that information and communication sciences should refrain from an uncritical adoption of affirmative discourses on the information society and adopt a truly critical relationship to life and society as a whole. (shrink)

The importance of the topic of the article lies in the fact that in the era of postmodernism, informatization of the elementary school allows you to improve the quality of the educational process, through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to simplify management of the educational process, to organize the exchange of teaching experience, to expand didactic capabilities of the lesson. The purpose of the article is the need to study and justify the importance of using new (...) ICT in primary school lessons, to expand the experience of e-learning in primary school. The article expands the concept of information and communication technologies and their benefits in primary school; given the rationale for conducting a lesson using ICT; the experience of e-learning in the primary school of the postmodern era is characterized. Thus, one of the priorities of the development of education in postmodern society is the professional application in all areas of information technology and e-learning, which can increase the interest of present students and improve the ability to adapt to current electronic information society. The formation of knowledge and skills in the field of computer literacy of teachers and students will be an indicator of compliance of its level with current requirements. (shrink)

In this article, the authors study the problem of balance of trust and mistrust associated with the turbulence of modern society, redundancy, and heterogeneity of information and communication flows creating a contradictory picture of the world. Social networks are considered as one of the basic modern information resources creating previously unavailable opportunities for communication, interaction, information sharing, and commonality construction. Social networks users broadcast the experience of constructing communications in real daily life in the Internet community (...) forming circles of ‘friends‘, building a chain of weak social ties; but the problem of trusting ‘friends‘ remains not solved in global space. A survey of users of social networks, conducted as part of this study, demonstrates conflicting findings. The opinions of ‘friends‘ does not always have an impact on the degree of trusting events, information, groups, likes, and dislikes to other users. Users often trust strangers and less familiar people. The social networks demonstrates the demand for uniting ‘brige-building‘ trust. However, the trust remains extremely narrow throughout, leading to fragmentation and alienation of individuals from each other in an attempt to find their safe niche. Distrust of narrow and wide radius leads to far-reaching consequences and greater uncertainty in society, not creating the preconditions for openness and the vision of the future. (shrink)

More companies are understanding the benefits of designing work to enhance, rather than minimise, the contributions of their employees within human-centred systems. To do this, they require their supportive subsystems (such as training, job, and team design, performance measurement and information) to provide people with the ability, motivation and opportunity to become increasingly involved. Opportunity for involvement will require different communication interfaces, providing data and background information both personally and at the work site or process. In the past (...) few years, the media available for visualisation and communication have become much more numerous and have much greater capabilities. This paper examines the information requirements of certain features of modern manufacturing enterprises—local control, skills, knowledge and training, function allocation and team communications. It then assesses the utility of three broad types of information display—Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), Multimedia/Closed-circuit Television (CCTV) and Virtual Environments (VEs)—for shopfloor systems. (shrink)

In man-machine communication, there is a relationship between what may be described as tacit (human) and explicit (machine) knowledge. The tacit lies in practice and the explicit in the formulation of the processes and content of this practice. However, when a human communicates with another human face to face, we may describe them as communicating aspects of the tacit and explicit dimension of their knowledge, i.e. the expression and its background of meaning for the particular situation. When this is unsuccessful (...) in being communicated, some mediator (not necessarily a third person) is needed to provide the bridge for the particular discrepant aspects of the tacit and explicit dimensions to meet. This is achieved by making the tacit nature of the discrepancy in the communication explicit to both participants such that they both understand the background to their discrepancy. Once they become aware, it is possible for them to begin to resolve it. (shrink)

Background: Post-mortem needle biopsies have been used in resource-poor settings to determine cause of death and there is interest in using them in Bangladesh. However, we did not know how families and communities would perceive this procedure or how they would decide whether or not to consent to a post-mortem needle biopsy. The goal of this study was to better understand family and community concerns and decision-making about post-mortem needle biopsies in this low-income, predominantly Muslim country in order to design (...) an informed consent process. Methods: We conducted 16 group discussions with family members of persons who died during an outbreak of Nipah virus illness during 2004-2008 and 11 key informant interviews with their community and religious leaders. Qualitative researchers first described the post-mortem needle biopsy procedure and asked participants whether they would have agreed to this procedure during the outbreak. Researchers probed participants about the circumstances under which the procedure would be acceptable, if any, their concerns about the procedure, and how they would decide whether or not to consent to the procedure. Results: Overall, most participants agreed that post-mortem needle biopsies would be acceptable in some situations, particularly if they benefitted society. This procedure was deemed more acceptable than full autopsy because it would not require major delays in burial or remove organs, and did not require cutting or stitching of the body. It could be performed before the ritual bathing of the body in either the community or hospital setting. However, before consent would be granted for such a procedure, the research team must gain the trust of the family and community which could be difficult. Although consent may only be provided by the guardians of the body, decisions about consent for the procedure would involve extended family and community and religious leaders. Conclusions: The possible acceptability of this procedure during outbreaks represents an important opportunity to better characterize cause of death in Bangladesh which could lead to improved public health interventions to prevent these deaths. Obstacles for research teams will include engaging all major stakeholders in decision-making and quickly building a trusting relationship with the family and community, which will be difficult given the short window of time prior to the ritual bathing of the body. (shrink)

Kramer and Kramarae have identified four sets of masculine gendered ideas that are used in conceptualising the Internet: anarchy, frontier, democracy and community. These are constitutive ideas as opposed to regulative ones; in other words they constitute the Internet. I suggest two alternative constitutive ideas, but not necessarily ‘feminine’ ones, that might be used as constituent parts of the Internet. These are reflexivity, or examining what we are about, and pluralism. The more widespread adoption of these two principles as constitutive (...) ethics would have a profound effect on teaching and practice of using not just the Internet, but developing and using ICT more generally. (shrink)

This article brings together two research fields in applied ethics - namely, information ethics and business ethics- which deal with the ethical impact of information and communication technologies but that, so far, have remained largely independent. Its goal is to articulate and defend an informational approach to the conceptual foundation of business ethics, by using ideas and methods developed in information ethics, in view of the convergence of the two fields in an increasingly networked society.

Information and Communication Technologies have profoundly changed many aspects of life, including the nature of entertainment, work, communication, education, healthcare, industrial production and business, social relations and conflicts. They have had a radical and widespread impact on our moral lives and hence on contemporary ethical debates. The Cambridge Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics, first published in 2010, provides an ambitious and authoritative introduction to the field, with discussions of a range of topics including privacy, ownership, freedom of (...) speech, responsibility, technological determinism, the digital divide, cyber warfare, and online pornography. It offers an accessible and thoughtful survey of the transformations brought about by ICTs and their implications for the future of human life and society, for the evaluation of behaviour, and for the evolution of moral values and rights. It will be a valuable book for all who are interested in the ethical aspects of the information society in which we live. (shrink)

What is the role of communication technology and media in making American society more adaptive, equitable, and democratic? Analyzing the field of communication against an in-depth picture of American society, this provocative, wide-ranging text explores how communication enterprises are intrinsically linked to the establishment and maintenance of social power. Throughout the book, changes in communication capabilities are related to changes in wealth and income distribution, the structures of economic organizations, work and the professions, minorities, law and government, urbanization, (...) popular culture, and globalization. In an engaging narrative the author presents empirical evidence that suggests that popular beliefs about the democratic role of media and communications often are misguided. While we are in an information age, it is not an information revolution that can liberate society. Emphasizing new technologies and media in contemporary American society, Rossides shows how most forms of social communication throughout history—language, gestures, clothing, buildings and spaces, ships and railroads—have sustained social power. (shrink)

PurposeBeginning with the initial premise that the internet has a global character, the purpose of this paper is to argue that the normative evaluation of digital information on the internet necessitates an evaluative model that is itself universal and global in character. To this end, the paper aims to demonstrate and support a universal model for the normative evaluation of information on the internet.Design/methodology/approachThe design and application of a dual normative model of information show how such a (...) model commits all disseminators of information to universal epistemological and ethical norms.FindingsBased on the dual normative characterization of information, the paper demonstrates that information and internet information specifically, have an inherent normative structure that commits its disseminators to certain mandatory epistemological and ethical commitments; and that the negligent or purposeful abuse of information in violation of those commitments is also a violation of universal rights to freedom and wellbeing to which all agents are entitled by virtue of being agents, and in particular informational agents.Research limitations/implicationsOwing to space constraints it is impractical to provide in this paper a detailed account of how the argument for informational universal rights can deal with other competing moral obligations.Originality/valueThe findings based on an innovative dual normative model of information demonstrate and support the initial thesis of the paper, namely, that the dissemination of internet information due to its global nature commits all informational agents to universal epistemological and ethical principles. (shrink)

This paper draws on the authors more than 10 years of involvement in the action research experience of the Milan Community Network. It discusses the roles that community networks play in the Information Society: starting from a neat characterization of “online community”, community networks are presented as ICT learning communities, as local online communities and as complementary to Digital Cities. Finally, critical insights into institutional aspects of community networks are considered from the perspective of their sustainability.

In this chapter, the issue of information will be tackled from a "pathological" point of view, by considering living cells that have become cancerous and societies permeated by "psychological imbalances". The chapter focuses on the issue of fanaticism, whose cause is evidently related to the way of interpreting the world. The issue will revolve around immunity, identity, forms and communication. The chapter also considers some perspicacious analyses published in the 1960s by Jurgen Habermas. This unmissable philosopher has managed to (...) shed light on how science and technology have become ideologies, leading to societies guided by scientific modernism with two complementary aspects. The first one involves action as determined by the use of technological tools. The second one involves thinking, human conscience, and the sense of existence which, in the context of scientific modernism, are determined or at least guided by the use of technological tools and procedures founded on measuring and calculating science. (shrink)

In recent years the philosophy of information has emerged as an important area of research in philosophy. However, until now information’s philosophical history has been largely overlooked. Information and the History of Philosophy is the first comprehensive investigation of the history of philosophical questions around information, including work from before the Common Era to the twenty-first century. It covers scientific and technology-centred notions of information; views of human information processing, as well as socio-political topics (...) such as the control and use of information in societies. Organised into five parts, nineteen chapters by an international team of contributors cover the following topics and more: Information before 500 CE, including ancient Chinese, Greek and Roman approaches to information Early theories of information processing, sources of information and cognition Information and computation in Leibniz, visualised scientific information, copyright and social reform The nineteenth century, including biological information, knowledge economies, and information’s role in empire and eugenics Recent and contemporary philosophy of information, including racialized information, Shannon information, and the very idea of an information revolution. Information and the History of Philosophy is a landmark publication in this emerging field. As such, it is essential reading for students and researchers in the history of philosophy, philosophy of science and technology, and library and information studies. It is also a valuable resource for those working in subjects such as the history of science, media and communication studies, and intellectual history. (shrink)

Social media platforms take on increasingly big roles in political advertising. Microtargeting techniques facilitate the display of tailored advertisements to specific subsegments of society. Scholars worry that such techniques might cause political information to be displayed to only very small subgroups of citizens. Or that targeted communication about policy could make the mandate of elected representatives more challenging to interpret. Policy information in general and pledges, in particular, have received much scientific scrutiny. Scholars have focused largely on (...) party manifestos, but policy information and pledges communicated via online advertisements offer a new arena with new dynamics. This study uses Facebook’s ad library to describe how Dutch political campaigns advertise policy information and pledges in the run-up to the 2019 European Elections. The results show that much policy information is displayed to small subsegments of society. These findings provide evidence for concerns about pledge obfuscation, voter manipulation and mandate interpretation. (shrink)

This essay advances two sets of critical observations about Manuel Castells's suggestion and detailed elaboration of the idea that modern society from the 1980s onwards constitutes a network society and that the unity in the diversity of global restructuring has to be seen in the massive deployment of information and communication technologies in all spheres of modern social life. The criticism attends to the possibility that the emphasis on the social role of information technologies in advanced (...) society amounts to a modern version of `technological determinism'. A discussion of the so-called productivity paradox shows that cultural and social processes rather than technological regimes continue to be more important for the evolution of society. (shrink)

This thesis studies the enabling properties of ICT and their effects and potential for social change, and prepares the ground for a sustainability-oriented ethico-political assessment of this technology. It primarily builds on interdisciplinary scholarship to describe and explain the multifaceted co-evolution between the global deployment of ICTs and the emergence of the Information Society, understood as a socioeconomic restructuring of capitalism. Beyond the role of ICTs in this regime transition, the thesis delivers other philosophical insights about crucial aspects (...) of ICT development, applications and management. These include arguments about how we should conceptualize ICTs on the basis of their different roles in extending human communication and in performing or facilitating the remote control of humans and animals, machines and systems operations; about the entanglement between telecommunications, transport networks, urban development and work and organization; and about the relations between ICTs, culture and human values. Examples are offered to illustrate the potential that these empirical and philosophical lessons may hold for the construction of a framework for the ethico-political assessment of ICTs. (shrink)

Media; It is a concept that encompasses all mass media. The most important task; the principle of impartiality and meeting the needs of the public for freedom of information. The media has facilitated the awareness, education, orientation and dissemination of all kinds of information in all fields. Today's media affects people's needs and desires positively or negatively. Media is like a double-edged sword. It has both positive and negative aspects. Human beings needed to know and understand each other (...) after they settled down. For this reason, people have tried to communicate with each other in various ways. As time passed, the means of communication used in society developed and written communication was changed from verbal communication. Before Islam, Arabs were in contact with the societies living around them. Arab tribes communicated among themselves through various means such as poetry, eulogy, oratory, setting mountain tops on fire, and homing pigeons. Since Arabia has been on two important trade routes for a long time, they made international communication through trade. The most important methods applied for communication in the period of ignorance; poetry, ode, oratory, club, fair etc. they used to eat. The Prophet started his first invitation by communicating with people in the first years of his prophethood. He held personal meetings with various tribesmen who came to Mecca during certain seasons. During the Meccan period, With the first revelation to the Prophet, he began to invite all humanity to Islam in the person of the Meccan society. The Prophet tried to convey his messages to the Meccan society by specifying the characteristics and purposes of his invitation. The notables of the Makkan polytheists did not take him seriously, The notables of the Makkan polytheists did not take him seriously, they mocked him and described him as a magician, poet, soothsayer, magician, separator, madman and demonized. Despite all these slanders, The Prophet continued to announce his message by communicating with everyone at all times and places. After the Prophet's migration from Mecca to Medina, communication and communication areas with the people in Medina became easier. The Prophet communicated with the kings and rulers of neighboring countries by sending letters to invite them to Islam. She also sent a letter to the Jews living in Medina, inviting them to abide by the agreements and promises they made. He strengthened communication with the Arab delegations who came to Medina to become Muslims and the delegations sent to meet with the Arab tribes. The Prophet communicated with the polytheists during the peace process with the Treaty of Hudaybiyah. On the one hand, the Tabuk Campaign to the Byzantine border to secure the borders of the Muslims in Medina became a means of communication for both the border and surrounding tribes. The Prophet's explanation, interpretation and hadiths of the Qur'an from the beginning of his prophethood have been the greatest media power for Muslims. The Prophet used various communication methods in his communication with people. While communicating with them, he took into account the characteristics of people and society. He tried to communicate with people at every opportunity. (shrink)

Civil Protection and disaster risk specific agencies legally responsible to enhance individual and community resilience, still utilize in their risk and crisis communication efforts, the “deficit model” even though its basic assumption and approach have been criticized. Recent studies indicate that information seeking behavior is not necessarily a measure of enhanced individual preparedness. A qualitative change from “blindly” following directions to practicing emergency planning and becoming your own disaster risk manager is required. For pandemics, the challenge is even more (...) complicated due to their unique characteristics. Community based exercises, a framework concept encompassing a variety of interactive activities, have recently started being utilized to develop resilience amongst citizens. Existing models of resilience can pinpoint to the required knowledge, skills and attitude. Research in the factors influencing behavioral change could offer new understanding of the interplay between cognitive and demographic drivers/factors of resilience. Such knowledge could be utilized for setting targeted objectives, developing appropriate activities and the corresponding training for the CBEx facilitators. Despite the importance of preparation, the current covid-19 crisis indicates that high levels of adaptive resilience can be displayed even in the absence of any risk communication effort beforehand by utilizing a pre-existing collective understanding of the system situation. (shrink)

Purpose Privacy has been understood as about one’s own information, information that is not one’s own is not typically considered with regards to an individual’s privacy. This paper aims to draw attention to this issue for conceptualizing privacy when one’s privacy is breached by others’ information. Design/methodology/approach To illustrate the issue that others' information can breach one's own privacy, this paper uses real-world applications of forensic genealogy and recommender systems to motivate the discussion. Findings In both (...) forensic genealogy and recommender systems, the individual’s privacy is breached by information that is not one’s own. The information that breached one’s privacy, by its nature, is beyond the scope of an individual, which is a phenomenon that has already been captured by emerging discussions about group privacy. This paper further argues that the underlying issue reflected by the examples of forensic genealogy is an extreme case even under the consideration of group privacy. This is because, unlike recommender systems that rely on large amounts of data to make inferences about an individual, forensic genealogy exposes one’s identity by using only one other individual’s information. This paper echoes existing discussions that this peculiar situation where others’ information breaches one’s own privacy reveals the problematic nature of conceptualizing privacy relying only on individualistic assumptions. Moreover, this paper suggests a relational perspective as an alternative for theorizing privacy. Originality/value This situation that others’ information breached one’s own privacy calls for an updated understanding of not only privacy but also the relationship between the person and their information. Privacy scholars need to renew their ethical language and vocabularies to properly understand the issue, which recent privacy conceptualizations are already doing (e.g. group privacy). (shrink)

Small companies face an increasingly turbulent business environment. They are traditionally ‘power’ cultures, with informal, chaotic, communication flows. This has enabled them to maintain flexibility. However, informal information is no longer enough in the face of complexity. These companies need to concentrate onformal information for traceability. Effective management of both formal and informal information enables these small companies to adapt to change. This paper explores information in a small company, using an in-depth case study. The work (...) is of particular interest and value to the knowledge-intensive small company, one of the emerging types of company in Europe. (shrink)

This volume provides a comprehensive account of Wilhelm Röpke as a liberal political economist and social philosopher. Wilhelm Röpke was a key protagonist of transatlantic neoliberalism, a prominent public intellectual and a gifted international networker. As an original thinker, he always positioned himself at the interface between political economy and social philosophy, as well as between liberalism and conservatism. Röpke’s endeavors to combine these elements into a coherent whole, as well as his embeddedness in European and American intellectual networks of (...) liberal and conservative thinkers, are a central theme throughout the book. The volume includes papers by international experts from a conference in Geneva on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Röpke’s passing. The first part focuses on new biographical insights into his exile years in Istanbul and Geneva, while the second part discusses his business cycle theory in the context of the Great Depression, and the third part elaborates on his multifaceted social philosophy. Wilhelm Röpke was among the most important thinkers within the classical liberal revival post-WWII, with intriguing tensions between liberalism and conservatism. A highly recommended volume. –– Peter J. Boettke, 2016-2018 President of the Mont Pèlerin Society and Professor of Economics and Philosophy, George Mason University This important collection of papers provides an in-depth assessment of Wilhelm Röpke’s contributions, placing him in the context of his time. A fine contribution. –– Bruce J. Caldwell, Director of the Center for the History of Political Economy and Research Professor of Economics, Duke University. (shrink)

Information and communication technologies (ICT) enable citizens to communicate across state borders with greater ease than ever before, exciting much speculation about the emergence of transnational public spheres. This highly original work introduces this debate to International Relations, by investigating the socio-political implications of ICT in a global governance framework. Classic Habermasian theory is radically reconstructed to take account of contemporary trends in state sovereignty and global civil society. It is argued that if access is not widened and (...) free speech not sufficiently protected, the early promise of ICT as a liberating force will be neutralized. (shrink)