Situational influences on ethical decision-making in an IT context

Processes of ethical decision-making are thought to depend on the issue faced when making the decision. We examined the processes by examining student's reactions to five scenarios involving IT use. Data were collected using a questionnaire following a group discussion. The results showed that ethical decision-making processes did indeed vary by scenario, suggesting that a single-issue approach is inadequate for studying ethical decision-making. Perceived importance of the ethical issue was a factor in the scenarios, but it did not have an all-inclusive influence on the decision-making of the participants. The results were considered in the context of theories and Mason's ethical issues of the information age. We offer advice to managers on how to limit unethical behavior.     

To ask, or not to ask, about abuse--New Zealand research.

Comments on the article by K. Becker-Blease and J. Freyd (see record 2006-03947-003), which addressed the ethics of asking and not asking research subjects about abuse. J. Read reviews some clinical research in New Zealand in which there was a low level of inquiry about abuse by mental health staff, and notes that this is consistent with the results of similar studies elsewhere. He agrees with Becker-Blease and Freyd that there are many consequences to researchers and clinicians of not asking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Virtue ethics, multiculturalism, and the paradox of cultural dialogue.

Comments on the article by Fowers and Davidov, "The virtue of multiculturalism: Personal transformation, character and openess to the other," (see record 2006-11202-002). Fowers and Davidov offered a virtue-based approach to understanding and fostering multiculturalism in psychology. Fowers and Davidov argued that multiculturalism fulfills the classical components of being a virtue, being a worthy goal that requires the wise use of consistent and worthwhile goods. They concluded that the virtue of multiculturalism and its correlate, openness, provide a sound basis for transformative cultural dialogue. It appears that Fowers and Davidov may be caught in what Meiland (1980) has called "The Paradox of Cognitive Relativism." I would argue that the problem, rather than being a faulty argument on their part, is the intrinsic incoherence of an ethic of multiculturalism, which insists that we respect a diversity of cultural backgrounds, and yet insists. The virtue model of ethics is relevant to our cultural concerns as psychologists but certainly does not resolve them. Instead, because it is soundly based in the idea of personal character, its value lies in bringing to light the very dilemmas involving human similarity and difference that have troubled psychologists since the inception of the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Practical and ethical assessment issues in rural, impoverished, and managed care settings.

The rising costs of new psychological tests, increased frequency of test revisions, and difficulty receiving authorization and reimbursement from managed care companies make it increasingly difficult for practitioners to provide the best standard of care to clients when conducting psychological and neuropsychological assessments. Practitioners, especially those in low-income and rural areas, may struggle with handling these practical realities while maintaining ethical standards in conducting psychological assessment. Suggestions for how to manage practical challenges faced by practitioners who provide psychological assessments, such as selecting tests when authorization or reimbursement by a third-party payer is restricted or denied, purchasing psychological tests on a budget, and providing assessments with a limited number of qualified staff are discussed. The authors also provide recommendations for the future prevention of these challenges through work with test developers, test publishing corporations, third-party payers, political action groups, and the psychology profession itself. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"以人为本"与"天人合一"的统一——儒家生态伦理内涵浅析

"以人为本"和"天人合一"是儒家伦理的两大传统。在天人关系上,儒学既强调"以人为本"又强调"天人合一"。两者不是非此即彼的关系,而是一体两面的有机统一。这种统一是建立在对人的道德修养和道德实践高度重视的基础上。     

学术职业的现代性发展与道德规范

大学教师担当着社会的道德规范和生活方式建构与阐释的使命,引导着人的意义与社会理想的发展。大学教师不仅追求学术目标,还肩负道德进步和社会发展的责任。但学术职业的现代性发展导致了学术自治被放逐和学术道德的失落。本文对学术职业的现代性困境作了探讨,认为学术道德是学术职业发展的前提。     

一种基于P2P的工作流管理系统设计

基于客户机／服务器结构的工作流管理系统，其中心化的服务器不仅影响系统性能，而且容易导致单点故障．通过引入P2P（点对点，即通过节点间的直接信息交换来实现计算资源和服务的共享）概念，给出了一种非中心化的工作流管理系统设计方案，系统中的每个节点既是客户端，同时又可以承担数据存储和流程控制的职责．基于JXTA（Juxtapose项目，SUN公司为了支持P2P应用而提供的一个底层开源平台）的实现及就诊工作流应用表明，非中心化工作流管理不仅对环境变化具有良好的适应性，而且可以为工作1流参与者提供更多的自主性．     

网络化钻井事故诊断与处理系统架构设计

根据石油钻井作业的特点,提出开发一个由计算机网络支持的钻井事故诊断与处理系统,为后方基地的多方专家进行会诊提供了支撑平台.该平台可以将分散在不同地点的有关专家或软件系统聚集在网上一起协同工作,从而提高钻井事故诊断与处理的科学性和实时性.对系统的结构与功能模型、组网方法以及主要设计技术包括数据传输协议栈、数据包格式、数据交互等进行了详细描述.     

Computer-mediated group influence on ethical behavior

Drawing on previous research in ethical behavior in information technology, this study examines the effects of group discussion, using virtual teams, on an individual’s intention to behave ethically/unethically. It was hypothesized that behavioral intention would be influenced by an individual’s attitude (toward ethical behavior), personal normative beliefs, ego strength, locus of control, perceived importance, gender and the scenario, and that computer-mediated group discussion would impact an individual’s ethical behavioral intention. This was tested through an experiment using five different ethical scenarios involving information technology. The results show that for two of the five scenarios, individual behavioral intention was significantly more unethical after computer-mediated group discussion than before, while for one scenario, individual behavioral intention was significantly more ethical after computer-mediated group discussion than before. The results of this study may help organizations to develop realistic training programs for IT professionals that account for changes in employee’s personal ethical models after interacting with others.