9.8. Summary
Key Takeaways
- Today’s digital technologies have created new categories of ethical dilemmas.
- Ethics are moral principles of conduct, and a code of ethics outlines a set of acceptable behaviors for a professional or social group.
- Intellectual property protections include: copyrights, patents, and trademarks.
- Privacy is the ability to control information about oneself. There are a number of laws in Canada to protect a person’s privacy and their personal information (PI).
- The digital divide is the separation between those who have access to global networks and those who do not. There are many initiatives underway in Canada to aid in providing internet access to everyone.
- Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the internet.
- Telecommuting and remote work on the rise and come with benefits as well as concerns.
Review Questions
- What does the term information systems ethics mean?
- What is a code of ethics? What is one advantage and one disadvantage of a code of ethics?
- What does the term intellectual property mean? Give an example.
- What protections are provided by a copyright? How do you obtain one?
- What is fair dealing?
- What protections are provided by a patent? How do you obtain one?
- What does a trademark protect? How do you obtain one?
- What does the term personally identifiable information mean?
- What protections are provided in Canada with respect to privacy?
- What does the term digital divide mean?
- What are Jakob Nielsen’s three stages of the digital divide?
Exercises
Overview
This assignment will help you to understand the digital divide and its implications .
Assignment
In this assignment, you will complete an activity to assess where you fall on the digital divide, and discuss ways to help close the digital gap in Canada.
Complete the short activity and answer the following questions:
- Discuss your results with the class (if you feel comfortable).
- What are some of the situations that impact your results on the digital divide assessment?
- What are some of the ways in which the digital divide can be reduced in Canada? Do some research and share your solutions. Be sure to provide references to the resources you use.
