Ethics for the Information Age (3rd Edition) [Paperback]

Michael J. Quinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0321536851 | ISBN-13: 978-0321536853 | Edition: 3

In an era where information technology changes constantly, a thoughtful response to these rapid changes requires a basic understanding of IT history, an awareness of current issues, and a familiarity with ethics. Ethics for the Information Age provides an overview of ethical theories and problems encountered by computer professionals in today’s environment. Catalysts for Change; Introduction to Ethics; Networking; Intellectual Property; Privacy; Computer and Network Security; Computer Reliability; Professional Ethics; Work and Wealth; Plagiarism. For all readers interested in computers and society or computer ethics.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Ethics for the Information Age

3rd edition

Michael J. Quinn, Seattle University

 

This book offers a balanced, impartial presentation of the ethical and moral controversies surrounding information technology. Topics such as spam, Web censorship, Internet addiction, file sharing, privacy, software failures, whistle-blowing, and the digital divide are explored through multiple ethical theories, encouraging readers to think critically about these issues and to make their own decisions.

 

In addition to coverage of many provocative issues, the Third Edition features news stories and emerging ethical topics from recent years, including social networking, digital rights management, and surveillance by telecommunications companies. Interviews with industry, government, and academic leaders give additional perspectives on these issues to help readers build an informed ethical foundation.

 

"I like the scope and depth of the material in this text. The fair-and-balanced presentation of moral and ethical issues helps students become aware, thinking individuals capable of forming their own assessments and opinions that guide their behavior."

--Diane Cassidy, University of North Carolina -- Charlotte

 

"Of the dozen or so books I've considered using for my computer ethics class, Quinn's is the best-balanced, best-written, most accessible option. Highly recommended."

--Richard Gordon, University of Delaware                                                                                                                       

About the Author

Michael J. Quinn is the author of the first two editions of Ethics for the Information Age. He is a professor of computer science at Oregon State University where he teaches Social and Ethical Issues in Computer Science among other computer science courses. For Fall 2007, he’ll be leaving Oregon State University and taking on the role of Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Seattle University. He did his graduate work at University of Wisconsin–Madison and received his PhD at Washington State University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley; 3 edition (February 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321536851
• ISBN-13: 978-0321536853
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #602,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good; not perfect, August 12, 2005

By 

Philosophy Prof. (Collegetown, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ethics for the Information Age (Paperback)

Quinn's textbook comes off "very good" in a crowded field of competitors. It is broad in its scope, and very up to date in the issues that it raises.

The book is not without its flaws: as a philosophy professor, I would have hoped for a clearer discussion of ethical theory and a less mechanical application of those theories to the issues, but these parts of the book are small and can easily be supplemented by outside readings. I also deal with the subjects in a very different order from the book, beginning with the issues of reliability and security that will most concern our CS majors. (Spam is nasty, but it doesn't seem like the best place to start. I doubt that many of our majors will be headed in that direction as professionals.)

Of course even a perfect book could not guarantee that students will learn from it-- Learning is also the responsibility of the student. Students of science or engineering who treat this as if it were a science or math text may well come to the conclusion of one reviewer below that its conclusions often seem "obvious"-- but it is a method that is being taught, and not just the answers. Who knows what the big questions will be ten years from now in such a rapidly changing field? That is one reason why the author's first, historical chapter is such a valuable inclusion and should not be overlooked. Students too often take the status quo for granted, and do not realize how much has changed to get us here, and how quickly it has happened. Few such texts deal with this important material, and Quinn does a good job with it.

As to alleged bias in the text, that is just nonsense. If you are convinced that J. Edgar Hoover never authorized an illegal wiretap, or that the Patriot Act is uncontroversial, then some of the questions Quinn raises may make you feel uncomfortable. But that is exactly what a good ethics text should do: provoke thought and discussion.

I recommend this book as a course text that touches on all of the (currently) key areas of social concern in the CS curriculum in an engaging way. I also hope for an improved second edition that will do the job even better.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It covers the IEEE, ACM recommendations for an ethics course, October 3, 2004

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ethics for the Information Age (Paperback)

In 2001, a joint committee of the IEEE computer society and the Association for Computing Machinery recommended that every undergraduate computer science degree incorporate 40 hours in the social issues of computing. The report also contains a model syllabus for "CS280, Social and Professional Issues." This book is designed to cover all of the major topics in that outline, and that goal has been achieved. There is also enough additional material and chapter independence so that all adopters will have the flexibility to do it their own way.

The book is split into nine chapters:

*) Catalysts for change.

*) Introduction to ethics.

*) Networking.

*) Intellectual property.

*) Privacy.

*) Computer and network security.

*) Computer reliability.

*) Work and wealth.

*) Professional ethics.

While the coverage is fairly complete, the technical level never rises beyond that which one would expect the experienced computer science student to be able to handle. In my opinion, most computer science students, and quite likely instructors as well, will find the second chapter to be the most difficult to understand. The topics are:

*) Subjective relativism.

*) Cultural relativism.

*) Divine command theory.

*) Kantianism.

*) Act utilitarianism.

*) Rule utilitarianism.

*) Social contract theory.

The author delves fairly deeply into these areas, but since they are the necessary preconditions to understand ethical dilemmas, I do not object to it. However, it is a point that needs to be made in this review. I took two courses in philosophy/ethics as an undergraduate and I found myself going slowly through the chapter. A large number of questions and in-class exercises are given at the end of each chapter.

However, there is one area where the author really fumbled the ball, demonstrating a lack of historical knowledge. On page 335 in the Work and Wealth chapter, there is the statement:

" It also appears modern Americans work harder than the ancient Greeks, Romans or Western Europeans of the Middle Ages. `The lives of ordinary people in the Middle Ages or Ancient Greece and Rome may not have been easy, or even pleasant, but they certainly were leisurely. [9]' In the mid-fourth century the Roman Empire had 175 public festival days. In medieval England holidays added up to four months a year; in Spain, five months; in France, six months.[9]"

A reference is given to justify these statements, but it is most certainly wrong. While I don't dispute that there were many public holidays in ancient Greece and Rome, they were for citizens only, which was a small percentage of the population. The majority of people were slaves, who did the bulk of the labor in those societies and their labor is what made the circuses possible. Nothing really changed in the Middle Ages, the only difference was that the laboring population were called serfs.

Anyone who tries to make the point that people work harder now than in the past should reread the history of the industrial revolution. At that time, most industrial workers put in ten to fourteen hours a day seven days a week, with almost no days off. The managers of industry also readily admitted that the work environment was structured so that the workers were required to move as fast as possible. Working conditions were so difficult and physically demanding that many people were permanently disfigured after a few years on the job.

Despite this reservation, I recommend the book and plan on using it as a text if my proposal for a course in computer ethics is approved.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Actually Impressed, June 24, 2011

By 

russell_h - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ethics for the Information Age (4th Edition) (Paperback)

As a Computer Science student, I was actually impressed by this book. Admittedly, my expectations were low, but Dr. Quinn did a relatively good job of covering both the ethical and technical aspects of a variety of relevant topics.

The discussions of various ethical theories did a good job of relating the theories to relevant technical topics, but wasn't as skeptical as I would have liked. Arguments in favor of and against each theory are listed, but some obviously nonsensical points are given a free pass. A critical reader should have no trouble discerning these however, so they don't really detract from the book in my mind.

Most of the rest of the book is dedicated to a discussion of various ethical dilemas related to technology, and this portion of the book was really excellent. Dr. Quinn did a great job of selecting relevant historical situations and presenting them in a way that is both comprehensible and correct - a rare thing in texts of this sort.

Really the main thing that I felt detracted from this book was the illustrations. As others have noted, they are excessive and almost exclusively worthless. They're easy enough to ignore, but there are so many of them that I'm sure they added to the (slightly higher than I would expect) price. For this reason alone I'm deducting a single "star".