Raymond A. Hackney and Neil K. McBride
In recent years local authorities and hospitals within the UK havebeen subjected to substantial change, which has resulted in an explosionin the use of information systems (IS)…
Abstract
In recent years local authorities and hospitals within the UK have been subjected to substantial change, which has resulted in an explosion in the use of information systems (IS). IS managers, personnel and executives within local authorities and hospitals were interviewed in order to determine the effect of context and culture on the take‐up of IS. Context was considered at an external and internal level. Cultural issues were particularly important in the take‐up of IS. In both local authorities and hospitals the IT culture clashed with the subcultures it was supporting. Highlights three issues: the cultural decentralization of IS, which resulted in an unplanned proliferation of disparate systems; the over‐emphasis on operational systems by the IS function to the detriment of management information systems; and the reinforcing of barriers between subcultures through incompatible IS. Suggests that IS departments within the public sector need to be proactive in their support of subcultures and to enrol them in a common goal of the provision of integrated IS within the organization.
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Abdul-Hye Miah and Neil Mcbride
This paper aims to outline an ethical framework for the deployment of facial recognition technology (FRT) in policing practice and highlight the ethical significance of the facial…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to outline an ethical framework for the deployment of facial recognition technology (FRT) in policing practice and highlight the ethical significance of the facial image.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper sets out an ethical approach to the practice of facial recognition deployment derived from Emmanuel Levinas’ Ethics of the Face. Ideas concerning alterity and the role of the face as a source of ethical obligation are used to establish the significance of responsibility and accountability in FRT usage.
Findings
Reflecting on the ethics of the face suggests that facial recognition amplifies requirements for accountability and responsibility in comparison with other biometric techniques and requires stronger legal safeguards.
Practical implications
This paper offers practical improvements through: improved process in applying FRT and changes to information management practice which treat the facial image with heightened accountability and traceability. Training is suggested which creates an understanding of the face and an improved approach to the information management of FRT data. Recommendations are made on selection of officers deployed in the field.
Originality/value
Using Levinas’ concept of the face and ethical philosophy provides a unique and novel lens for characterizing the legal and ethical issues concerning FRT in police practice and results in new insights as to the productive use of FRT in public policing.
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Reflexivity involves critical reflection by the qualitative researcher as to the influence of the researcher's culture, history and belief on the conduct and outcome of the…
Abstract
Purpose
Reflexivity involves critical reflection by the qualitative researcher as to the influence of the researcher's culture, history and belief on the conduct and outcome of the research. It is often seen as a practice exercised in the analysis of results in order to attempt to objectify the research. The purpose of this paper is to argue that the value of reflexivity is located in its practice in the field encounter as a means of recognising and embracing subjectivity. In order to widen reflexivity as hermeneutics, the paper draws on Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics as developed in “Truth and Method”.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper which distils critical themes from Gadamer's truth and method and applies them to the concept of reflexivity as applied in the field.
Findings
The paper suggests that reflexivity is an important component in the field encounter. Immersion in the language and terms of the field is critical to understanding meaning; who I am, my past, my lived experience are essential inputs to my research; the researcher's opinions, ideas and outspoken statements are part of the fabric of qualitative research; qualitative interpretation as a creative exercise; qualitative research should bring insight and understanding that can be applied to catalyse change.
Practical implications
Understanding and applying reflexivity in the field will provide innovative insights which can be carried through to the data analysis.
Originality/value
This study uniquely applies Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics to reflexivity and the field encounter.
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Interconnection Systems Ltd, one of the largest printed circuit board manufacturers in the UK, is strengthening its sales and marketing team with the recent appointments of Neil…
Abstract
Interconnection Systems Ltd, one of the largest printed circuit board manufacturers in the UK, is strengthening its sales and marketing team with the recent appointments of Neil French and Brian McBride. Both formerly employed by Cityprint, they have extensive experience in the printed circuit industry.
Katherine S. Virgo, Chun Chieh Lin, Amy Davidoff, Gery P. Guy, Janet S. de Moor, Donatus U. Ekwueme, Erin E. Kent, Neetu Chawla and K. Robin Yabroff
To examine associations by gender between cancer history and major health insurance transitions (gains and losses), and relationships between insurance transitions and access to…
Abstract
Purpose
To examine associations by gender between cancer history and major health insurance transitions (gains and losses), and relationships between insurance transitions and access to care.
Methodology
Longitudinal 2008–2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data were pooled yielding 2,223 cancer survivors and 50,692 individuals with no cancer history ages 18–63 years upon survey entry, with gender-specific sub-analyses. Access-to-care implications of insurance loss or gain were compared by cancer history and gender.
Findings
Initially uninsured cancer survivors were significantly more likely to gain insurance coverage than individuals with no cancer history (RR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.08–1.44). Females in particular were significantly more likely to gain insurance (unmarried RR: 1.16; 95% CI: 1.06–1.28; married RR: 1.09; 95% CI: 1.02–1.16). Significantly higher rates of difficulty accessing needed medical care and prescription medications were reported by those remaining uninsured, those who lost insurance, and women in general. Remaining uninsured, losing insurance, and male gender were associated with lack of a usual source of care.
Research implications
Additional outreach to disadvantaged populations is needed to improve access to affordable insurance and medical care. Future longitudinal studies should assess whether major Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions enacted after the 2008–2013 study period (or those of ACA’s replacement) are addressing these important issues.
Originality
Loss of health insurance coverage can reduce health care access resulting in poor health outcomes. Cancer survivors may be particularly at risk of insurance coverage gaps due to the long-term chronic disease trajectory. This study is novel in exploring associations between cancer history by gender and health insurance transitions, both gains and losses, in a national non-elderly adult sample.
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Vincent Bryce, Neil Kenneth McBride and Mayen Cunden
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of the ethical investigation of the emerging practice of people analytics (PA) within human resource (HR) management…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of the ethical investigation of the emerging practice of people analytics (PA) within human resource (HR) management through charting the development of PA before during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is designed as a short review of the current thinking in the ethics of PA, a practical journey through the progression of PA across the pandemic and a theoretical exploration of PA through three lenses: virtue ethics, critical social theory and actor network theory.
Findings
The authors suggest that PA raises novel ethical issues in terms of personal impact, increased penetration into working and home lives and the punch delivered in terms of organisational and behavioural change.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides a short review of three theoretical approaches to PA. Detailed research and reflection is required to develop and extend an ethics of PA. While engagement with the ethics of PA requires gaining an understanding of the discipline, ideas and jargon of HR management, it is essential that ethicists engage with PA as HR departments take on greater influence and adopt executive roles.
Practical implications
PA is now at the top of the HR management agenda, but there is limited understanding of the technology, the ethics and the new responsibilities it brings for HR management. This paper raises the profile of an ethical agenda, which practitioners should engage with.
Social implications
The ethical consequences of PA have social implications as work practices change and hybrid working becomes prevalent. It has the potential to change the relationship between home and the workplace.
Originality/value
This paper provides a unique synthesis of theory and practice in a new area of ethical importance.
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The purpose of this paper is to present a novel mnemonic, ACTIVE, inspired by Mason's 1985 PAPA mnemonic, which will help researchers and IT professionals develop an understanding…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a novel mnemonic, ACTIVE, inspired by Mason's 1985 PAPA mnemonic, which will help researchers and IT professionals develop an understanding of the major issues in information ethics.
Design/methodology/approach
Theoretical foundations are developed for each element of the mnemonic by reference to philosophical definitions of the terms used and to virtue ethics, particularly MacIntyrean virtue ethics. The paper starts with a critique of the elements of the PAPA mnemonic and then proceeds to develop an understanding of each of the elements of ACTIVE ethics, via a discussion of the underpinning virtue ethics.
Findings
This paper identifies six issues, described by the mnemonic, ACTIVE. ACTIVE stands for: autonomy, the ability of the individual to manage their own information and make choice; community, the ethical effect of an information systems on the community which it supports; transparency, the extent to which the derivation of content and process in an information system is made clear; identity, the social and ethical effect of an information system on the definition and maintenance of the distinctive characteristics of a person; value, the value or moral worth placed on information associated with an individual and hence on the relationship with the individual; and empathy, the ability of the information systems professional to emotionally connect with the user and the extent to which the information system distances or connects.
Originality/value
The paper applies virtue ethics to developing a tool to help information professionals reflect on their ethical practice in developing and supporting information systems.
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In the 1980s, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) passed several eligibility rules to address concerns about the academic and personal development of its…
Abstract
In the 1980s, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) passed several eligibility rules to address concerns about the academic and personal development of its participants (Gaston-Gayles, 2009). Despite garnering publicity, fostering school pride, providing entertainment, and generating billions of dollars in revenue for the Division I-affiliated institutions they attend (Sylwester, M., & Witosky, T. (2004). Athletic spending grows as academic funds dry up. USAToday.com, February 18. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2004-02-18-athletic-spending- cover_x.htm), student-athletes are prevented from receiving compensation beyond athletic scholarships by the NCAA’s amateurism principle. Consequently, the ethical question at the center of college sports is: how do participants benefit from the college experience relative to their non-sport peers? While the NCAA typically reports benefits, research that disaggregates the data by sport, division, race, and sex reveals long-standing and pervasive inequities (Harper, Williams, & Blackman, 2013). Accordingly, this chapter juxtaposes NCAA’s rhetoric, principles, and espoused goals with the lived realities of the most populous demographic group within high revenue-generating collegiate sports, Black male student-athletes.
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Edgar Pacheco and Neil Melhuish
The nature and extent of adults' engagement in diverse manifestations of technology-facilitated aggression is not yet well understood. Most research has focused on victimization…
Abstract
The nature and extent of adults' engagement in diverse manifestations of technology-facilitated aggression is not yet well understood. Most research has focused on victimization. When explored, engagement in online aggression and abuse has centered on children and young people, particularly in school and higher education settings. Drawing on nationally representative data from New Zealand adults aged 18 and over, this chapter explores the overall prevalence of online aggression with a focus on gender and age. Our findings support the need to also understand adult aggressors' behaviors to better address the distress and harm caused to targets through digital communications. The chapter discusses the implications of the results for policy and practice and proposes some directions for future research.
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Shenja van der Graaf, Le Anh Nguyen Long and Carina Veeckman