Motivation, Design, and Ubiquity: A Discussion of Research Ethics and Computer Science

Modern society is permeated with computers, and the software that controls them can have latent, long-term, and immediate effects that reach far beyond the actual users of these systems. This places researchers in Computer Science and Software Engineering in a critical position of influence and responsibility, more than any other field because computer systems are vital research tools for other disciplines. This essay presents several key ethical concerns and responsibilities relating to research in computing. The goal is to promote awareness and discussion of ethical issues among computer science researchers. A hypothetical case study is provided, along with questions for reflection and discussion.Comment: Written as central essay for the Computer Science module of the LANGURE model curriculum in Research Ethic

On the Blameworthiness of Forgetting

It is a mistake to think that we cannot be morally responsible for forgetting because, as a matter of principle, forgetting is outside of our control. Sometimes we do have control over our forgetting. When forgetting is under our control there is no question that it is the proper object of praise and blame. But we can also be morally responsible for forgetting something when it is beyond our control that we forget that thing. The literature contains three accounts of the blameworthiness of forgetting over which the agent has no control—the tracing account, the liberalized awareness condition, and attributionism. Even though these are competing accounts of the blameworthiness of harmful forgetting they are compatible with one another. In particular, it is possible to come up with a position that endorses the tracing account for certain kinds of harmful forgetting and attributionism for other kinds of harmful forgetting

From search engine optimisation to search engine marketing management: development of a new area for information systems research

Search Engine Optimisation was a term used by web developers in the late 90s to highlight the importance of increasing a website’s position in search engines’ results. Further development of the Internet in terms of the diversity of its users and uses such as e-commerce, blogging and wikis have highlighted the need for technical staff to work more closely with marketing professionals resulting in a new area of work – Search Engine Marketing Management. The paper highlights the emerging role of Search Engine Marketing Management as a new and increasingly important area for future information systems researchers and research. Reaching beyond the 'simple' undifferentiated goal of increasing visitors to a website, a mature perspective of marketing is developing - that of realising strategic marketing objectives. The practical contribution of this paper is found in the development of awareness among management roles of the importance and nuances of search engines and the tactics required to harness the benefits of multiple online communication channels within organisational marketing strategy

An AFSCME Local Transforms Local Politics

[Excerpt] In the late 1980s, AFSCME Local 2703, in Merced, California, found itself in a position familiar to many union members at that time: fighting hard to keep pay and benefits from being slashed. The realization that these confrontations could occur at every contract led local members to look for ways to make local government more responsive to the working men and women of the community. Through commitment and determination — and two bitter strikes — Local 2703 held its own against a local government determined to render it powerless. Through community education and coalition, the local to (sic) achieved its first small victories. The lessons the local members learned enabled them to build an effective and influential political action committee that reaches beyond the limits of their own union contracts to pursue political change, furthers community awareness and promote coalitions across racial, ethnic, and economic barriers. Their continuing commitment to the notion that working men and women are brothers and sisters, who deserve the respect of their peers and their government leaders, has them poised to be a visible influence in the politics of Merced County

Implementation and experimental evaluation of Cooperative Awareness Basic Service for V2X Communications

A key aspect of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication is the concept of cooperative awareness, wherein the periodic exchange of status information allows vehicles to become aware of their surroundings for increased traffic safety and efficiency. This project aimed to implement the Cooperative Awareness (CA) basic service through the development of a low-cost, open-source On-board Unit (OBU)/Roadside Unit (RSU) that periodically broadcasts Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAM) using the 5.9 GHz band. Its proper operation and interoperability were verified by testing it with a commercial V2X device. This project also aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the CA basic service through the development of an IEEE 802.11p-based V2X system simulator. The simulations were executed with varying vehicle traffic load (by changing the vehicle speed and the number of lanes) and CAM transmit frequency. The performance was then assessed by analyzing the Packet Reception Ratio (PRR), position error and Neighborhood Awareness Ratio (NAR) metrics. The presence of more vehicles in the slow speed and high lane count scenarios caused higher packet losses due to increased interference and collision probability, leading to low PRR and NAR values. Despite losing more CAMs, the slow speed scenarios had lower position errors since the displacement of vehicles was small. When the CAM transmit frequency was increased, the PRR decreased due to packet collisions. However, the position error was kept low as it benefited from the more frequent CAM transmissions and local database updates. Increasing the transmit frequency also increased the NAR, at least until a certain frequency threshold, beyond which the NAR started to worsen due to the dominant effect of interference in high message traffic situations

Le passage de collection des périodiques de la bibliothèque du CERN au tout électronique: une triple évolution des pratiques, du marché et du modèle économique, basée sur un maintien des fonctions de la communication scientifique

This paper describes under which conditions it is possible for the CERN Library to move, from 2008 on, to e-only for its periodical collection. This change is in accordance with the evolution of the users' practices, but shall also preserve the functions of scientific communication, i.e. registration, certification, awareness, archiving and rewarding. In this context, Open Access Publishing is considered as a solution to the difficulties brought by the electronic media regarding awareness and archiving, functions that Libraries are no longer in position to provide. After a description of some realizations based on the principles of Open Access (PlOS, NIH and Wellcome Trust), the presentation of SCOAP3 - the scheme adopted by CERN - illustrates how it is tailored to a specific community of users. This major about-turn requires the Library to position itself as a larger provider of information going beyond core High Energy Physics journals. Finally, it is also possible to imagine exiting the system by going without journals. The latter solution mainly depends on changing the rewarding function used by research institutes to evaluate the researchers. This should be moved from the impact factor of the journal to the individual article in order to also take non published papers into account

Countering the hegemony of neoliberalism in the workplace: A freirean analysis of the contribution of union-led learning to enhanced worker participation in the UK

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically assess the degree to which current union learning strategy and practice in the UK can become a catalyst for greater activism and participation by their members in the workplace and beyond. To this end, the paper seeks to draw on the rich heritage of pedagogic theory and practice in adult education writing to bring a fresh perspective to a key aspect of industrial relations. Findings Utilising the radical perspective of Paulo Freire, the article critically analyses the key elements of current union learning strategies in the UK. The paper concludes that union pedagogy strategy not just often raises members' awareness, as Freire would advocate, of their ‘subordinate’ position in society, but potentially also genuinely equips them with the skills, knowledge and understanding to challenge that position through subsequent union activism and, therefore, greater participation in decision-making in the workplace. Union facilitated learning, it is argued, can also develop the skills and knowledge necessary to increase members’ job security. Design Through a meta-analysis of the current literature on the role of union learning representatives, learning centres and the context of that learning, the paper seeks to enhance our understanding of how such initiatives in addition to upskilling workers also lead to members’ greater enlightenment with respect to the asymmetric power relations within the workplace and society. Using a conceptual model devised by the author from Freirean theory, this potentially increased awareness of their position in the organisation and society leading to greater levels of subsequent activism and participation by these learners is then critically assessed. Originality To the author’s knowledge, this is the first time that a Freirean analysis has been applied to this key element of contemporary trade union strategy and practice. In particular, the study seeks to also go beyond most studies of union pedagogic approaches and focus also on the learner’s journey and how this may imbue a propensity to become more active in the union and, therefore, the workplac

State of the Field: Human Sociality and our Expanding Circle

The first part of this essay provides a brief summary of this journal’s first editorial, which examined eight needed developments and eight critical contexts for global inquiry. The second part addresses our expanding circle of ethics, which starts with kin but has gradually increased to include tribes, states, nations, and even the world. It is our expanding circle of ethics that has led to a heightened awareness of equality, the product of a noble goal with origins in recent social justice movements. The aim of this essay is to assert that the field has a promising future by including both the local and the global, a position that reflects how our own moral sense has moved beyond kin relations to the entire human family

Negotiating the Nature of Mystical Experience, Guided by James and Tillich

The nature of mystical experience has been hotly debated. Essentialists divide into two camps: 1) immediate identity beyond any subject-object structure 2) the mystical object maintaining some distinctness at the point of contact. Paul Tillich’s mystical a priori has affinities with the former, while William James’ model of religious experience coheres only with the latter. Opposing the essentialists are constructivists. After noting some ironies of the constructivist position, this article elaborates difficulties with 1) the traditional model of pure identity with the divine by certain mystics, 2) the Tillichian universal mystical awareness, and 3) the Jamesian direct perceptual model. Finally, it proposes that the human body and brain mediate mystical experience, which consists of a distinctive sense of bodily harmony conjoined with openness to the potentialities of an integrated environment, involving distinctive neurological processes

The Complex Dichotomies of Student Affairs Practitioners\u27 Perceived Competencies: A Quantitative Evaluation of Self-Awareness

This study examines the perceived competencies and the perceived self-awareness of student affairs practitioners. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between the two variables of competencies and self-awareness. The overarching research question for this study was: What is the relationship between self-awareness and perceived competencies for student affairs practitioners? This question was followed by two sub questions: To what degree, if any, does experience in the field as a student affairs practitioner predict one’s self-awareness of professional competencies? To what degree, if any, does job level/position in the field as a student affairs practitioner predict one’s self-awareness of professional competencies? Utilizing the competencies identified in the joint publication on student affairs competencies produced in 2015 by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), a descriptive quantitative survey was administered. The survey was sent to student affairs practitioners holding membership in either ACPA or NASPA and who reported residing in Georgia or a state contiguous to Georgia; 2,492 individuals received the survey, some of whom might have overlapped between the two organizations. Of the 2,492 surveys distributed, 174 individuals responded, allowing the data to produce significant results. The results were analyzed using SPSS. Overall, an inverse relationship exists between the two variables. The results suggest that professionals with less experience and with an entry-level classification have fewer self-perceived competencies and greater self-awareness. Whereas, those with more experience and a mid to senior-level classification have greater self-perceived competencies and less perceived self-awareness. Based on the results, the implications for graduate preparation programs, professional development opportunities, professional associations, supervisors, and human resource directors are presented, as this study could be beneficial in all of these areas. Finally, recommendations for further research are provided for individuals who are motivated to continue the conversation about competencies and self-awareness beyond what is presented in this research study