Ethics and social networking sites: A disclosive analysis of Facebook

Paper has been accepted for publication in Information, Technology and People.Purpose: This paper provides insights into the moral values embodied by a popular social networking site (SNS), Facebook. We adopt the position that technology as well as humans has a moral character in order to disclose ethical concerns that are not transparent to users of the site. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based upon qualitative field work, involving participant observation, conducted over a two year period. Findings: Much research on the ethics of information systems has focused on the way that people deploy particular technologies, and the consequences arising, with a view to making policy recommendations and ethical interventions. By focusing on technology as a moral actor with reach across and beyond the Internet, we reveal the complex and diffuse nature of ethical responsibility in our case and the consequent implications for governance of SNS. Research limitations/implications: We situate our research in a body of work known as disclosive ethics and argue for an ongoing process of evaluating SNS to reveal their moral importance. Along with other authors in the genre, our work is largely descriptive, but we engage with prior research by Brey and Introna to highlight the scope for theory development. Practical implications: Governance measures that require the developers of social networking sites to revise their designs fail to address the diffuse nature of ethical responsibility in this case. Such technologies need to be opened up to scrutiny on a regular basis to increase public awareness of the issues and thereby disclose concerns to a wider audience. We suggest that there is value in studying the development and use of these technologies in their infancy, or if established, in the experiences of novice users. Furthermore, flash points in technological trajectories can prove useful sites of investigation. Originality/value: Existing research on social networking sites either fails to address ethical concerns head on or adopts a tool view of the technologies so that the focus is on the ethical behaviour of users. We focus upon the agency, and hence the moral character, of technology to show both the possibilities for, and limitations of, ethical interventions in such cases

More than just friends? Facebook, disclosive ethics and the morality of technology

Social networking sites have become increasingly popular destinations for people wishing to chat, play games, make new friends or simply stay in touch. Furthermore, many organizations have been quick to grasp the potential they offer for marketing, recruitment and economic activities. Nevertheless, counterclaims depict such spaces as arenas where deception, social grooming and the posting of defamatory content flourish. Much research in this area has focused on the ends to which people deploy the technology, and the consequences arising, with a view to making policy recommendations and ethical interventions. In this paper, we argue that tracing where morality lies is more complex than these efforts suggest. Using the case of a popular social networking site, and concepts about the morality of technology, we disclose the ethics of Facebook as diffuse and multiple. In our conclusions we provide some reflections on the possibilities for action in light of this disclosure

Seeding without leading: making space for participant contribution in design elicitation techniques

As HCI embraces experience design, it will increasingly rely on new elicitation methods that are capable of drawing out the multi-faceted subjectivities of individuals without being overly prescriptive as to the final design or experience outcome. In this panel we wish to describe and discuss subtle elicitation techniques that allow the elicitation of participant ideas and interests with minimum prejudicing by the researcher. We argue that leaving space for meaning to be made by project nformants is a valuable approach to understanding both design requirements and use issues. We show work that has come from taking this approach and discuss why we have been concerned to keep a creative space open in our research and how we invite people into i

The precision and torque production of common hip adductor squeeze tests used in elite football

Objectives: Decreased hip adductor strength is a known risk factor for groin injury in footballers, with clinicians testing adductor strength in various positions and using different protocols. Understanding how reliable and how much torque different adductor squeeze tests produce will facilitate choosing the most appropriate method for future testing. In this study, the reliability and torque production of three common adductor squeeze tests were investigated. Design: Test–retest reliability and cross-sectional comparison. Methods: Twenty elite level footballers (16–33 years) without previous or current groin pain were recruited. Relative and absolute test–retest reliability, and torque production of three adductor squeeze tests (long-lever in abduction, short-lever in adduction and short-lever in abduction/external rotation)were investigated. Each participant performed a series of isometric strength tests measured by hand-held dynamometry in each position, on two test days separated by two weeks. Results: No systematic variation was seen for any of the tests when using the mean of three measures(ICC = 0.84–0.97, MDC% = 6.6–19.5). The smallest variation was observed when taking the mean of threer epetitions in the long-lever position (ICC = 0.97, MDC% = 6.6). The long-lever test also yielded the highest mean torque values, which were 69% and 11% higher than the short-lever in adduction test and short-lever in abduction/external rotation test respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusions: All three tests described in this study are reliable methods of measuring adductor squeeze strength. However, the test performed in the long-lever position seems the most promising as it displays high test–retest precision and the highest adductor torque production

Functional properties of tooth pulp neurons responding to thermal stimulation

ManuscriptThe response properties of tooth pulp neurons that respond to noxious thermal stimulation of the dental pulp have been not well studied. The present study was designed to characterize the response properties of tooth pulp neurons to noxious thermal stimulation of the dental pulp. Experiments were conducted on 25 male ferrets and heat stimulation was applied by a computer-controlled thermode. Only 15% of tooth pulp neurons (n=39) responded to noxious thermal stimulation of tooth. Tooth pulp neurons were found in both the superficial and deep nuclear regions of the subnucleus caudalis (Vc) and in the interface between nucleus caudalis and interpolaris (Vc/Vi). Thirty-seven neurons had cutaneous receptive fields and were classified as either NS (16) or WDR (21) neurons. Repeated heat stimulation of the dental pulp sensitized and increased the number of electrically evoked potentials of tooth pulp neurons. These results provide evidence that both the Vc and Vc/Vi region contain neurons that respond to noxious thermal stimulation of the dental pulp and that these cells may contribute to the sensitization process associated with symptomatic pulpitis

Reflection on-line or off-line: the role of learning technologies in encouraging students to reflect

This paper presents case studies that describe the experiences of the two authors in trying to use learning technologies to facilitate reflective thinking in their students. At the University of Leicester, a Web-based biology tutorial called ‘How Now Mad Cow’, which covers the topics of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and a new variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (nvCJD). At the University of Southampton, a web-based hyper-mail discussion list to support teaching on a first year psychosocial science module for occupational therapy and physiotherapy students has been established. In both examples, the tutors had attempted to create a learning environment that would engage students in the learning experience and facilitate reflection by helping them to create meaning from the learning experience and see things in a different way. The evaluation data from both case studies provides some evidence that the learning technologies helped to facilitate reflection for some students. However, the evidence for reflection is not overwhelming and the data provides some evidence that four key factors may have influenced how successful the use of learning technologies were in facilitating reflection. These factors are the way the learning technology is used, the nature of the student groups, the role of the tutor and student preferences for ‘off-line reflection’. These are discussed and ways forward are identified

Suppression of Quantum Scattering in Strongly Confined Systems

We demonstrate that scattering of particles strongly interacting in three dimensions (3D) can be suppressed at low energies in a quasi-one-dimensional (1D) confinement. The underlying mechanism is the interference of the s- and p-wave scattering contributions with large s- and p-wave 3D scattering lengths being a necessary prerequisite. This low-dimensional quantum scattering effect might be useful in "interacting" quasi-1D ultracold atomic gases, guided atom interferometry, and impurity scattering in strongly confined quantum wire-based electronic devices.Comment: 3 figs, Phys. Rev. Lett. (early November issue

Learning and interaction in groups with computers: when do ability and gender matter?

In the research reported in this paper, we attempt to identify the background and process factors influencing the effectiveness of groupwork with computers in terms of mathematics learning. The research used a multi-site case study design in six schools and involved eight groups of six mixed-sex, mixed-ability pupils (aged 9-12) undertaking three research tasks – two using Logo and one a database. Our findings suggest that, contrary to other recent research, the pupil characteristics of gender and ability have no direct influence on progress in group tasks with computers. However, status effects – pupils' perceptions of gender and ability – do have an effect on the functioning of the group, which in turn can impede progress for all pupils concerned