In most cities of developed countries, modern technologies benefit the people and make their lives easier, but they also seem to bring some ethical issues. The cellular phone is one of those technologies. This industry is now growing tremendously in the United States more than ninety million of Americans possess cellular phones. Although enhancing the communication between its millions of users, the use of cellular phone brings problems not only to the users, but also to the people around them. We, as a part of this community, encounter these ethical problems almost everyday and are very familiar with these problems. The first problem arises mostly in classrooms: cellular phones ring during the lecture period. The ringing noise often disrupts the fluency and the positive learning atmosphere within the classroom so much that most affected students are irritated. The following quote is a message posted by a PSU student on the General Chemistry WebTV Bulletin Board: hey people, if you're not there to learn, spare the rest of us the distraction of your presence. We are paying money to be there, "learning", and I think it's pathetic that some of you [students who use cell phones during class period] care so little about everyone around you and Mrs.[Dr] Shuster man, that you talk during lectures...continually!! what is the problem??? it's college!! you don't actually have to go to your classes if you'd rather be socializing!! we're not in high school any more, and Id appreciate it if everyone could work together and be quiet. the cell phone thing is the same issue. there's an amazing feature on every cell phone that allows the sound to be turned off, while the phone still registers the call. that means, you can keep an eye on it, if you're expecting a call, and it doesn't distract anyone. once again, the lecture is for learning, not socializing. thanks. This message strongly reflects how much cell phones disrupt the class. Students would be considerate if the users are using their phones for important things or emergency. However, some users use their phones to talk about their personal issue which irritate students around them. The other ethical problem raised is the car accidents caused when drivers are using cell phones on the roads. Last month in the United Kingdom, a lorry driver hit and killed a pedestrian in a lay by. The accident happened when the driver was sending a text message on his mobile phone to his girlfriend. He was accused of dangerous driving and was sentenced for five years. This type of accident doesn't just happen in UK. In fact, it also happens in other developed countries such as United States and Japan. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the 1995 National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) Crashworthiness Data System (CDS) investigated eight relevant cellular telephone cases out of 4,555 in the US. In one case, the driver was dialing his/her cell phone, and in the other seven cases, the drivers were talking on their cellular phone. The NHTSA also emphasizes two facts:
1. Although these numbers are seemingly small, when weighting factors are applied, it is estimated that these cases represent 3,837 similar crashes that occurred nationally during 1995. The common factor in these cases seems to be a lack of attention. All drivers were apparently traveling in a straight line, or on a gentle curve, and were not executing difficult turning maneuvers that would have required the use of both hands.
2. The NASS and FARS files, and anecdotal observations of driver performance, are similar to the Oklahoma data in demonstrating an apparent link between cellular telephone use and driver inattention.
Furthermore, during the month of June 1996, the National Police Agency of Japan identified 129 cellular telephone related crashes. Within those cases, 16% of the drivers were talking on the phone at the time of the crash, 32% were dialing, 5.4% were hanging up the phone, and 42% were responding to a call. While the above two problems are happening, users are concerned more about the health hazards brought by the use of cell phones. A Danish study of 420,095 people who became mobile phone subscribers over 13 years found the incidence of all cancers among them was lower than might have been expected in the general population. Professor Bruce Armstrong, director of research at the Cancer Council said the study showed mobiles were not giving users cancers yet, but gave no indication of the long-term risks of using them. Since the scientific society has not come to a solid conclusion, we are not going to discuss about this topic.
List of Ethical Recommendations
For the first ethical problem, use of cell phone in class,
(1) the best solution for not distracting fellow students is to turn off the cell phone before going to class. Most cell phone companies provide voice mail service, so that users can check the missed call(s) after class.
(2) If a user must answer a call during class, s/he could switch the phone to vibration so that it wont ring and distract others.
(3) If the phone rang in class, there would be two choices: one, the user could turn it off immediately; two, the user could answer the phone, let the person who called know that s/he is in class, and hang up as quickly as possible or go outside of the classroom to talk. But for most cases, users should not have their cell phones on and should not answer any call because they are taking certain courses to learn but not to cause distractions.
For the second ethical problem, Patricia Pena who has done a lot of research on cell phone related accidents knows very well on this topic. The following list of safety suggestions could be found on her web site at www.geocities.com/morganleepena/safety.htm :
1. Use the cell phone only when parked, or let the passenger use it.
2. Read your user manual to get to know your phone and its features, such as speed-dial and redial.
3. Use a hands free device so that you can use both of your hands to drive. You could either choose an installed mounted device for your cell phone or a speaker phone accessory.
4. If your cell phone is ringing while you are driving, let the voice mail service record the message for you, and then reply to the message when you are not driving.
5. Make sure the phone is easy to reach.
6. If you must answer a call, let the person who called know that you are driving and pull over on the road side as quickly as possible.
7. Do not engage in stressful or emotional conversation which can seriously distract your attention to the road.
Ethical Issues of Computer
School psychologists have an ethical imperative to determine the ways computers can facilitate practice because of the potential to improve effectiveness and efficiency. At the same time, psychologists have a parallel imperative to consider carefully ethical and professional practice implications. The aspects of computers that render them most helpful also render them most vulnerable to ethical violations. With the increased use of computer-related technology, conflicts between and among professional ethics, principles of professional conduct, and personal values arise in every arena of practice. Psychologists should not replace traditional practice with technological advancements, but use them to augment practice. Ultimately, responsibility is nontransferable and remains with the psychologist. Fundamental ethical imperatives are the same in the use of computer-related technology as in any professional work.Computers and their related technology can be an enormous boon to the work of school psychologists. Their power, speed, and flexibility enable one to store, tap, and modify vast amounts of information. They are less prone to computational and clerical errors than humans, save time and energy, and open new methods of communication between professionals and clients. Applications of computers have been developing at an astonishing rate. Today's software, such as programs that translate from one language to another or that reliably grade student essays (Landauer, 1998), would have been considered science fiction a few years ago.The integration of computer-based services with existing resources and services can be challenging (Sampson, 1999), but the provision of services, such as counseling on-line (Hampton & Houser, 2000; Maheu & Gordon, 2000) and using the Internet for test interpretation purposes (Sampson, 2001), is increasing enormously. Such practice has the potential to enable school psychologists to reach a broader audience (Harris-Bowlsby, 2000), and to make psychological services more readily available to underserved populations (Hampton & Houser, 2000; Lee, 2000). The Internet has a wide variety of psychological applications, such as providing help in evaluating options for therapy, information about specific psychological services, informational resources, ongoing personal counseling and therapy through e-mail, psychological testing and assessment, real-time counseling through chat and conferencing, self-help guides, single-session psychological advice through e-mail ore-bulletin boards, synchronous and asynchronous group discussions and supportive counseling, and psychological research (Barak, 1999). Psychologists may participate in these services as providers or may refer clients to them. With increasing regularity, school psychologists will encounter clients, parents, and teachers familiar with these services. In addition the Internet has the potential to revolutionize the training and supervision of school psychologists, ranging from increasing cultural competence (McFadden & Jencius, 2000) to using distance learning in training.
The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP, 2000), the American Psychological Association (APA) Ethics Committee (1995), and the APA Committee on Professional Standards and Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment (1986) directly addressed ethical issues involved in psychologists' use of technology. A number of professional ethical principles are relevant (Heron, Martz, & Margolis, 1996; Hughes, 1986; Jacob-Timm & Hartshorne, 1998; Pryzwansky, 1993). NASP's Principles for Professional Ethics, in the Professional Conduct Manual (NASP, 2000), stipulate that school psychologists are fully responsible for technological services used. They must ensure confidentiality and privacy, take responsibility for decisions, and use technological devices only to improve the quality of client services. Similarly, a policy statement issued by APA's Ethics Committee (APA, 1996) addressed ethical complaints regarding services provided electronically, and indicated that psychologists must make decisions about h ow to use computers and related technology with full consideration of costs and benefits. In using technology to augment services or research efforts, the psychologist maintains primary ethical (and legal) responsibility for outcomes. Psychologists cannot attribute professional responsibility to the software manufacturer, the author of the treatment approach, or the computer
programmer. Ultimate ethical responsibility lies with the psychologist and cannot be sidestepped (APA, 1992; APAEthics Committee, 1995; NASP, 2000; Reynolds, McNamara, Marion, & Tobin, 1985).Because computers have the potential to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the work of school psychologists, these psychologists incur an "ethical imperative" to determine the ways in which computers can facilitate practice (Ager, 1991). As hypothesized by McKinlay (1988), with "greater knowledge and power.., come greater forms and degrees of the use and abuse of tools for psychosocial change" (p. 370). Technology provides multiple, phenomenally facile opportunities for ethical violations (Heron et al., 1996; Mann, 1998). The application of computers to the assessment and treatment of individuals has, by its very effectiveness and efficiency, the potential to gravely violate human ...
Computer Ethical Issues:
The major issues that people face when working with information system generally fall into four main categories: privacy, accuracy, property, and access.
Privacy:
Privacy concerns collection and the use (or misuse) of data about individuals, which are collected and stored in a computer system. Most Americans feel that they should not have to divulge personal information, and that personal information should be treated confidentially. In Japan, where the culture emphasizes the group rather than the individual, there is much less concern about privacy.
Accuracy:
As organizations rely more on information in computerized databases and monitoring/control system, the potential for individuals to be harmed by inaccurate data increases. Horror stories are told about individuals who were victimized because of inaccurate data in databases. Incorrect data in credit history files have caused many people to be denied credit.
Property:
The widespread existence of electronic information on different media makes property right for information and software a difficult legal and ethical question. Intellectual property law is now a specialty in the legal profession because intellectual property (such as a programmer's design or code for a new application) is different from other fro of property.
Access:
The issue of access concerns the ability of individuals to gain entry to information systems and the information that they hold. It involves the extent of access individuals should have to information
