Browsing by Author "McBride, Neil"
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Item Open Access ACTIVE Ethics: An Information Systems Ethics for the Information Age(Emerald, 2014-03-04) McBride, NeilPurpose – 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.Item Metadata only Actor-network theory and the adoption of mobile communications.(Geographical Association, 2003) McBride, NeilItem Embargo The Application of an Extended Hierarchy Theory in Understanding Complex Organizational Situations: The Case of FIReControl(John Wiley, 2015-07-15) McBride, NeilHierarchy theory is a fundamental systems approach that offers rich perspectives in understanding the flow of matter and information between different levels of control. This paper offers an extended view of hierarchy theory, which can be used to illuminate complex organizational environments. Firstly, the characteristics of a hierarchy are explored, and the flow of information and resources, the perception of space and time and changing purposes and perspectives are explored. Secondly, the importance of networks, nodes and hubs is examined as a necessary element of understanding hierarchies. Thirdly, the properties of boundaries, which act as filters both maintaining the hierarchy and enabling effective organizations, are discussed. A context for exploring the application of extended hierarchical theory is provided in an exploration of a large-scale information technology failure in the UK government. The failure of FIReControl, a project which was to provide a nationwide system to manage disasters and terrorist attacks, is explored using the range of extended hierarchy theory concepts. The paper offers an iterative process for applying extended hierarchy theory and calls for a greater attention in systems research to boundaries, filters and networks.Item Open Access Bridging the Ethical Gap: From Human Principles to Robot Instructions(IEEE, 2016-09-29) McBride, Neil; Hoffman, R. R.Asimov's three laws of robotics and the Murphy-Woods alternative laws assume that a robot has the cognitive ability to make moral decisions, and fail to escape the myth of self-sufficiency. But ethical decision making on the part of robots in human-robot interaction is grounded on the interdependence of human and machine. Furthermore, the proposed laws are high-level principles that cannot easily be translated into machine instructions because there is an immense gap between the architecture, implementation, and activity of humans and robots in addressing ethical situations. The characterization of the ethical gap, particularly with reference to the Murphy-Woods laws, leads to a proposal for a shift in focus away from the autonomous behavior of the robot to human-robot communication at the interface, and the development of interdependence rules to underpin the process of ethical decision-making.Item Open Access Business Intelligence in Magazine Distribution(Pergamon, 2013-10-29) McBride, NeilThis case discusses the use of business intelligence systems in the running and optimisation of magazine distribution by a UK company. The company collects a wide range of data to help it monitor and optimise a supply chain involving subcontractors. The case study raises a number of issues which are discussed. It illustrates the variety of forces which are driving companies to adopt business intelligence systems. It demonstrates how business intelligence systems can help run business processes. It explores the problems and issues with sourcing, collecting and cleaning data. Issues around anonymisation and the concept of a ‘single version of the truth’ are discussed and ethical issues highlighted. It concludes that an understanding of the role of interpretation in data collection, collation and subsequent decision making is critical to business intelligence and calls for more research in this area.Item Metadata only Chaos Theory as a model for interpreting information systems in organisations.(Blackwell Publishing, 2005-07-01) McBride, NeilItem Open Access Developing Responsible Research and Innovation for Robots(IEEE, 2014-05-23) McBride, Neil; Stahl, Bernd Carsten, 1968-This paper develops a framework for responsible research and innovation (RRI) in robot design for roboticists from a study of the processes involved in the design and engineering of a range of robots including standard manufacturing robots, humanoid robots, environmental scanning robots and robot swarms. The importance of an iterative approach to design, the nature of transitions between design phases, and issues of uncertainty and complexity are examined for their ethical content. A cycle of RRI thinking based on reconnoitre, realisation, reflection, response and review is described which aligns with the general characterisation of robot engineering processes. Additionally the importance of supporting communities, knowledge bases and tools for assessment and analysis is noted.Item Open Access Developing Socially-Inspired Robotics through the Application of Human Analogy: Capabilities and Social Practice(Springer, 2020-02-11) McBride, NeilSocially-inspired robotics involves drawing on the observation and study of human social interactions in order to apply them to the design of sociable robots. As there is increasing expectation that robots may participate in social care and provide some relief for the increasing shortage of human care workers, social interaction with robots becomes of increasing importance. This paper demonstrates the potential of socially-inspired robotics through the exploration of a case study of the interaction of a partially-sighted social worker with a support worker. This is framed within the Capability Approach in which the interaction of a human and a sociable robot is understood as resulting in a collaborative capability which is grounded the relationship between the human and the robot rather than the autonomous capabilities of the robot. The implications of applying the case study as an analogy for human-robot interaction are expressed through a discussion of capabilities and social practice and policy. The study is attenuated by a discussion of the technical limits of robots and the extensive complexity of the social context in which it is envisaged sociable robots may be employed.Item Open Access Development and emancipation: The information society and decision support systems in local authorities in Egypt.(Emerald, 2010) Stahl, Bernd Carsten, 1968-; McBride, Neil; El Beltagi, IbrahimPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the emancipatory promises and realities of information and communication technology (ICT) in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach – The combination of Habermasian and Foucauldian ideas implemented by a critical discourse analysis of the Egyptian Information Society Policy and interviews with employees of local decision support systems employees. Promises and rhetoric are contrasted with findings and questioned with regards to their validity. Findings – On the policy level, analysis shows that the emancipating rhetoric of ICT is not followed through. ICT is mostly seen as a means of attracting foreign direct investment. Neither political participation nor educational benefits are promoted seriously. On the local level, culture and organisational realities prevent individuals from exploiting the emancipatory potential of the technology. Originality/value – The combination of the Habermasian and Foucauldian approach exposes the problems of ICT use in developing countries. It shows that emancipation is used to legitimise ICT policies but is not taken seriously on a policy level in Egypt. Local implementations also fail to deliver on their promise. In order to have emancipatory effects, ICT policy and use will need to be reconsidered.Item Open Access The Digital Network of Networks: Regulatory Risk and Policy Challenges of Vaccine Passports(Cambridge University Press, 2021-07-12) Wilford, S.; McBride, Neil; Brooks, Laurence; Eke, Damian; Akintoye, Sinmisola; Owoseni, Adebowale; Leach, Tonii; Flick, Catherine; Fisk, Malcolm; Stacey, MartinThe extensive disruption to and digital transformation of travel administration across borders largely due to COVID-19 mean that digital vaccine passports are being developed to resume international travel and kick-start the global economy. Currently, a wide range of actors are using a variety of different approaches and technologies to develop such a system. This paper considers the techno-ethical issues raised by the digital nature of vaccine passports and the application of leading-edge technologies such as blockchain in developing and deploying them. We briefly analyse four of the most advanced systems – IBM’s Digital Health Passport “Common Pass,” the International Air Transport Association’s Travel Pass, the Linux Foundation Public Health’s COVID-19 Credentials Initiative and the Vaccination Credential Initiative (Microsoft and Oracle) – and then consider the approach being taken for the EU Digital COVID Certificate. Each of these raises a range of issues, particularly relating to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the need for standards and due diligence in the application of innovative technologies (eg blockchain) that will directly challenge policymakers when attempting to regulate within the network of networks.Item Metadata only Egypt's Information Society Strategy: A Critical Lexicography.(2009) McBride, Neil; Stahl, Bernd Carsten, 1968-Item Metadata only The empathic care robot: A prototype of responsible research and innovation(Elsevier, 2014) Stahl, Bernd Carsten, 1968-; McBride, Neil; Wakunuma, Kutoma; Flick, CatherineItem Metadata only The Ethical Implications of Personal Health Monitoring(IGI Global, 2014-12) Mittelstadt, Brent; Fairweather, N. Ben, 1966-; Shaw, Mark Christopher; McBride, NeilPersonal Health Monitoring (PHM) uses electronic devices which monitor and record health-related data outside a hospital, usually within the home. This paper examines the ethical issues raised by PHM. Eight themes describing the ethical implications of PHM are identified through a review of 68 academic articles concerning PHM. The identified themes include privacy, autonomy, obtrusiveness and visibility, stigma and identity, medicalisation, social isolation, delivery of care, and safety and technological need. The issues around each of these are discussed. The system / lifeworld perspective of Habermas is applied to develop an understanding of the role of PHMs as mediators of communication between the institutional and the domestic environment. Furthermore, links are established between the ethical issues to demonstrate that the ethics of PHM involves a complex network of ethical interactions. The paper extends the discussion of the critical effect PHMs have on the patient’s identity and concludes that a holistic understanding of the ethical issues surrounding PHMs will help both researchers and practitioners in developing effective PHM implementations.1Item Open Access The Ethics of Driverless Cars(ACM, 2016-01-01) McBride, NeilThis paper critiques the idea of full autonomy, as illustrated by Oxford University’s Robotcar. A fully autonomous driverless car relies on no external inputs, including GPS and solely learns from its environment using learning algorithms. These cars decide when they drive, learn from human drivers and bid for insurance in real time. Full autonomy is pitched as a good end in itself, fixing human inadequacies and creating safety and certainty by the elimination of human involvement. Using the ACTIVE ethics framework, an ethical response to the fully autonomous driverless cars is developed by addressing autonomy, community, transparency, identity, value and empathy. I suggest that the pursuit of full autonomy does not recognise the essential importance of interdependencies between humans and machines. The removal of human involvement should require the driverless car to be more connected with its environment, drawing all the information it can from infrastructure, internet and other road users. This requires a systemic view, which addresses systems and relationships, which recognises the place of driverless cars in a connected system, which is open to the study of complex relationships, both networked and hierarchical.Item Embargo The Ethics of Software Engineering should be an Ethics for the Client(ACM, 2012-08-01) McBride, NeilThe developing nature of software engineering requires not a revision of an ailing code but a revolution in ethical thinking that acknowledges the purpose and practice of software engineering. Computer systems are designed and implemented to support human purposeful activity. Whether the software is concerned with student enrollment, customer relationship management, or hospital administration, its success lies in the extent to which it enables others to engage in activities directed toward a goal. TItem Metadata only The ethics of software engineering should be an ethics for the client(Elsevier, 2012) McBride, NeilItem Metadata only Evaluating the factors affecting DSS usage by senior managers in local authorities in Egypt.(IGI Global, 2005-04-01) McBride, Neil; Elbeltagi, I.; Hardaker, G.Item Metadata only Examining managerial decision making process in Information technology shared services in Public sector entities from an activity theory perspective(International Journal of Information, Business and Management, 2013-02) McBride, Neil; Hall, Richard; Okwaro, IsaackFor many organisations (both in the private and public sector), the managers must make crucial decisions on a daily basis. The success of the entities that they run is hinged on how well their decisions are undertaken The managers of these public sector bodies must consider a number of factors in their quest to working with other public or private sector bodies. These factors may be internal, external and personal. The managers of the public sector bodies must be open to the „Sunshine laws‟ and hence, for them, decision making is in itself a milestone. Their experience, qualifications, surrounding teams, political intricacies, community being served, the media and intuition all play a key role in making such decisions. Through the use of case studies developed from the data gathered from a number of local authorities this discussion has examined the position of decision making is an artefact and an object within the broad framework of Activity theory. This theory mainly identifies decision making as an artefact and therefore in this discussion, the researcher has made attempt to look at this issue from two perspectives thereby highlighting an area of Activity theory that needs to be debated again. Another area of contribution has been on the issue of decision making as a process and an outcome. This paper explains the complexity of making decision in the public sector hence making it a process and an outcome. Public sector managers should consider their decisions as being supporting to achieve objectives and as objectives themselves.Item Metadata only Exploring service issues within the IT organisation: Four mini-case studies.(Elsevier, 2009-06) McBride, NeilItem Open Access Human in the Loop(Sage, 2020-08-27) McBride, NeilThis is a comment on the paper by Siponen and Klaarvuniemi concerning the natural sciences.