April 24, 2008SA/DSE1 Automation, Globalization, and Outsourcing Will we need a new economy? Do governments have an obligation to provide permanent public

April 24, 2008 SA/DSE 1

Automation, Globalization, and Outsourcing Will we need a new economy?

Do governments have an obligation to provide permanent public assistance to the chronically unemployed?

Should large companies be required to give several months’ notice to workers whose jobs are being eliminated? Should they be required to retrain workers for other jobs?

Should large companies be required to file “employment impact statements” before replacing people with machines, in the same way they’re required to file environmental impact statements before implementing policies that might harm the environment?

IT in Edu., Gov., Buss., & Community


Automation, Globalization, and Outsourcing

If a worker is replaced by a robot, should the worker receive a share of the robot’s “earnings” through stocks or profit sharing?

The average work week 150 years ago was 70 hours; for the last 50 years it has been steady at about 40 hours. Should governments and businesses encourage job-sharing and other systems that allow for a work week that is less than 40 hours?

What will people do with their time if machines do most of the work? What new leisure activities should be made available?

How will people define their identities if work becomes less central to their lives?



Education in the Information Age

The Roots of Our Educational System

Developed more than a century ago Teach students the basic facts and survival skills they need for jobs in industry and

agriculture Known as a factory model because it assumes:

All students learn the same way and all students should learn the same things. The teacher’s job is to “pour” facts into students, occasionally checking the

level of knowledge in each student. Students are expected to work individually, absorb facts, and spend most of

their time sitting quietly in straight rows.



Information Age Education

How should education provide for students in the information age?

Technological familiarity Literacy Mathematics Culture Communication Learning how to learn

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” —Socrates



High-Tech Schools

Computer Aided Instruction Productivity Tools Distance Education: Virtual Schools



Lesson Summary

Information technology is having a profound influence on the way we live and work. It is likely to challenge many of our beliefs, assumptions, and traditions.

The modern, automated factory uses computers at every level of operation.

Today’s office is more likely to emphasize networked PCs and workstations for decentralized enterprise computing; so far, predictions of widespread computer-supported cooperative work and paperless offices have not come true.

Social & Ethical Issues


Lesson Summary (continued)

A growing number of workers use computers to work at home part- or full-time, staying in contact with their offices via the Internet.

The impact of computers varies from job to job. Some jobs are de-skilled—transformed so that they require less skill—while others are up-skilled into more technologically complex jobs.

The biggest problem of automation may be the elimination of jobs.



Lesson Summary (continued)

In the information age, when students can expect to change jobs several times, we need schools that teach technological familiarity, literacy, mathematics, culture, communication, problem solving, and, most importantly, the ability to learn in and adapt to an ever-changing world.

Clearly, computer technology can have a positive educational impact, but computers alone can’t guarantee improvement.

A small but growing number of families use home computers for basic business applications, education, information access, communication, entertainment, and creative pursuits; all of these tools will radically change as technology evolves over the next decade.



Social and Ethical Issues



Objectives

Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally



ACRL Information Literacy Standards

Standard One: Determine the extent of information needed

Standard Two: Access the needed information effectively and efficiently

Standard Three: Evaluate information and its sources critically

Standard Four: Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base

Standard Five: Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose

Standard Six: Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally



What are “Ethics”

<To Do, see Ruth Rikowski >



Various Ethical Issues in IT

Ethical dilemmas Plagiarism Piracy Hacking Computer crime Viruses Ergonomic/health issues Job Displacement Digital Divide ……. (see. Ruth Rikowski)



Social & Ethical Issues(p. 21-23) The threat to personal privacy posed by large

databases and computer networks The hazards of high-tech crime and the

difficulty of keeping data secure The difficulty of defining and protecting

intellectual property The threat of automation & the

dehumanization of work The abuse of information as a tool of political

and economic power ……



Internet Issues: Ethical and Political Dilemmas (p.331) Filtering software to combat inappropriate

content Digital cash to make online transactions

easier and safer Encryption software to prevent credit

card theft Digital signatures to

prevent email forgery Access and censorship The digital divide



Net-& Messaging Ettiquette (p.288)

Say what you mean, say it with care Keep it short Proofread your message Don’t assume you are anonymous Learn “non verbal” language of the

Net Know your abbreviations …….



Ethical Issues of E-Commerce (p. 482) An organization’s code of ethics should include:

A clear, explicit statement of the organization’s privacy policy

A policy statement addressing situations in which a person’s permission must be secured before his/her ID, photo, ideas, or communications are used or transmitted

A clear policy stating how the company will inform customers of the intended uses of personal information gathered during an online transaction and how the company will secure permission from customers for those uses

A statement that addresses issues of ownership with respect to network postings and communications

A policy of how the company monitors, or tracks, user behavior on Web sites



Software Piracy and Intellectual Property Laws (ch. 4) Software Piracy—illegal duplication of copyrighted

software The software industry is a $50 billion a year business

sector. Billions of dollars are lost each year to software

pirates. One-third of all software is illegally copied.

Intellectual Property and the Law Intellectual property includes the results of

intellectual activities in the arts, science, and industry.

Laws ensure that mental labor is justly rewarded and encourage innovation.

The information age requires the outdated and inconsistent intellectual property laws to be changed and adapted.


19

Do you know?

1# Vietnam

90%

3#

Indonesia

87%2# Zimbabwe

90%

5# Pakistan

86%

4# China

86%

Software Piracy (2005)



Freely Modifiable

Free Use

Proprietary SW

Free SW

Open Source SW

Proprietary, Free, Open Source SW



Documents

April 24, 2008SA/DSE1 Automation, Globalization, and Outsourcing Will we need a new economy? Do governments have an obligation to provide permanent public