Search results

Moor (1985) designated two major problem sources typifying the social and ethical implications of computer technologies, namely, “policy vacuum” and “conceptual muddles.” Motivated by Moor’s seminal definition and Floridi’s (2013) conceptualization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as re-ontologizing technologies, this study aims to explore Omani undergraduates’ cognition regarding ICT ethics.

Adopting a grounded theory approach for the constant comparative thematic analysis, the constituents of ICT ethics-related cognition among undergraduates and influencing factors were scrutinized. Qualitative data were gathered via focus group discussions with undergraduates and interviews with academics and information systems professionals at Sultan Qaboos University.

In total, 10 thematic categories revolving around a core category, constructing conceptual perceptions of and attitudes toward the realms constituting ICT ethics using an ontological, object-oriented approach, emerged from the comparative analysis. Undergraduates were found to adopt an applied approach when defining professional ICT ethics codes and policies, with a particular focus on information privacy and integrity.

This qualitative study was conducted at a single research site. This may restrict the generalizability of the findings. Postgraduates were not considered when designing this qualitative inquiry.

The findings of the study hold theoretical and methodological significance with regard to ICT ethics-related cognition in the era following the fourth industrial revolution by sustaining feminist ethics in this research. Ultimately, the study developed a substantive theory scrutinizing the constitutive elements of ICT ethics-related cognition among Generation Z.

This paper aims to evaluate the literature dealing with the sociocultural influences on undergraduate students’ information ethics (IE) cognition and behaviour. Much of the reviewed literature draws on the experiences of countries that differ in terms of cultural and economic aspects.

This structured review uses an integrative approach to synthesize the existing literature relevant to the factors in question. Correspondingly, limitations, agreements and disagreements within the relevant literature are indicated. A set of relevance criteria is developed, and analytical information for each study is then organized and summarized into aggregate findings.

Despite the significant explanatory power of the reciprocal correlation between individualism and economic wealth to predict declines in unethical information practices, IE studies persist in producing inconsistent findings in this regard. Thus, further facets of cross-cultural differences should be addressed beyond the individualistic/collectivistic typology.

This paper has pedagogical worth for students, researchers and developers of IE educational programs at the tertiary level. It also possesses methodological value for studying the sociocultural effects on the IE behaviour of computing professionals within the broader context of global IE research.

This paper examines associations among the socio-psychological determinants of information and communication technologies (ICT)-assisted deviance-related practices within a group of Omani undergraduates. Moreover, this study aims to evaluate the explanatory burdens of such socio-psychological factors on actual behaviour.

The study implements a predictive research design applied to a cross-sectional sample. At the outset, a theoretical model was built based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Thereafter, structural equation modelling was implemented to test the TPB model on the response data collected from a cluster sample of undergraduates from six universities in the Sultanate of Oman.

The results of the path diagram overwhelmingly support the TPB hypotheses. Specifically, intention is the most influential and immediate predictor of behaviour, while at the same time partially, though markedly, mediating the influence of cognition on behaviour.

This study has implications for the design of inclusive measures of the intrinsic dimensions of ethical self-efficacy as designated by the social cognitive theory of moral thought and conduct, which include moral judgment, self-monitoring of conduct and affective reactions to conduct. As the study reveals the importance of the explanatory power of cognition to explain variance in intention and behaviour, it has implications on the development of ICT-ethics-education.

This study fills a gap in the empirical literature on how intention mediates the relationship between ICT-ethics-connected cognition and behaviour. Moreover, the study addresses the direct relationship between cognition and behaviour – a relationship that is considered equivocal in both theories of planned behaviour and reasoned action.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the development and validation of a self-report structured questionnaire based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The questionnaire was used to investigate university undergraduate students’ cognition, behavioural intent, and behaviour concerning the ethical use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

A quantitative correlational cross-sectional approach to data collection was used by administering a self-report questionnaire to a sample of 327 undergraduate students. To establish the construct validity of the questionnaire, internal consistency reliability and factorial analyses were performed.

Significant but different correlations between the constructs were under study. The behavioural intention had the greatest and most significant correlation with behaviour pertaining to information ethics. Overall, the scales, which constitute the instrument, showed acceptable indices of measurement validity.

The research implications of this paper shed light on the applicability of the TPB to the specific context in which this study was conducted. The results imply that the TPB framework can be extended and employed to understand better the influence of comprehending information-ethics concepts on the intentions and practices related to the ethical use of ICTs.

The paper has methodological value for researchers who seek to develop empirical instruments for measuring the factors that bear upon the attitudes and the behaviours related to information ethics. Furthermore, the paper has pedagogical value for students, teachers, and developers of information-ethics educational programmes at the tertiary level.

The purpose of this paper is to disseminate information about the IFLA pre‐conference in Chania, Crete, Greece on the subject of open access in libraries.

Report on visit.

The main focus of the meeting was open access. Much information was shared.

This is an original work with some quoted material.