Announcement and Call for Papers

Two international conferences have been held which address the social and ethical issues surrounding the world of computing. The first was in the USA at Southern Connecticut State University (NCCV91) and the second (ETHICOMP95) was at De Montfort University in the UK. Both conferences have been recognised as milestone events. In order to sustain momentum and advance resulting research, a third conference ETHICOMP96 is to be held in Madrid. The intention is to bring together international scholars to consider current and future developments of IT and resulting social and ethical issues. Madrid is an ideal location for this conference, being a major European capital with a high cultural, academic and commercial reputation.

The overall theme of ETHICOMP96 will be the value of IT to society and the likely impacts upon society's values. The intention is to include papers which provide practical guidance on socially and ethically sensitive applications of IT -- the social benefits and drawbacks of using IT. In parallel to this will be the presentation of case studies which raise or illustrate significant ethical problems of IT usage (1) in the workplace, (2) in education, (3) at home and (4) in leisure. Papers and case studies are invited from relevant disciplines such as philosophy, computer science, information systems, law, social sciences, business and government. Papers and case studies with a multi-disciplinary perspective are particularly welcome.

Example areas of interest are:

• Organisation and society structure and the location of work - As powerful change agents, computer technologies change organisations and social structures. The global community raises many issues relating to ethnic, cultural and economic differences.
• Privacy and monitoring - Issues relating to information held on individuals. What can be or has to be revealed and what safeguards should be in place to ensure privacy.
• Value and accuracy of data and information - Issues of authenticity, fidelity and accuracy and how information can be cultivated for general good.
• Software and data as intellectual property
• Security and computer misuse - Issues of misuse and the impact of misuse of this invasive technology.
• Developing information systems now and in the future - How to ensure social value issues are properly addressed and how to ensure future advances can be catered for and used in a socially beneficial way.

Papers on other relevant topics are also welcome.

Important Dates

Notes

Conference Languages: English and Spanish

For further general information contact:

Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility
School of Computing Sciences
De Montfort University
The Gateway
Leicester
LE1 9BH
UK

Telephone +44 116 257 7475
Fax +44 116 254 1891
E-mail ccsr@dmu.ac.uk
Web www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk