Applying DET to ICT Workplace Ethical Dilemma

Question: Describe about the Applying DET to ICT Workplace Ethical Dilemma. Answer: The Case A senior faculty member wanted an article from a current issue of a journal. The faculty could not access the journal through the department website. He wanted the Librarian to email a pdf copy to him, but the university license did not include certain features of use and do not allow to download this particular journal as pdf. The viewing of the article is allowed by the publisher. Pdf file can be available only on payment to the Licensor (American Counseling Association, 2005). The librarian does not have the authority to make payment to the licensor, but know how to copy the screen shots from the computer monitor. The faculty insisted to send the article or its images any way and somehow. About the Ethical Dilemmas of a Librarian Librarians interact with the users frequently and experience a variety of interpersonal situations. It is reported that most librarians encounter a variety of ethical issues on the job. Often, they need to balance their decisions to meet the interests of the information seekers and rights holders. The challenge to convince the users that their requests cannot be complied because of legal and ethical reasons is daunting. When the library staff asserts the legal aspects of information usage, the users get irritated. It can be inferred from the case that librarians are aware of and understand the ethical issues related to intellectual property (IP) rights, but they have difficulty in executing the ethical decisions (Luo, 2016). The librarians require techniques to resolve the ethical dilemmas relating to copyright and licensing infringements. One such technique is DET (Doing Ethics Technique). About DET The 'Doing Ethics' technique (DET) is a process used for analyzing the ethical dilemma (Simpson, Nevile Burmeister, 2003). This analysis always may not lead to a solution, but it helps to develop perspectives about the issue. The user of DET must answer the eight questions posed by the technique and all questions must be answered. After answering all the questions the user is expected to get a deeper perspective about the issue. Applying DET on the Librarians case The eight questions suggested in the Doing Ethics Technique are posed in a sequence (Simpson, Nevile, Burmeister, 2003) and the answers are provided along with. 1: What is going on? One of the faculties in the university has requested for an illegal copy of an article. The university library is strongly inclined towards Intellectual Property (IP) rights. The Publisher of the article has allowed only viewing; copying the content is not licensed (Trushina, 2004). 2: What are the issues? The faculty insists for a copy of the article even if it violates the license permissions. The librarian is experiencing a dilemma, whether to comply with the request of the faculty or avoid violations of the IP rights (Goldie et. al, 2002). 3: Who are affected? The faculty: if the article is not available, the faculty cannot achieve the goal The librarian: Providing copy to the faculty leads to IP rights violation and denial will affect the librarians function. The library: If the copy is provided to the faculty, the institution has violated its own policies about IP issues The publishers / Licensors: If the librarian provides illegal copy to the faculty, the publishers are denied revenue and their rights are violated. 4: What are the ethical issues? If the copy is provided to the faculty, the licensor may not know about it and there may not be a legal action. But, a librarian is a custodian of Intellectual property, and is liable to provide value to the creators of knowledge and its rights holders i.e. the authors and the publishers. The facultys ethical position is also challenged by the insistence shown (by him or her) to get the copy of the article. 5: what are the implications? The refusal to comply with the facultys request will help to build a responsible knowledge working community. If the librarian succumbs to the pressure from the faculty, it will lead to creation of unethical culture in the library. 6. What can be done about? Before making a decision the librarian may discuss with the supervisor about the issue, or contact the licensor to explore the possibilities of getting the copy free(of course, the librarian must not disclose the faculty request) or discuss with the authorities to include payment for the article in the budget (Kocet, 2006). 7. What are the options? The librarian can take efforts to deter the faculty from the practice (Luo, 2016). A formal request to waive the fee for the copy may be sent to the licensor. A request to library authorities to pay for the article may be presented. The librarian can provide the copy to the faculty and leave the matter 8. Which option is best and why? Paying for the article by the university library is the best option, because it protects all stake holders interest (Barsh Lisewski. 2008). The publishers are getting their revenue, the faculty can use the information with confidence, the library can uphold its values and the librarians dilemma is resolved with dignity. References Adele Barsh and Amy Lisewski. (2008), Library Managers and Ethical Leadership: A Survey of Current Practices from the Perspective of Business Ethics, Journal of Library Administration 47, no. 34 (October 2008): 2767. American Counseling Association. (2005).ACA code of ethics: As approved by the ACA Governing Council, 2005. American Counseling Association. Goldie, J., Schwartz, L., McConnachie, A., Morrison, J. (2002). The impact of three years' ethics teaching, in an integrated medical curriculum, on students proposed behaviour on meeting ethical dilemmas.Medical education,36(5), 489-497. Kathy Hoffman, (2005). Professional Ethics and Librarianship, Texas Library Journal 81, no. 3 (Fall 2005): 96101 Kocet, M. M. (2006). Ethical challenges in a complex world: Highlights of the 2005 ACA code of ethics.Journal of Counseling Development,84(2), 228-234. Luo, L. (2016). For Your Enrichment: Ethical Issues in Reference: An In-Depth View from the Librarians Perspective.Reference User Services Quarterly,55(3), 188-198. Simpson, C. R., Nevile, L., Burmeister, O. K. (2003). Doing ethics: A universal technique in an accessibility context. Australian Journal of Information Systems, 10(2), 127-133. Trushina, I. (2004). Freedom of access: ethical dilemmas for internet librarians.The electronic library,22(5), 416-421.