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- Overview of the Research Project
The purpose of this research project is to propose policies (specific measures and methods) recommended for organisations and central and local governments to proactively respond to social and ethical issues and problems brought about by the development and use of ICT in for-profit and not-for-profit organisations. The project conducts interdisciplinary studies related to various research fields such as information ethics, organisational study, commercial science, business administration, information science and engineering, sociology, political science, psychology, law, philosophy, and ethics. This project focuses on five advanced and socially significant study areas of organisational information ethics and establishes sub-projects (SPs) to undertake each of them.
While the research subjects of these SPs have their own characteristics, they are also related with each other in terms of, say, privacy and ICT professionalism, and in-depth research will be promoted through sharing research results between SPs. Furthermore, considering the global aspects of ICT, cross-national research will be carried out with the help of overseas research partners.
The project covers a broad range of issues and problems caused by the development and use of ICT in for-profit and not-for-profit organisations. The five sub-projects (SPs) are set up to engage in advanced and socially significant issues and problems related to computing, and they are carried out by members who have sufficient experience and expertise of studying these topics and making relevant policy proposals.
While the research subjects of these SPs have their own characteristics, they are also related to with each other in terms of, say, privacy and ICT professionalism, and in-depth research will be promoted through sharing research results between SPs. Furthermore, considering the global aspect of ICT, research will be carried out with the help of overseas research partners.
- SP 1:
- Direct and Indirect Surveillance by Organisations Using ICT and Professional Ethics
In light of the current situation in which organisations collect, accumulate, use and share personal information in a real-time fashion, social media such as Facebook and Twitter encourage individual Internet users to disclose personal information of themselves and others, and personal information disclosed in social media is collected and used by organisations, this SP engages in studies to propose effective policies for privacy protection and the cultivation of ICT professionalism in the current ICT environment.
- SP 2:
- Inter-organisational Communication and Sharing of Sensitive Information, and Culture
The development and use of information systems for sharing sensitive information such as health information and family register information are examined, and globally effective and locally acceptable ways of protecting personal information are investigated.
- SP 3:
- Creation and Operation of Organisation Information Systems Using FLOSS (Free/Libre and Open Source Software)
This SP investigates how and why the creation of information systems using FLOSS, that has been carried out in many organisations, can make organisational accountability for system quality ambiguous, and shows the proper ways of realising socially responsible creation and operation of information systems and ICT governance.
- SP 4:
- Organisational Responses to Ensure the Effectiveness of Security Systems
This SP clarifies that safe and secure organisational information management cannot be achieved only through the introduction of technological security systems, and examines the human and organisational aspects of security systems.
- SP 5:
- Computerised Organisations and Gender
This SP examines the nature of gender issues with respect to the masculine technology of ICT in organisations, and makes effective policy proposals to resolve them.
In today's ICT-dependant society where the socially influential development and use of ICT are mainly conducted by organisations, the organisational information ethics research conducted in this research project is expected to produce research results that contribute to appropriately controlling the negative social impact brought about by the development and use of ICT, realising material affluence and spiritual prosperity, and ensuring a high degree of respect for human values and human rights along with social safety and security. This project leads the world’s research in the field of information ethics focused on for-profit and not-for-profit organisations.
The publication of research results are mainly made through submissions of English papers to peer-reviewed journals and presentations at international conferences. Furthermore, Japanese papers are submitted to Japanese journals and presented at academic conferences held in Japan to return the research results to researchers, businesspeople and students in Japan. The project also holds symposia and open lectures overseas research patners join. In addition, books on organisational information ethics will be published in both Japanese and English in the final academic year of the project.
