IT Ethics Shares of Science Papers Free Online to Spread Knowledge

Question: Discuss about the IT Ethics Researcher Illegally Shares Millions of Science Papers Free Online to Spread Knowledge. Answer: Researcher Illegally Shares Millions of Science Papers Free Online to Spread Knowledge IT ethics is the branch of the ethical studies which focuses on ethical behavior in the realm of computer technology. It refers to the ethical considerations regarding the social impact of computer technology. It is a new branch of ethical studies and pertains to the development and justification of ethical theories in the cyberspace. The computer ethics refers to the personal and social impact of computer technology for the development of ethical policies. The ethical theories assure that the IT professionals do not misuse their technological knowledge and skills. It is the practice of differentiating wrong and right in information technology. The present paper evaluates the ethical issue of related to the online publishing of the journal articles. A researcher in Russia, Elbakyan has published more than 48 million journal articles online free. The site is named Sci-Hub which is a pirated site for the science world. It can be critiqued that the knowledge and the journal articles are not the property of a single person and the general public must be able to access the articles without paying any fees. Another issue in sites like Elsevier is that the fees obtained from the users is not transferred to the scholars who have published their articles but to the company itself. It is in contrast to other art and media companies, wherein a portion of the fees obtained by the companies is transferred to the performing artists. Another ethical question in the excessive charging of fees is that whether it is assisting the science to progress or hindering it. The excessive charging of fees hinders the basic right of the human beings to enjoy the cultural life and share in scientific advancements and its benefits (Macdonald, 2016). According to the utilitarian perspective, net neutrality can be categorized as an immoral action. Utilitarian philosophers states that the morality of an action can be judged according to its consequences on the public and different stakeholders (Barrow, 2015). The basis of this philosophy is on the utility theory which judges an action according to its utility for the society. Accordingly, if an action has overall good outcomes on the society and the public, it can be categorized as a morally justified action (Mill, 2006). Sci-hub is bringing to the general public the scientific achievements of the prominent scholars. It is also contributing to the growth of the scientific research by increasing the accessibility to the recent researches. The utilitarian perspective states that the organization should thee action should be judged according to its consequences on the society. The companies like Elsevier are charging excessive fees from the readers and people who are interested in the scientific advancements. This fee is obtained and used by the company and not transferred to the scholars who have worked hard for the publication and the research. Therefore, act of charging fees from the users is selfish and cannot be considered as morally justified. However, when examining the action with the deontological philosophy, it could be stated that the action is morally incorrect. This ethical theory states that a person must abide by law and rules irrespective of the situation (Haidt, 2012). This ethical perspective gives least significance to the consequences of the action and states that a person must abide by the law. According to this theory, there are different cultures and each person follow different ethical principles. When a person follows a specific ethical perspective, he must abide by all of its rules (Timmons, 2012). According to this theory, the people should have the freedom to access whichever website they want and should be able to access all the content without any restrictions. However, obtaining the access rights from pirated sited or in a wrong manner is completely unjustified. It can be critiqued that although sci-hub is doing an ethical work of bringing the work of thousands of scholars to the public, it is doin g it with unethical means. Therefore, the organization is conducting business unethically, in spite of the good intentions of the owners. Therefore, the action can be categorized as unethical when examining with the perspective of deontological ethical theory. The virtue ethics is another ethical perspective which states that a person judges an action according to his local environment and the upbringing. It emphasizes the role of the individual character and the virtues rather than the utility perspective and doing ones duty. The virtue ethics do not provide any guidance for the ethical behavior as it states that there is no other guidance rather than the ethical behavior (Jacobs, 2008). It does not emphasize the rules, consequences and particular acts; however, focuses on the virtue of a person who is acting. It emphasizes on the motives of acting person (Hinman, 2012). When a person acts on virtue, he acts on a particular motivation. According to this ethical theory, the people should follow virtuous behavior. It can be states that according to this theory, the action of providing access to the journal articles published in international journals is unethical. The publication of articles in different journal takes a lot of efforts. More over, before publication, these articles are needed to be reviewed by the academicians. The scholars also have to do a lot of research for the publication in the journal articles. The academic database like Elsevier charges the users with fees for these efforts. It can be stated that from the perspective of these organizations, the charging of fees is ethical and justified. Although the fees is not transmitted to the academicians who have engaged in the research, other people who have contributed to the publication of the research paper and assisted in the research get benefits from it. The fees is also justified as the organization has to maintain a number of staff for maintaining the database electronically. The social contract theory states that the moral or the political obligation of a person is dependent upon the contract or agreement of the person with the society in which they live. The theory states that in a society, people live together by forming some agreements that establish moral and political rules. According to this theory, people behave in a specific way as they form social contracts with other members of the society and not because some other person is requesting it (Waluvhow, 2003). The social contracts can be explicit or implicit, such as the constitution of a country is explicit example of social contract whereas manners and the social norms are the examples of the implicit social contract. According to the social contract theory, the action of Sci-hub is morally correct. According to this theory, people create social contracts with the society and behave accordingly. An individual has responsibility towards the society in which he is residing. It is also important to share the benefits of the scientific innovation and discovery with other people. According to this theoretical perspective, the action of providing free access to the users in the scientific database is a good action. It is not only essential for providing free access; it will also foster further innovation and research. As a whole, this action will be beneficial for the society (Sher, 2012). It can be concluded that the action of Sci-hub will be beneficial for the society and morally correct when examined through the perspective of utilitarianism and social contract theory. On the other hand, when the same action is examined from the perspective of deontological ethics and virtue ethics, it can be stated that the action is unethical. References Mill, J.S. (2006). Utilitarianism. ReadHowYouWant.com. Barrow, R. (2015). Utilitarianism: A Contemporary Statement. Routledge. Timmons, M. (2012). Moral Theory: An Introduction. Rowman Littlefield Publishers. Sher, G. (2012).Ethics: Essential Readings in Moral Theory. Routledge. Hinman, L.M. (2012). Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory. Cengage Learning. Jacobs, J. (2008). Dimensions of Moral Theory: An Introduction to Metaethics and Moral Psychology. John Wiley Sons. Haidt, J. (2012). The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. Penguin UK. Waluvhow, W.J. (2003). The Dimensions of Ethics: An Introduction to Ethical Theory. Broadview Press. MacDonald, F. (2016). Researcher Illegally Shares Millions of Science Papers Free Online to Spread Knowledge. Science Alert. Retrieved on 14 May, 2017 from https://www.sciencealert.com/this-woman-has-illegally-uploaded-millions-of-journal-articles-in-an-attempt-to-open-up-science