Reflection Report on Ethics in Information Technology (ISY1000)

This reflection report, submitted by a student, details their learning journey in an Information Technology course, specifically focusing on ethics. The report covers the ethical considerations in IT, including freedom of expression, intellectual property, software quality, and the impact of IT on worker productivity and the standard of living. The student reflects on topics such as the First Amendment, relevant acts related to internet information, the impact of IT on GDP and labor productivity, and the importance of software quality and ethical decision-making in software development. The report also touches upon emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning. The student references various academic sources to support their reflections, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the ethical dimensions within the field of information technology.

Running Head: Refection 0
Reflection
Report
Student name

Reflection 1
Reflection on Information Technology
I learnt about ethics in Information Technology (IT), and many other things from week five to eight
study. It was based on the role of ethics in IT. According to ( Matteo & Floridi, 2009), it is necessary to
follow ethics in different activities in online work or IT services. It is highly required to manage different
things in customers, and others (Jin, et al., 2007).
I learnt from (Reynolds, 2011) about the protection of freedom of expression in the United States from
week five study. There are different laws follows by people and organization that affect online freedom
of expression. They make a huge impact on the reputation of organizations.
I learnt about the first amendment, which protects Americans’ rights to freedom of expression, and
freedom of religion. It does not protect a few things, which are perjury and fraud, fighting words and
sedition, defamation and obscene, incitement to crime, and incitement of panic. I learnt about different
Acts, which are related to information on the internet, such as the Telecommunications Act,
Communications Decency Act, and its section 230.
I updated my knowledge from that week about the acts, such as COPA (Child Online Protection Act),
which imposes penalties for exposing the child to harmful material on the internet. Internet censorship
is helpful to control such type of unprotected activities.
In week six, I learnt about the impact of IT on worker productivity and the standard of living. IT makes a
huge impact on the Gross domestic product (GDP) of a country, which makes an impact on living
standard. IT investment creates a new job and increases labour productivity. IT increases the
performance of labour because of management techniques and automation in different processes.
Moreover, innovation is a key factor in productivity improvement, and IT has a huge role in enabling
innovation. I learnt about fundamental drivers to increase the performance of productivity. IT makes
labour more efficient, which is a key factor to increase productivity. In addition, expansion and
contraction of business cycles make huge effects on labour productivity rates (nap.edu, 2018).
In addition, IT service provides help in innovation and it provides a competitive advantage to companies.
I learnt that IT investment might produce intangible benefits to the organisation as well as tangible
benefits. I learnt that emerging technology makes work easier and faster, which increases the
performance of companies, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, and many more.

Reflection 2
I learnt about software quality and its importance from week eight study. I learnt about different
potential ethical issues, which has faced by software manufacturers, such as project costs, project
schedules, project quality, and many others. I also learnt about software development methodology’s
components in that week.
I learnt from (Andrijcic & Horowitz, 2016), about intellectual property (IP), which provides privacy and
security to the innovation created by single person or group, such as formulas, inventions, art, music,
books, film, and processes. IP protects innovations through copyrights, trade secret, patents, and many
more (Goldmann, 2010). I learnt about the waterfall and agile methodology of software development
and its pros and cons from that week.

Reflection 3
References
Matteo, T. & Floridi, L., 2009. The ethics of information transparency. Ethics and Information
Technology, 11(2), pp. 105-112.
Andrijcic, E. & Horowitz, B., 2016. A Macro Economic Framework for Evaluation of Cyber Security Risks‐
Related to Protection of Intellectual Property. Risk analysis, 26(4), pp. 907-923.
Goldmann, A. J., 2010. Protecting Intellectual Property. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce,
15(1), p. 1.
Jin, K. G., Drozdenko, R. & Bassett, R., 2007. Information technology professionals’ perceived
organizational values and managerial ethics: An empirical study. Journal of Business Ethics, 71(2), pp.
149-159.
nap.edu, 2018. Effects of Information Technology on Productivity, Employment, and Incomes. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nap.edu/read/24649/chapter/5
[Accessed 23 March 2019].
Reynolds, G. W., 2011. Ethics in information technology. 5 ed. Boston: Cengage Learning.