Unit 3: Legal and
Ethical Issues in Technology
References
With the advanced technology use and
the availability of the internet, it becomes very easy for everyone, no matter
where they live, to find others’ works and use them as resources. However, the
discussion is how to use the available resources and the type of use, because the
legal and the ethical rules of using others’ efforts might be different between
countries. Chapter 10 in our handbook talks about copyright and fair use in
education. Some of the materials that are developed for public domain are
allowed to be used without permission, but the concern is with the materials that
are allowed for public use only by permission or buying them. Therefore, it is
more ethical than legal for students, educators, and researchers to follow the
instructions of using the work of others in order to avoid any problem
(Mastrian, McGonigle, Mahan, &
Bixler, 2011). In nursing education, I believe that the copyright issue is
crucial, because nursing students and faculty always need the valid tools for
their research studies and almost all of these valid tools have someone or
organization holding the copyright. So,
the fair use of these materials is to get permission to reprint or modify from
the copyright holder.
Armstrong and Scepanski (2000)
define copyright as “an intellectual property right that covers all types of
original works (literary, musical, dramatic, pictorial, graphic, motion
picture, sound recording, choreographic, architecture)” (p.1). They also discussed
the issue of copyright and fair use in distance education using
technology. Most faculty use variety of
learning materials to teach students.
The used materials can be pictures, audiovisual, and articles from the
internet. In the face-to-face classes faculty can teach students without
sharing the learning materials that are copyrighted to maintain the right of
copyright holders; however, in the distance education faculty cannot teach
students at the same quality level without sharing the learning materials with
students and that might lead to separate these materials, because distance
education is mainly depends on using technology and internet. Moreover, it is
an ethical obligation that faculty need to make sure that all students
(domestic and distance) learning at the same level and using the same learning
tool. Therefore, faculty should use the learning material that are not
copyrighted or get permission from the person who holds the copyright in order
to avoid legal issues. Farnese (2013)
points out that when faculty or students use learning material on their
computers, they have to make sure that the computers are secured to avoid any
violation to the ethical or legal rules of using others’ works.
Armstrong, K. L., & Scepanski, J. M.
(2000). Copyright, fair use, and distance education: A town meeting. Library Hi Tech News, 17(9), 1-4.
Farnese, R.
(2013). Legal, ethical and social issues in technology. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/rachelfarnese/legal-ethical-and-social-issues-in-technology
Mastrian, K. G., McGonigle, D., Mahan, W. L.
& Bixler, B. (2011). Integrating technology in nursing education: Tools
for the knowledge era. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Hayder,
ReplyDeleteYour well thought out initial post made me think about the intellectual property and copy rights at a deeper level. One would rhetorically ask the following question: What would prevent me from using materials, technologies or any other available resources that I can access online without respecting the license agreement. From my humble perspective, I believe that there are two core foundations to answer this question. First the legal aspect, under which legal consequences are applied in case of breaking the copyrights laws, including imprisonment, fines and confiscation of copyright material and the equipment used to produce it (Billings, Hoke, & Waldhuetter, 2005). The second and the most important aspect is the ethical aspect. It is true that criminal penalties are designed to deter lawbreakers; however, we still witness copyright breaking incidents. This emphasizes the importance of the ethical aspect of the issue under discussion. Our role as nursing educators is to raise our students’ awareness about both the legal and ethical aspects of the intellectual property and copyrights issues. Let us always remind ourselves first and our student second about the fact that nursing is regarded as the most trustworthy profession by approximately 80% of the society (Gallup's annual list of occupations
rated for honesty and ethical standards survey in the U.S, 2014).
References
Billings, D. M., Hoke, M. M., & Waldhuetter, K. (2005). Licensing Web-Based Nursing Programs, Courses, and Course Materials. Journal of Professional Nursing, 21(5), 276-282.
Gallup. (2014). Honesty/ethics in professions. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/1654/honestyethicsprofessions.
aspx
Sadeq, thank you for the great contribution to my ideas.
ReplyDeleteSadeq, thank you for the great contribution to my ideas. I think the issue of respecting the property of copyright materials is an ethical obligation more than it is legal. Because, in some countries, there is no need to get a permission to use learning material as long as they are available on internet and can be downloaded or used by users. Therefore, I think raising the awareness about the ethical issues associated with the use of copyrighted material more important than legal consequence.
I totally agree!
DeleteThank you
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHi Haider
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you stated in your post that copyright has been the most important issue in nursing education for a long time. Many students copy their scientific material without getting the legal permission from the authors or editors. It is another picture of violating the copyright law. One exception for use of copyrighted works is the “fair use doctrine” under Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Fair use is permitted for purposes of criticism, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research, and for use in a parody or satire. To determine if the use falls within the fair use exception, a court will focus on 1) the purpose and character of the use including whether it will be used commercially; 2) the nature of the work; 3) the amount and substantial nature of the work used in relation to the whole; and 4) the effect of the use on the potential market. If the use of the work is limited in purpose and character, for example for educational use, and there is no payment of money, then there is a good chance the fair use exception will apply. Once the work is used in a commercial setting, then permission and/or royalties may be required. Fair use is making limited copies of articles on a one time basis; and putting them on reserve. If I copied them in advance and put them together in a binder, then I would be subject to copyright approval and payment of a royalty.
References
Ringer, B. (1976). First Thoughts on the Copyright Act of 1976. NYL Sch. L. Rev., 22, 477.