20 years of ETHICOMP: time to celebrate?
| Date | 10 August 2015 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-05-2015-0015 |
| Pages | 166-175 |
| Published date | 10 August 2015 |
| Author | Bernd Carsten Stahl,Charles M Ess |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance |
GUEST EDITORIAL
20 years of ETHICOMP: time to
celebrate?
Bernd Carsten Stahl
Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, De Montfort University,
Leicester, UK, and
Charles M. Ess
Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo,
Oslo, Norway
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to give an introduction to the special issue by providing
background on the ETHICOMP conference series and a discussion of its role in the academic debate on
ethics and computing. It provides the context that inuenced the launch of the conference series and
highlights its unique features. Finally, it provides an overview of the papers in the special issues.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines an historical account of ETHICOMP and a
review of the existing papers.
Findings – ETHICOMP is one of the well-established conference series (alongside IACAP and CEPE)
focused on ethical issues of information and computing. Its special features include: multidisciplinary
and diversity of contributors and contributions; explicit outreach to professionals whose work is to
design, build, deploy and maintain specic computing applications in the world at large; creation of
knowledge that is accessible and relevant across elds and disciplines; intention of making a practical
difference to development, use and policy of computing principles and artefacts; and creation of an
inclusive, supportive and nurturing community across traditional knowledge silos.
Originality/value – The paper is the rst one to explicitly dene the nature of ETHICOMP which is
an important building block in the future development of the conference series and will contribute to the
further self-denition of the ETHICOMP community.
Keywords Ethics, Computer ethics, Computer science
Paper type Viewpoint
In 1995, Terry Bynum and Simon Rogerson brought together a group of scholars to
explore and discuss ethical issues arising from the use of computers. This was the
occasion of the rst ETHICOMP conference that took place at De Montfort University in
Leicester, UK. Twenty years later, in September 2015, ETHICOMP returns to its roots
for the rst time and the 20th anniversary of the conference will again be held in
Leicester. This special issue celebrates the occasion and expresses our appreciation of
the founders of the conference series, who managed to develop and sustain a group of
scholars who have been working in this important eld.
In this editorial, we[1] raise four questions:
Q1. What is special about ETHICOMP?
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-996X.htm
JICES
13,3/4
166
Received 27 May 2015
Revised 27 May 2015
Accepted 27 May 2015
Journalof Information,
Communicationand Ethics in
Society
Vol.13 No. 3/4, 2015
pp.166-175
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/JICES-05-2015-0015
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