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PaulConway

SI410EthicsandInformationTechnology

ReadingandDiscussionGuide2InformationIntegrity

Thisreadinganddiscussionguidecoversthethree‐weekmoduleonsomeofthekeyconstructsofinformationintegrity.Thismodulefocusesonwhatpeopledotoeitherincreaseordecreasethetrustworthinessofdigitalinformation.Oneassumptionforthissectionofthecourseisthattextindigitalformisbornandlivesthroughhumanintervention.Anotherassumptionisthathowweunderstandtheworldandsometimeseachother–howweinteractwitheachother–ismoderatedthroughthedesignandadministrationoftechnologysystems.Wikipediaisthecasestudyforexploringtheethicalissuesofcollaborativewritingandediting.Theguidealsodescribesbrieflythepurposeoflab/discussionsection.Week4:InformationIntegrity

• TuesdaySeptember28 Topic: BoundariesofTrust Readings:

• Ebersbach,A.,Glaser,M.,andHeigl,R.,WikiWebCollaboration,Chapter1.1,“WhatisaWiki?”Berlin:Springer,2005,pp.9‐30.

• Mathiesen,K.“CensorshipandAccesstoExpression,”inHimmaandTavani(2008),pp.573‐588.WhattoReadFor:Ebersbachprovidesanexcellentoverviewofboththetheoryandthetechnicalpracticebehindwikitechnologies.ThetheoryisaccessibleandthetechtalkishighlyrelevanttowhatwediscusswithWikipedia.Readthisarticleasamodelofwhatawikiis,sothatwhenwediscussWikipediaandMediaWiki,youwillhaveacontextfordiscoveringhowcollaborativecontentdevelopmentworks.MuchhasbeenwrittenoncensorshipintheInternetage.Mathiesenoffersadefinitionthatprovidesamoralbasisforcensorship.Readherchapterforthatdefinitionandhowsheworksherwaytowardacceptablecensorship.DiscussionQuestions:1.Iscensorshipalwayswrong?Whocensorsandwhy?

• WednesdaySeptember29Lab/DiscussionThelabisatutorialontheMediaWikisoftwaretoolthatservesasaplatformfortheassignmentinmodule2.Thelabwilldemonstratethetool,provideanopportunitytopractice,andexplaintheassignment.

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• ThursdaySeptember30 Topic: WikipediaasanInformationSystem

Readings:

• Riehle,D.,“HowandWhyWikipediaWorks:AnInterviewwithAngelaBeesley,ElisabethBauer,andKizuNaoko,”WikiSym’06,August21‐23,OdenseDenmark.

• Chesney,T.,“AnempiricalexaminationofWikipedia’scredibility,”FirstMonday11(November2006).http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_11/chesney/index.html

Whattoreadfor:RiehleinterviewsthreepeoplewhoareveryactivelyinvolvedinbuildingandmaintainingthereputationsystemthatisakeypartofWikipedia’strustworthiness.Readthisinterviewbothfortheattitudeofthethreepeopleabouttrustandalsoforsomeofthespecificstrategiesutilizedtotagpotentialerror.YouwillberewardedbyfollowingsomeofthelinksinthefootnotestoWikipediapoliciesandprocedures.LotsofresearchersuseWikipediaasatestbedontrustandcredibility.ChesneyprovidesashortandprecisereportonatestofhowexpertsviewthecredibilityofauthorsandcontentbycomparingassessmentsoftraditionalarticleswithWikipediaarticles.Discussionquestions:1.HowhaveyouusedWikipediaandsimilaronlineinformation“supermarkets”?2.GiveanexampleortwoofwhereyouhavefoundWikipediatobelessthanaccurate,complete,ortrustworthyinanyway?3.WhatarethebarrierstoyourowncontributionstoWikipedia?

Week5:InformationIntegrity

• TuesdayOctober5 Topic:WikipediaandTrustManagementRequiredReadings:

• Wilkinson,D.M.andHuberman,B.A.,“AssessingthevalueofcooperationinWikipedia,”FirstMonday12(April2007).http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue12_4/wilkinson/index.html

• Santana,A,andWood,D.,“TransparencyandsocialresponsibilityissuesforWikipedia,”EthicsandInformationTechnology11(2009):133‐44.

Whattolookfor:Santana&WoodtakeaparticularpositionontransparencyofinformationinWikipedia.Readthisarticleforthatpositionanddecideforyourselfhowyoufeelaboutit.GiventhatalternativewaystohandleauthorshipareemergingbeyondWikipedia,paycarefulattentiontohowtheauthorsofthischaptermaketheircase.Wilkinsonpresentsasmall,specificstudyoftherelationshipbetweenthequalityofWikipediaarticlesandthenumberofedits.Thisarticleoneofmanythatistryingtoquantifyinformationqualityinadatabaseofinformationthatistoolargeforcommon,intuitiveassessment.Discussionquestions:1.Cantrustininformationqualitybereducedtostatisticalprobability?

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PaulConway

2.Howmuchistrustininformationtiedtoknowingwhotheauthoris?Consideryourpositioninthecontextofotherweb‐basedinformation.3.Whatarethelimitsoftransparencyasanethicalprincipleappliedtotext?

• WednesdayOctober6Lab/DiscussionThelabthisweekisanadvancedtutorialontheMediaWikitool.Studentswillhaveanopportunitytoshareeditingtricks.Theuseofimagesandreferenceswillbereviewed.

• ThursdayOctober7 Topic:WikipediaandAnonymityReadings:

• Zittrain,Jonathan.[2008].“TheLessonsofWikipedia,”inTheFutureoftheInternetandHowtoStopIt.NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,Chapter6,pp.127‐48.

Whattoreadfor:ZittrainisaneasytoreadoverviewofwhatisparticularlyinnovativeandaboutWikipedia.Thefocusoftoday’sdiscussionisonhowtothinkabouttrustininformationwhenyoucannotknowwhoisprovidingthatinformation.Discussionquestions:1.HowiscontrolexercisedinWikipedia?2.Wikipediahaslotsoferrors,somedetectibleandsomenot.WhataresomestrategiesforidentifyingtheweaknessesinWikipediacontent?

Week6:InformationIntegrity

• TuesdayOctober12 Topic: PlagiarismintheOnlineEnvironmentReadings:

• Snapper,J.,“TheMatterofPlagiarism:What,Why,andIf,”inHimmaandTavani(2008),pp.533‐552.• Wikipediacontentreuse:

http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Dual_license_vote_May_2009Whattoreadfor:Snapperhasaninnovativeapproachtounderstandingplagiarismthatavoidssomeofthe“justdon’tdoit”admonitionsthatyouhearallTheissueforthisweekisre‐useofcontentandhowre‐useandre‐brandingmayaffecttrustandreliability.ReadthenewWikipediare‐uselicensepolicyandtherelatedpolicydocumentsonWikipediaitself.Discussionquestions:1.Whatisplagiarism?Thinkcreatively.2.Howdowefindtheboundariesofplagiarismintheonlineenvironment?

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PaulConway

• WednesdayOctober13Lab/DiscussionThisisadiscussionsessiondesignedtohelpsynthesizethereadingsandlecturesforthismodule.

• ThursdayOctober14 Topic:EnforcingIntegrityReadings:

• deLaat,P.,“Trustingvirtualtrust,”EthicsandInformationTechnology7(2005):167‐80.• ReadWikipediaentriesforBotsandBureaucrats

Whattoreadfor:Onthesurface,deLaathasnothingtosayaboutWikipediaortrustintextorientedinformation.Indeed,thefocusofthispieceisonvirtualenvironmentsandtrust,anissuewithwhichwearenowfamiliar.YoushouldreaddeLaatforthetwoformsoftrust(relianceandconfidence)andhowtheauthorappliestheseideasintheInternetcontext.Discussionquestions:1.InwhatwaysisWikipedia“like”avirtualenvironment?2.Howistrustmanaged(controlled)inWikipedia?Whathappenswhentrustisviolated?3.HowdoesWikipediahandlecensorship,bothasamatterofcommunitypracticeandasamatterofcontrol?

Week7:StudyBreakandPresentations

• TuesdayOctober19 StudyBreak:NoClass

• WednesdayOctober20 Topic:StudentPresentations• ThursdayOctober21 Topic:StudentPresentations

Thelabsessionandthefollowingday’slecturesessionfeaturesbrief(5minute)individualpresentationsonthecontentandtechnicalissuesassociatedwithconstructingcollaborativecontentinMediaWiki.