Track Chairs

Christy M.K. Cheung, Associate Professor, Hong Kong Baptist University, China. Email: ccheung@hkbu.edu.hk

Ofir Turel, Professor, California State University, Fullerton, USA. Email: oturel@fullerton.edu

Helena Wenninger, Lecturer, Lancaster University, UK. Email: h.wenninger@lancaster.ac.uk

 

Track Description

Social and Ethical Implications of ICT Use

Recent years have witnessed a mounting integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in all areas of our lives, transforming the way we work, study, share, play, socialize, and live together as a society. Despite the many personal, educational, and work benefits offered by ICT, its use raises a variety of social and ethical concerns (like technology addiction, cyberbullying, eroded personal relationships, influenced elections, online fraud, Internet vigilantism, invasion of privacy, and infringement of intellectual property right – to mention just a few). While an extensive body of research has emphasized the “bright side” or the positive impact of ICT use, nascent academic research is balancing this view. Thus, research on the “dark side” or the undesirable social and ethical consequences associated with the use of ICT for individuals, organizations and societies is receiving more attention in the light of recent developments (e.g., Ransbotham, Fichman, Gopal, & Gupta, 2016, Majchrzak, Markus, & Wareham, 2016).

The objective of this track is to develop theoretical insight into and a practical understanding on topics and issues that address the potential social and ethical implications of ICT use, with focus on the various unfavourable aspects associated with ICT use. We especially welcome papers that identify and address relevant knowledge gaps in: (1) the nature of the problem under investigation (i.e., ICT use and its associated social/ethical implications), (2) aspects associated with the problem, and (3) potential IT and/or non-IT solutions that can mitigate the problem. Other topics that touch on social and ethical implications of ICT use are equally welcome.

The track is open to all methodological approaches. We invite both full research and research in  progress papers.

 

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Societal impact of current or emerging technologies or technological trends, e.g., Internet of Things, Internet of People, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, social/mobile computing, etc.

  • Unethical uses of ICTs in elections, organisations, marketing etc.

  • Cyberbullying, online harassment, online trolling, and Internet judges

  • Work stress, overload, addiction, financial victimization, and illegitimate surveillance

  • Reputation and credibility issues in ICT-based applications

  • Responsible ICTs innovation

  • ICT-related unemployment and deskilling

  • Employee responsibility and autonomy of organizational use of ICTs

  • The role of ICT in social inclusion/exclusion and educational (in)equality

  • Strategies and interventions (e.g., IT design, IT use practices, IT management policies, and governance mechanisms) for addressing the societal consequences of ICT use

  • Incorporating societal concerns in ICT planning and governance

  • Implications of a digital society where sharing data, information and knowledge is common for governments, businesses and people

 

Publishing Opportunities in Leading Journals

High quality and relevant papers from this track will be selected for fast-tracked development towards Internet Research (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/intr). Selected papers will need to expand incontent and length in line with the requirements for standard research articles published in the journal.

Although the track co-chairs are committed to guiding the selected papers towards final publication, further reviews may be needed before final publication decision can be made.

Internet Research (IntR) is an international and refereed journal that is indexed and abstracted in major databases (e.g., SSCI, SCI, ABI/INFORM Global). The topics published in IntR are broad and interdisciplinary in nature. The impact factor (2016) and the 5-year impact factor (2016) of the journal is 2.931 and 4.580 respectively.

 

Track Associate Editors

1. Carmen Leong, Lecturer, University of New South Wales, Australia.

2. Jie Yu, Assistant Professor, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China

3.Irina Heimbach, Assistant Professor, WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany

4. Amjad Fayoumi, Lecturer, Lancaster University, UK

5. Ben Choi, Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

6. Sebastian Schuetz, Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas, USA

7. Lauri Wessel, Assistant Professor, University of Bremen, Germany

8. Mengxiang Li, Assistant Professor, Hong Kong Baptist University, China

9. Ruba Aljafari, Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh, USA

10. Sangseok You, Assistant Professor, HEC Paris, France

11. Jens Foerderer, Assistant Professor, University of Mannheim, Germany

12. Yong Liu, Assistant Professor, Aalto University, Finland

13. Tommy Chan, Lecturer, Northumbria University, UK

14.Brian Lee, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA

15. Youngseok Choi, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor), Brunell University London, UK

16. Dimitra Skoumpopoulou, Senior Lecturer, Northumbria University, UK

17. Zach W. Y. Lee, Assistant Professor, Durham University, UK