Processes of technological innovation are often rationalised with the promise of improved efficiency. Using the example of the development and introduction of an information technology system for... Show More

Processes of technological innovation are often rationalised with the promise of improved efficiency. Using the example of the development and introduction of an information technology system for managing mass casualty incidents, this article shows that this hope may indeed be substantiated. Yet, an assessment of the societal impacts might show that these improvements often happen in unexpected places or ways. They invariably emerge in relation to organisational structures, cultural influences, and interests. In addition, when focusing only on the advantages of novel technologies, the problems they typically bring with them are ignored. The article challenges three improvements in efficiency usually associated with IT (time savings, improved decision making capacity, and detailed synopsis) with empirical investigations and field observations that were made during the four-year development and introduction phase. In conclusion, evaluations of the technology were neither completely positive nor negative but ambivalent: emphasis on the positive or negative effects depended on the perspectives of the different potential users.

As mobile devices become more pervasive, there is an assumption that mobile use is ubiquitous within organizations. However, some organizations enforce policies that restrict mobile use at work... Show More

As mobile devices become more pervasive, there is an assumption that mobile use is ubiquitous within organizations. However, some organizations enforce policies that restrict mobile use at work, often ignoring the ethical safety implications of these decisions. This study explores how a mobile device ban at work affects how employees receive urgent information. Based on previous research on the digital divide and organizational justice, this study examines two different types of organizations with similar policies restricting mobile use at work. Here the authors address how organizations operating under these policies play a unique gatekeeping role in managing safety and emergency information. Three major themes emerged from the data: lost information, forgotten workers, and worker dispersion. These themes bring attention to the implications of digital restrictions, which prevent certain employees from receiving crucial information in an emergency. The findings from this research encourage more inclusive policies around mobile use and prompt future research on digital inequality in the workplace.

In a relatively new area of research for crisis management, this article presents a discussion of some of the privacy and ethical implications surrounding the use of social media in the event of a... Show More

In a relatively new area of research for crisis management, this article presents a discussion of some of the privacy and ethical implications surrounding the use of social media in the event of a crisis. The article uses the travel chaos caused by the eruptions of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010 to contextualise the analysis. It begins by providing an overview of the use of social media in crisis management, before continuing to present two case studies of the use of social media by members of the public and the aviation industry during the crisis caused by the ash plume. The article then proceeds to examine some select ethical and privacy implications stemming from the use of social media such as privacy infringements and inequality. The article concludes by briefly summarising the findings and considering next steps for future research in this area.

In June 2011, during the ice hockey Stanley Cup, as the Vancouver Canucks were losing, riots started in downtown Vancouver. Social media were used to communicate between authorities and citizens... Show More

In June 2011, during the ice hockey Stanley Cup, as the Vancouver Canucks were losing, riots started in downtown Vancouver. Social media were used to communicate between authorities and citizens, including the rioters. The media reporting on these events framed these communications within different narratives, which in turn raised ethical considerations. The authors identify and reflect upon ideas of justice, fairness, responsibility, accountability and integrity that arise in the media stories. In addition they investigate (1) the “institutional unpreparedness” of the Vancouver police department when receiving such quantity of material and dealing with new processes of inquiry such material requires; (2) the “unintended do-it-yourself-justice”: the shift from supporting crisis responders to social media vigilantes: citizens overruling authorities and enforcing justice on their own terms and by their own means through social media and; (3) the “unintended do-it-yourself-society” supported by the potential-of social media's use for prompting people to act.

In this paper the authors illustrate the ethical dilemmas that arise when large public investigations in a crisis are crowdsourced. The authors focus the variations in public opinion concerning the... Show More

In this paper the authors illustrate the ethical dilemmas that arise when large public investigations in a crisis are crowdsourced. The authors focus the variations in public opinion concerning the actions of two online groups during the immediate aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing. These groups collected and organized relief for victims, collected photos and videos taken of the bombing scene and created online mechanisms for the sharing and analysis of images collected online. They also used their large numbers and the affordances of the Internet to produce an answer to the question, “who was the perpetrator, and what kind of bomb was used?” The authors view their actions through public opinion, through sampling Twitter and applying a sentiment analysis to this data. They use this tool to pinpoint moments during the crisis investigation when the public became either more positively or negatively inclined toward the actions of the online publics. The authors use this as a surrogate, or proxy, for social approval or disapproval of their actions, which exposes large swings in public emotion as ethical lines are crossed by online publics.

This paper explores issues of privacy, security and liberty arising in relation to information and communication technologies (ICT) for crisis response and management. Privacy, security and liberty... Show More

This paper explores issues of privacy, security and liberty arising in relation to information and communication technologies (ICT) for crisis response and management. Privacy, security and liberty are concepts that have undergone significant changes over time. The authors show how ICT related transformations of socio-technical practices involved in their enactment create challenges, opportunities and dangers in the context of crisis response. While opportunities include development of more informed, efficient and agile emergency management, dangers include increased surveillance, social sorting, and an erosion of privacy, civil liberties and virtues of humanity. The authors explore causes and mechanisms that underpin these dynamics and measures developed to address them. Against this backdrop, they discuss ‘design for privacy' as a socio-technical design approach that empowers people. The aim is to motivate, and explore avenues for, socio-technical innovation that supports information processing and respect for privacy in crisis response and management.