THE CONSEQUENCES OF APPLYING RIGHTS ETHICS IN THE PROCESS OF DESIGNING INFORMATION SYSTEMS

摘要

The purpose of this paper is to identify the consequences of applying ethicalrnconsiderations in the process of designing information systems. It is assumed that byrnusing an ethical theory, needs and interests of those who are stakeholders will be morernexplicitly considered. Rights ethics is the ethical theory, which has been applied in thisrnstudy. The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) has been used as a model of therndesign process. A characterisation of rights ethics has been made. Key aspects of rightsrnethics in the context of information systems development are: duties are created out ofrnrights, not vice versa; rights and duties have a reciprocal relationship; the individual isrnin focus; there exist positive and negative rights; fair judgements should guiderndecision-making; different communities create different categories of rights; therernexists a distinction between legal and human rights. Based on these key aspectsrnanalyses of consequences for design process have been made. The result of thernanalyses is a general foundation upon which specific recommendations can be made.