Information And Human Values

Human values--including accountability, privacy, autonomy, and respect for person--emerge from the computer systems that we build and how we choose to use them. Yet, important questions on human values and system design have remained largely unexplored. If human values are controversial, then on what basis do some values override others in the design of, for example, hardware, algorithms, and databases? Do users interact with computer systems as social actors? If so, should designers of computer persona and agents seek to build on such human tendencies, or check them? How have design decisions in hospitals, research labs, and computer corporations protected or degraded such values? This volume brings together leading researchers and system designers who take up these questions, and more.

This book seeks to advance our understanding of the relationship between information and human values by synthesizing the complementary but typically disconnected threads in the literature, reflecting on my 15 years of research on the relationship between information and human values, advancing our intellectual understanding of the key facets of this topic, and encouraging further research to continue exploring this important and timely research topic. The book begins with an explanation of what human values are and why they are important. Next, three distinct literatures on values, information, and technology are analyzed and synthesized, including the social psychology literature on human values, the information studies literature on the core values of librarianship, and the human-computer interaction literature on value-sensitive design. After that, three detailed case studies are presented based on reflections on a wide range of research studies. The first case study focuses on the role of human values in the design and use of educational simulations. The second case study focuses on the role of human values in the design and use of computational models. The final case study explores human values in communication via, about, or using information technology. The book concludes by laying out a values and design cycle for studying values in information and presenting an agenda for further research.

Provides a wealth of information about values and beliefs of people all over the world

First Published in 1971, Human Values and the Mind of Man examines how value questions have been treated in traditional theories of human nature. The book presents an interdisciplinary dialogue centred around the 'human mind'.

This original and engaging book advocates an unabashedly empirical approach to understanding human values: abstract ideals that we consider important, such as freedom, equality, achievement, helpfulness, security, tradition, and peace. Our values are relevant to everything we do, helping us choose between careers, schools, romantic partners, places to live, things to buy, who to vote for, and much more. There is enormous public interest in the psychology of values and a growing recognition of the need for a deeper understanding of the ways in which values are embedded in our attitudes and behavior. How do they affect our well-being, our relationships with other people, our prosperity, and our environment? In his examination of these questions, Maio focuses on tests of theories about values, through observations of what people actually think and do. In the past five decades, psychological research has learned a lot about values, and this book describes what we have learned and why it is important. It provides the first overview of psychological research looking at how we mentally represent and use our values, and constitutes important reading for psychology students at all levels, as well as academics in psychology and related social and health sciences.

Gerald Sussman offers a detailed critical analysis of the political dimensions of 21st century communication/information technologies, mass media and transnational networks.

This book grows out of a long-felt need for a readable source that explores all aspects of people's values. Good information on the study of human values exists scattered about in various sources, spanning disciplines and decades, but it is not easily located nor readily assimilated and organized in mind. Richard W. Kilby attempts to remedy that situation. This book is a general comprehensive work on human values and is composed of chapters on types of values, their nature, their role in lives, their origins, and methods of their study or assessment. It was written on the assumption that most of its readers would know little of the subject, rather than be specialists, but Kilby's main consideration was to include everything that was pertinent and to do full justice to each topic. One portion or another of The Study of Human Values should be useful to someone, be it student, instructor, researcher, or general reader.