Preface ix

As information systems use becomes more widespread and more individuals and organizations rely on the Internet as a means of conducting business, it becomes ever more important to assure that the Internet is a place where privacy is protected. Additionally, as organizations rely more on information systems, they become vulnerable to attacks on these precious technologies. These are just some of the ethical issues professionals face when dealing with information systems and emerging technologies. Although often overlooked, ethical decision-making is an important issue for all organizations and individuals in the arena of information technologies. In order to better understand the ethical dilemmas facing professionals and private citizens and appreciate their consequences, researchers, practitioners and academics must have access to the latest thinking and practice concerning ethics and information systems. The following chapters contain the most recent research and practices in defining and applying ethical standards. They cover the spectrum of thinking from applying Kierkegaard's philosophy to Internet education to appreciating the factors that lead to software piracy. There is something that will benefit everyone concerned with the ethics of information systems. systematically identifies major Internet privacy concerns. The chapter's primary purpose is to identify issues related to maximizing Internet privacy. The authors present various researchers' definitions of the concept and then proceed to discuss a study they conducted attempting to further understand this concept. explains how global information systems may lead to diseconomies of scale. The author discusses the differences in companies as well as the internal and external factors that influence an organization's technology needs and ability to implement information systems. The author proposes careful scrutiny of costs and associated paradigm changes that a company will undergo to implement new technologies.