01 Section 3 - Ethical and Cultural Issues Flashcards
What is an ethical issue?
Ethical issues are what would be considered right and wrong by society
What is a legal issue?
Legal issues are about what is actually right and wrong in the eyes of the law
What is a cultural issue?
Cultural issues are about how groups of people with particular beliefs, practices or languages may be affected (e.g. ethnic groups, religions. countries)
What is an environmental issue?
Environmental issues are about how we impact the natural world
What is a code of conduct?
Many companies have this, because if they acted legally but not ethically they would lose public trust
-it is a set of rules that the company and employees will follow
A company may invent its own or agree to a standard one
What are stakeholders?
Stakeholders are individuals or groups of people who have an interest in or are affected by a particular scenario
What are examples of stakeholders? (in terms of a computing setting)
- a companies owners
- companies employees
- the shop that sells the companies product
- customers
- the companies hardware suppliers
- the local community
What is the differences between groups of stakeholders?
-have different priorities which may conflict with those of others
Why is it hard to keep information private on the internet?
- Many websites and social media require users to input personal information to set up an account
- cloud computing allow users to save personal files to their surfaces
- companies may make your personal information available to other website users, they may sell your information
What is a privacy agreement?
An agreement made by a company which states what they can do with the information they hold about you
-users will accept a privacy agreement before using many websites and software, even without reading it in many cases, and users often have no choice but to agree or just not use the software
Why do companies sell your personal information?
personal details, buying habits, likes/dislikes are sold to other organisations so they can send you targeted adverts or spam emails
How can users make the information they share more private?
- changing their privacy settings
- but on the bottom line users have to trust companies to keep their data secure, although this doesn’t always happen
What is internet censorship?
When someone tries to control what other people can access on the internet
-some countries governments use censorship to restrict access to certain information
What is one of the strictest countries for censorship?
China
- they restrict access to websites which are critical of the government
- censors major foreign websites Facebook, Youtube and Twitter
Cuba
-people can only access the internet from government-controlled access points
What censorship does the UK use?
Most governments use some form of censorship
-the UK restricts access to pornography, gambling to protect children
What is computer surveillance?
When someone monitors what other people are accessing on the internet
Why do government intelligence agencies use computer surveillance?
Use packet sniffers to monitor internet traffic, looking out for certain key words and phrases that might alert them of illegal activities
-in some countries Internet Service Providers keep record of the websites visited by its customers
What does ISP stand for?
Internet Service Provider
Why do some people support internet surveillance and censorship?
- to protect children
- to stop terrorism
Why do some people not support internet surveillance and censorship?
several non-profit organisations campaign against what they call cyber censorship and mass surveillance
-invasion of privacy
What are the ethical and cultural issues of computers and the internet?
- hard to keep information private on the internet
- censorship and surveillance
- technology can impact our social well-being
- cyber bullying and trolling of social media
- using technology too much can cause health problems
- technology has shaped our culture
- technology is changing the way we do business
- unequal access to technology has caused a digital divide
How can new technology impact our social well-being?
- new technology is released regularly, people can feel pressured into buying the latest device
- smartphones make it easier for peoples work to intrude on their personal lives, this can cause stress
- face to face social interaction can be neglected as more social lives grow online
Where can pressure come from to make consumers feel pressured into buying new technology?
ADVERTISEMENTS
-they use techniques to influence or pressure people into buying or upgrading to the latest device
PEER PRESSURE
-children can fear being bullied by their peers for not owning the latest technology, parents feel pressured into buying them
Why can having smartphones increase the levels of stress on adults with work?
ALWAYS BE CONTACTED
-employees may be expected to always carry a smartphone, so they can never switch off from work
How is cyberbullying and trolling on social media an issue?
- cyberbullying can cause distress
- trolling can frustrate and stress out the victim
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is when somebody uses social media to deliberately harm someone else.
-including, trying to intimidate, insult, humiliate or defame someone
What is trolling?
Trolling is when somebody tries to cause public arguments with others online.
Why do people troll on the internet?
- for their own amusement
- to gain attention
Why do people feel as though they can troll or cyberbully on the internet?
THE INTERNET GIVES PEOPLE ANONYMITY
-people say things online which they wouldn’t face-to-face
What software is their which schools and parents can use to protect children from accessing inappropriate material?
parental-control software
What is sexting?
Sending sexually explicit messages or images to other people
-more common as smartphones and video messaging applications have become more popular
Why is sexting an issue because of technology?
- the person receiving the images might not be trustworthy
- social media allows the receiver to forward images to anyone
How is the issue of sexting being addressed?
There are laws to prevent this
How can using technology too much cause health problems?
- eyestrain, from looking at a screen for too long
- repetitive strain injury(RSI), normally fingers and wrists from typing
- back problems, from sitting at a computer for too long
How can using technology too much cause eyestrain?
- eyestrain, from looking at a screen for too long
- this problem is increased if there is bad lighting, screen flickering, sunlight glare on the screen
What can be done to prevent eyestrain?
- using suitable lighting
- keeping the screen a suitable distance away from your eyes
- taking regular breaks from using your device
How can using technology too much cause repetitive strain injury?
-repetitive strain injury(RSI), normally fingers and wrists from typing, repetitive movements over a long period of time
What can be done to prevent repetitive strain injury?
- having the correct posture
- arranging your desk appropriately
- taking regular breaks
How can using technology too much cause back problems?
-back problems, from sitting at a computer for too long with poor posture
What can be done to prevent back problems?
- using an adjustable chair
- using a foot rest
- having an adjustable monitor to ensure you aren’t sitting at an awkward angle
How has technology and the internet shaped our culture?
- selfies have become popular and social media allows people to take and share them easily
- viral videos, images or messages being spread across social media
- social media and blogging websites allows people to publish writing, art and other media
How is taking selfies on social media changing our culture?
could be a sign that social media is making people more attention-seeking and self-obsessed
What does the word viral mean?
It’s a word used to describe videos, messages or images on the internet which have rapidly spread over social media and have been seen by millions of people
How is the concept of things going ‘viral’ changing out culture?
Companies, politicians, celebrities and charities all try to use images or videos in their promotional campaigns in hope they too will go viral
How is social media and blogging websites changing our culture?
They give a voice to groups of people who might have been ignored by mainstream media
How is new technology changing how we do business?
- music and TV streaming services have allowed their customers to listen and watch media for less money
- sharing economy
What are the disadvantages of music and TV streaming services?
Some musicians feel as though streaming companies don’t pay enough money for their music
What is sharing economy?
The name given to services which use new technology to let people make money from things they already own
e.g. Uber lets you turn your car into a taxi service
What are the pros and cons of sharing economy?
pro - services are cheap
con - draw customers away from other companies (e.g. Uber with taxi companies), may be more risky for sharers and customers (their insurance may not cover them over damage or theft)
What has unequal access to technology caused?
a Digital Divide
-some people have greater access to technology than others
What are the causes of digital divide?
- some people don’t have enough money for technology
- Urban areas are more likely to have greater network coverage than Rural areas
- some people don’t know how to use the Internet and other new technologies, and so can’t take advantage of the opportunities they offer
What causes the global digital divide?
- the level of access to technology is different in different countries
- HICs tend to have more access than LICs
- Internet has created lots of opportunities and so has increased the inequalities between the HICs and LICs
What has been done to try and reduce the global divide?
- several British communities aimed at improving Internet coverage in Rural areas
- One Laptop Per Child is a charity which provides laptops to children in Africa
