Ethical, Legal, Cultural and Environmental Issues Flashcards
What are the different types of impacts/issues of digital technology on wider society?
Ethical Issues
Legal Issues
Cultural Issues
Environmental Issues
(Privacy?)
What are Ethical Issues?
What would be considered right and wrong by society.
Ethical issues involve societal norms and values.
Examples of Ethical Issues
Ethical issues in computing include:
- ensuring public safety
- security of data (e.g. prone to hacking, malware)
What are Legal Issues?
What is actually (legally) right or wrong in the eyes of the law.
Legal issues are determined by legislation and judicial systems.
Examples of Legal Issues
Computers might be used unlawfully in many ways, for example:
- allowing someone to illegally share personal data
- helping to steal financial information, such as credit card numbers or bank account details
- helping to illegally copy and distribute films, television programmes and music
- extorting information or blackmailing someone
What are Cultural Issues?
How groups of people with particular beliefs, practices, or languages may be affected by an issue.
Cultural issues reflect the diversity of societal perspectives
Examples of Cultural Issues
Examples:
- the digital divide (older people, money - cannot afford, different levels of technology - access to high-speed broadband, difference in computer skills)
- the changing nature of employment (work from home - communication via technology, technology-based jobs moved abroad - cheaper costs, use of technology with workplace - fall in manual, low-skilled work, more high-skilled work now available)
- languages, character sets, use of social media
What are Environmental Issues?
How the manufacturing and use of computers impacts the natural world.
Environmental Issues include pollution, climate change and conservations.
Examples of Environmental Issues
Examples:
- mining of metals to manufacture device
- lots of electricity/energy required to power technology
- hard to recycle or contain toxic materials, such as lead
- many people replace older technology before it fails simply because they perceive it to be old-fashioned or out of date
All of this has a heavy impact on the environment, e.g. pollution, climate change, and conservation.
However, many devices are now more power efficient and some companies have come up with innovative ways to save power.
Define Censorship
When someone tries to control what other people can access on the internet.
Censorship can be implemented by governments or organizations to restrict acces to information.
What is the difference between Ethical and Legal Issues?
Ethical issues are based on societal norms, while legal issues are based on laws.
What is the Data Protection Act (2018)?
The DPA 2018 gives rights to data subjects. They can see, amend and delete personal data held by an organisation. The organisation must follow the 6 rules of the DPA.
Personal data must:
- be fairly and lawfully processed
- be obtained for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes
- be adequate, relevant and not excessive
- be accurate and up to date
- not be kept for longer than is necessary
- be handled in a way that ensures security
What is the Computer Misuse Act (1990)?
This act was introduced to stop the use of computers for illegal purposes,
hacking and cybercrime.
It includes:
- gaining unauthorised access as well
- unauthorised modification of computer material
- access to data on a computer which will be used to commit further illegal activity, such as fraud or blackmail.
What is the Copyright, Design & Patent Act (1988)?
This act was introduced to protect intellectual property – anything someone has created e.g. a novel, a song, a piece of software, a new invention.
Why is it necessary to license software?
To protect the intellectual property rights of software developers and ensure fair usage and distribution of software,
What are the two different types of licensing software?
Open source software
Proprietary software
What is Open Source Software?
Open source software provides access to the source code and the ability to change the software. Users may legally modify the source code and share it under the same licence,
It is free.
What are benefits of Open Source Software?
- It costs nothing and provides the source code - anyone can modify the software for their own purposes.
- It can have many authors - enables programmers to contribute to the development of a program over time, refining and improving it and adding extra features.
What are disadvantages of Open Source Software?
- There is no guarantee that it works properly as there is no requirement for anyone to ensure it is bug free.
- Support might not be readily available, especially if the program is not in widespread use.
What is Proprietary Software?
Proprietary software usually costs. Only the compiled code is released. The licence prevents users from modifying or editing the source code.
What are benefits of Proprietary Software?
- The product should be free of bugs.
- Help can be sought from the organisation who supplied the software if problems occur.
- Feature updates which extend the software’s facilities are often available, although usually at a cost.
What are disadvantages ofPrprietary Software?
- There is an initial or ongoing (subscription) cost.
- Software cannot be adapted to meet the needs of the user.
- It can be limited to a single computer or network, so unless the licence allows it, a user may not redistribute the software.
What is computer surveillance?
Computer surveillance is when someone monitors what other people are accessing on the internet.
Define cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is when someone uses social media to deliberately harm someone else, which might include intimidation, insulting or humiliating someone.
