GCSE OCR Computer Science - Ethical, legal, cultural and environmental impacts of digital technology

Cultural issues

Relates to society and how different parts of the world vary in their usage of technology.

Ethical issues

Relates to what is right and wrong, but in a moral sense rather than legal.

Legal issues

Relates to what is right or wrong in the eyes of the law.

Envrionmental issues

Relates to our impact on the natural world

Examples of cultural issues

• The digital divide

• The changing nature of employment

The digital divide

The gap between those who have access to modern technology and those who have limited access.

What three areas can the digital divide be seen in?

• Rural and urban areas

• Old and young people

• Developed and developing areas

What are the 4 international benefits of digital technologies?

• Boosted growth

• Increased opportunities

• Better communication

• Improved product delivery

What are 3 ways that technology has changed the nature of employment?

• Employees can work from home

• Tech based jobs have been moved abroad where costs are cheaper

• Low-skilled work has become automated

Erosion of Privacy

The gradual reduction in an individual’s ability to control personal data due to use of technology.

What are the causes of erosion of privacy?

• Companies/websites collect personal data

• Sharing on social media

• Surveillance

• Data breaches and hacking

What are the 2 issues with privacy agreements for websites and software?

• Few people actually read the agreements

• Users have no choice but to agree to use the website/software

Internet censorship

Controlling what people can access on the internet.

What 2 things may governments censor on the internet?

• Access to pornography, gambling and other inappropriate sites

• Access to websites critical to the government

Computer surveillance

Monitoring what people access on the internet.

What are the 2 ways countries may use surveillance?

• Monitor internet traffic by looking for certain key words or phrases

• Internet Service Providers (ISPs) may keep record of websites visited by customers

How can technology make employees feel like they can never switch off from work?

Smartphones mean that employees can always be contacted, resulting in work intruding on other areas of their lives.

How can technology affect our social lives?

As we socialise more online, face-to-face social interaction can be neglected.

How can technology increase peer pressure?

It can make children feel pressure to have the latest technology out of fear of being bullied by their peers.

Cyberbullying

Using social media to deliberately harm another person.

Trolling

Posting comments online to deliberately provoke an emotional reaction or an argument.

What are the 3 ways technology can affect our health?

• Eyestrain from looking at a screen for too long

• Repetitive strain injury - damaging parts of the body as a result of repeated movement

• Back problems from poor posture

How do companies pressure people to buy new technology?

By regularly releasing new technology and promoting it using advertisement.

What is the problem with extracting raw materials for electronic devices?

The extraction uses lots of energy, creates pollution and depleted scarce natural resource.

What’s the problem with consuming energy in the form of electricity?

Most electricity is generated using non-renewable resources, causing lots of pollution including greenhouse gases.

What are 3 ways we can reduce the amount of energy wasted by devices?

• Using virtual servers (software-based servers) on physical servers

• Sleep and hibernation mode reduce power consumption when idle

• Don’t leave devices on standby

E-waste

Discarded electronic devices

What 2 problems can e-waste lead to?

• Land, water and air pollution due to harmful materials leaking into the environment.

• Harming wildlife due to toxic chemicals leaking into groundwater

How are device manufacturers contributing to e-waste?

• They have short warranties

• It’s cheaper to replace than repair devices

• Marketing convinces people to upgrade

How is the Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive tackling e-waste?

By enforcing rules for disposing waste properly, enforcing reuse and recycling of devices.

The Data Protection Act 2018

Protects the data of individuals that is stored on computers and processed by organisations.

6 principles of the data protection act

• Data should be kept safe and secure

• Data must only be used in a fair, lawful and transparent way

• Data must only be used for the specified purpose

• Data should be adequate, relevant and not excessive for the specified use

• Data must be accurate and kept up to date

• Data should not be kept longer than is necessary

Copyright, designs and patents act 1988

Protects intellectual property.

Copyright

Covers actual written or recorded content.

Patents

Cover new inventions (ideas and concepts)

Why has the internet made it harder to protect copyrighted content? (2)

It’s difficult to trace stolen work once it’s uploaded to the internet and it’s easy to share.

The computer misuse act 1990

Stops and punishes those who use computers inappropriately

What are the three main principles of the computer misuse act?

• No unauthorised access to data

• No unauthorised access to data that could be used for further illegal activities

• No unauthorised modification of data

Open source software

Software that’s source code is freely available, allowing users to view and modify it.

Advantages of open source software

• Usually free

• Made for greater good rather than profit

• Users can work together to improve the product

• Reliable and secure - problems are quickly solved by the community

Disadvantages of open source software

• Security risks - users may add malicious code

• Smaller projects may not be regularly updated so could be buggy

• No warranties if something goes wrong

• No customer support

• Allows competitors to see source code

Proprietary software

Software where only the compiled code is released, and source code is protected.

Advantages of proprietary software

• Comes with warranties, documentation and customer support

• Well-tested and reliable

• Company can be held accountable

Disadvantages of proprietary software

• Expensive

• May not fit a user’s specific needs

• Older software may not be maintained