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1 - Theory of Computer Science / Digital Ethics
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Digital Ethics
The discussion of ethics can be a tricky one which often leads to discussion over what is right or wrong. The digital world is a venue that contains many ethical issues. This section aims to give you an insight into these and cover copyright, plagiarism, privacy and your digital footprint.
Ethics Vs the Law
Before we begin to take a look at digital ethics and the law, it would be helpful to understand the difference between the two.
Ethics
Ethics are social guidelines based on morality and principles. An issue or action may not be illegal, however people may consider it to be a bad thing to do.
Law
The law provides a set of rules that must be followed or else a penalty or consequence will be issued.
Ethics
Ethics are social guidelines based on morality and principles. An issue or action may not be illegal, however people may consider it to be a bad thing to do.
Law
The law provides a set of rules that must be followed or else a penalty or consequence will be issued.
Copyright
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Copyright is a law issue
The purpose of the copyright law is to protect the owner of a creative work from having it illegally copied. If you breach copyright law you can be prosecuted by law enforcement. This law applies to all creative work including:
Computer software is classed as a literary work and therefor protected by copyright. |
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How do you know if something is protected by Copyright?
Most Copy-written works will display this symbol next to it - © - This signifies that you are not allowed to use, copy or redistribute this work.
Important note - If a work is missing the © Symbol, it does not mean that it is free to use. As soon as a work is in fixed medium e.g. written down, it is covered by copyright law and you will need permission from the creator to use it.
Breaking Copyright Law
In the UK the copyright law is known as the Copyright Designs and patents act. Most other countries have their own version of the law, however they may differ slightly.
Generally speaking, If you are taking something that somebody else created, without their permission and are using it for financial gain or without paying for it, you are breaking the law.
Generally speaking, If you are taking something that somebody else created, without their permission and are using it for financial gain or without paying for it, you are breaking the law.
Software Piracy
As already mentioned, any created software is protected by copyright law as writing code is a creative literary work.
This means that is is illegal for a person to make a copy of any software (That isn't free) without paying for the copy. This means that you cannot download software illegally, however it also prohibits you from making a copy and giving it to a friend.
A note for developers! - Beware, when creating software you should also note that the way software looks and feels is also protected by copyright. One example of this is that Apple once claimed to own the 'pinch and zoom' function for zooming into images. This means that you cannot copy somebody else software but make a few little changes hoping that they will not notice... you are still breaking the law.
This means that is is illegal for a person to make a copy of any software (That isn't free) without paying for the copy. This means that you cannot download software illegally, however it also prohibits you from making a copy and giving it to a friend.
A note for developers! - Beware, when creating software you should also note that the way software looks and feels is also protected by copyright. One example of this is that Apple once claimed to own the 'pinch and zoom' function for zooming into images. This means that you cannot copy somebody else software but make a few little changes hoping that they will not notice... you are still breaking the law.
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Protecting themselves
Software developers are taking action in two ways to try and combat software piracy:
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Plagiarism
Plagiarism is an Ethics issue
Plagiarism occurs when you copy / take somebody else's work and pretend that it is your own. Plagiarism does not just cover copy and pasting text for a homework assignment, in fact If you copy music, images, words or even ideas and pretend that it was your work, you are committing plagiarism.
Plagiarism is an ethical issue as it is morally wrong to steal other peoples ideas and present them as your own.
The reason that this is often an ethical issue rather than a legal one is the fact that you are not trying to profit from copying another persons work, you are instead using it for personal / educational use. This is covered under 'Fair Use'.
Now even though the law cannot prosecute you for this it does not mean that your school, university, place of work cannot. Detentions and other sanctions can be handed out depending on the seriousness of the offence.
Plagiarism occurs when you copy / take somebody else's work and pretend that it is your own. Plagiarism does not just cover copy and pasting text for a homework assignment, in fact If you copy music, images, words or even ideas and pretend that it was your work, you are committing plagiarism.
Plagiarism is an ethical issue as it is morally wrong to steal other peoples ideas and present them as your own.
The reason that this is often an ethical issue rather than a legal one is the fact that you are not trying to profit from copying another persons work, you are instead using it for personal / educational use. This is covered under 'Fair Use'.
Now even though the law cannot prosecute you for this it does not mean that your school, university, place of work cannot. Detentions and other sanctions can be handed out depending on the seriousness of the offence.
Detection of Plagiarism
Thankfully for many institutions, the detection of plagiarism has been made very easy by computer software.
One simple way for a teacher to detect plagiarism is to simply copy and paste a suspicious portion of work into google. If the search returns a site description with many highlighted words it is easy to spot where it has been copied from.
There are of course more sophisticated software packages out there to help spot plagiarism though. This software will compare a students work with millions of online documents. If any similarity is spotted it will be highlighted and brought to the attention of the user.
One example of this software, popular with universities is Turnitin.
High Profile Plagiarism
In 2016, Fox Sports suspends Kenny Florian for plagiarizing portions of preview article. Click here to read the news story.
Electronic Waste
The term electronic waste refers to old/ broken/ obsolete computer equipment that is discarded, usually replaced with something new.
E-waste is a big problem as electronic items contain many dangerous chemicals and it is often unethically disposed of causing the people of poorer nations to suffer.
E-waste is a big problem as electronic items contain many dangerous chemicals and it is often unethically disposed of causing the people of poorer nations to suffer.
Perspective
In 2007 the US produced 2 million tonnes of E-waste. This is the equivalent of :
In 2007 the US produced 2 million tonnes of E-waste. This is the equivalent of :
44 Titanics
OR
28,571,428 Humans
28,571,428 Humans
The Harmful effects of E-waste?
You may not have given the disposal of old technology a second though, but you should. Unfortunately most tech devices contain a lot of dangerous chemicals including:
You may not have given the disposal of old technology a second though, but you should. Unfortunately most tech devices contain a lot of dangerous chemicals including:
Chemical |
Effect |
Mercury and lead |
Cause Neurological damage, dangerous to unborn children. |
Berylium |
Causes respiratory problems |
Cadmium |
Causes kidney damage and heart/ respiratory problems |
Hexavalent Chromium |
Causes DNA damage, lung damage, kidney/ liver damage |
Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs) |
Cause neurological development problems, skeletal development problems and is a carcinogenic. |
Lead, PVCs and Phthalates |
Cause reproductive problems. |
The damage is caused when old discarded tech is left to rot in land fills. These dangerous chemicals will seep into the ground or flow into the water supply. People will also burn the technology in an attempt to gain access to precious metals (Gold) within, fortunately this released fumes that are inhaled by everyone around.
Please watch these two videos to increase your understanding of the topic.
Please watch these two videos to increase your understanding of the topic.
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