Chapter 12: Legal, Ethical, Health, and Environmental Issues in Computing - PowerPoint Presentation

Chapter 12: Legal, Ethical, Health, and Environmental Issues in Computing

Chapter 12: Legal, Ethical, Health, and Environmental Issues in Computing Learning Objectives: Be aware of the legal issues that arise from using computers and the Internet Understand how to use the Internet in an ethical manner Understand the potential impact on health when using a computer Be aware of what to consider when disposing of a computer

Intellectual Property (IP) IP grants people exclusive rights to content they have created This can be applied to tangible products such as books or ideas that have been documents such as patents, artistic work and music. Copyrighted creative works Books Music Videos Photographs Patented ideas and plans Blueprints Design drawings Products Trademarks

Copyright Laws Legal protection that gives the creator of a work exclusive rights to its use and distribution for a limited time period Length varies by country; may be creator’s lifetime plus 50 years, for example Copyright symbol © indicates ownership Internet sharing violates copyrights frequently

Digital Rights Management The use of technology to control access to copyrighted material. Helps to prevent illegal downloads by requiring access verifications. DRM protection often uses username and password stored in a database. Some oppose DRM because legal users can not make personal copies and offer some to friends.

Methods of DRM Restricting ability to acquire the content Example: You can only download a file after paying for it Restricting the playback or viewing of the content Example: You can only play back a rented digital movie for a certain number of days Restricting access to sharing the content once it has been acquired Example: You cannot print or copy text from a protected PDF version of a book Restricting access to saving the content in other formats Example: You cannot burn a DVD of a downloaded movie

End User License Agreement Licensing is specified by the End User License Agreement (EULA) You might have to agree to EULA to install the software

End User License Agreement EULA grants the right to use the software, not ownership of it You may be required to pay an annual fee (subscription-based license) You may be restricted as to the number of copies you can install

Product Activation Activation prevents users from installing more copies than they are entitled to It locks the installation key code of that copy to the hardware on the PC, and registers the combination online

Proprietary Software The manufacturer or vendor retains ownership The source code is kept private Users are not permitted to make changes to the application Examples: Most software you buy in retail stores Most software you pay to download online

Open-Source Software The open software movement is about promoting freedoms and removing license restrictions. Free to use on any number of PCs General Public License (GPL) Source code is available to developers Users may make changes to the application

Software Piracy Counterfeit software: Unauthorized copies being distributed Corporate piracy: Companies using more copies than they have paid for Unbundling packages: Software that comes in a bundle or with a new PC being resold Internet piracy: Copyrighted software illegally downloaded

Plagiarism What is plagiarism? Copying work produced by someone else word for word and presenting it as your own Inserting portions of someone else’s work into your own and claiming full credit Changing a few words and phrases of a piece of work so it looks different but is based on someone else’s work Taking material from multiple sources and putting it all together as your own work Avoiding plagiarism Acknowledge sources Use footnotes or endnotes Include citations and a bibliography

Censorship and Filtering Censorship : The act of suppressing speech or expression Protection of children from adult content Limits on information provided (e.g. libraries filtering adult content or social networking sites) Government and military security Public image of corporations Web filtering A proxy server intercepts each web page request and allows or denies it based on lists or content detection

Personal Speech Flaming : interacting negatively and abusively online, such as posting personal insults This happens in sites like Youtube which gives options for comments. Libel : Putting a false and defamatory statement in writing. In many countries, individuals and organizations can take legal actions against this. Slander : Speaking a false and defamatory statement verbally.

Junk Mail Spam (junk mail): Unwanted bulk-delivered emails Spammers use mailing lists to send mail Email software can filter or block spam (but not always perfectly)

Combatting Eyestrain Regular eye examinations Wear your corrective eyewear Position the monitor 20 to 40 inches (50 to 100 centimeters) from your face Use incandescent rather than fluorescent lighting in your work area Position the monitor so bright light does not shine directly on it Use a flat-screen LCD instead of a CRT monitor Take frequent breaks Use a large screen

Posture for Computer Use The lower back is supported by the shape of the chair. The head is up and level. The upper arms are relaxed. The forearms are at a right angle with the upper arms. The wrists are in a straight line with the hands and forearms. The knees are level with the hips and the thighs are horizontal. The feet are flat on the floor (or resting on a platform or footrest).

Posture Examples Wrong Right

Chair and Desk Positions Adjust chair and desk height in order to: Make parallel lines Thighs and forearms parallel to the floor Feet flat on the floor Make perpendicular lines Spine straight up Upper arms and calves perpendicular to the floor

Ergonomic Input Devices

Environmental Issues in Computer Disposal Computers should not be disposed of with regular trash Computer in a landfill can cause heavy metals and poisons such as arsenic to leach into the soil Incinerating a computer can release mercury and cadmium into the air Many governments have regulations about computer disposal Many cities and states have computer recycling programs

Uses for an Older Computer Sell it Give it away Possible tax deduction Assign it a new role Try a different OS, such as Linux Set it up as a music server for your family Keep it as a spare You can use it when there is a problem with your computer. Assign it a new role You can use another operating system to speed up the computer and use it.

Tips for Old Components Hard drive: Wipe the data, and then reuse in another computer if possible Memory: Reuse if possible; donate to a charitable organization that recycles computers Keyboard and mouse: Keep as spares CRT Monitor: Dispose of through recycling program LCD: Keep as a spare, or connect as a secondary display Removable components: Remove and save for another computer, or recycle

Key Terms censorship citation copyright digital rights management (DRM) End User License Agreement (EULA) filtering flaming footnote General Public License (GPL) intellectual property libel open-source software paraphrase plagiarism posture proprietary software proxy server slander software piracy spam

Summary 1 . What non-technical issues must be considered when using computers and the Internet? 2 . How is software protected from illegal copying and piracy? 3 . What steps must Internet users take to behave ethically when it comes to using work that has been published by others? 4 . In what ways can using computers be bad for your health? 5 . What steps must be taken to ensure that computers are disposed of properly?