Sunday, 10 June 2012
The Ethical Impacts of ICT: Privacy of Information
Introduction
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing the ethical impacts of ICT: privacy and information. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
What Sort of Information the DPA Keeps and what this Information is Used for
The DPA includes different pieces of information about people, such as:
Your beliefs (e.g. religion)
Your health (e.g. medical records)
Your money (e.g. bank balance)
Your education (e.g. exam results)
Your behaviour (e.g. speeding fine)
Your work (e.g. employment records)
An example of why the DPA may keep your beliefs is in a Catholic school, who only employ Catholic teachers, they may wish to know a particular new teacher's beliefs.
They may also want to know that teacher's behaviour, and if that teacher has had any previous criminal convictions, then the police force would be informed about this.
Another thing the school may want to know about the new teacher is their employment records, to see how much experience they have had in the past, and what kind of other jobs they have had.
Health is another thing which the school may want to know, as if the teacher has any health issues, then the school would need to be informed about this immediately in case of any emergencies in the future.
Finally, they may want to know about your education, to see whether the teacher is clever enough to teach a class of students.
The Ethical Impacts of ICT: Global Implications
Introduction
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing the ethical impacts of ICT: global implications. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
What is the Digital Device
Not everyone has the equal amount of access to the internet. This is called the 'Digital Divide'.
People in less developed countries are affected by the digital divide for many reasons, such as:
Money - technology and access to it is not free
Language - the majority (or at least a large part) of the internet is written in English
Literacy - most of the internet includes text
Age - older people find it harder to use new technology
Physical - many people have physical disabilities which makes using the internet a lot harder for them than it should be, and is for most people.
How Does it Affect People in Developing Countries
People who live in developing countries are undoubtedly affected by the digital divide.
One of the ways how these people are affected by the digital divide is their education. ICT is a huge part of education nowadays, as a lot of people who study various subjects at school, university or college use ICT to complete different pieces of homework, research, coursework and a lot more. Therefore, if people in less developed countries don't have access to the internet and ICT, then they will fall behind a lot in terms of their education.
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing the ethical impacts of ICT: global implications. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
What is the Digital Device
Not everyone has the equal amount of access to the internet. This is called the 'Digital Divide'. People in less developed countries are affected by the digital divide for many reasons, such as:
Money - technology and access to it is not free
Language - the majority (or at least a large part) of the internet is written in English
Literacy - most of the internet includes text
Age - older people find it harder to use new technology
Physical - many people have physical disabilities which makes using the internet a lot harder for them than it should be, and is for most people.
How Does it Affect People in Developing Countries
People who live in developing countries are undoubtedly affected by the digital divide. One of the ways how these people are affected by the digital divide is their education. ICT is a huge part of education nowadays, as a lot of people who study various subjects at school, university or college use ICT to complete different pieces of homework, research, coursework and a lot more. Therefore, if people in less developed countries don't have access to the internet and ICT, then they will fall behind a lot in terms of their education.
The Ethical Imapcts of ICT: Unequal Access
Introduction:
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing the ethical impacts of ICT: unequal access. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
Older People
Firstly, I will talk about how older people are affected by unequal access. Many more older people these days are working in jobs which involve ICT, whether it would be at home or in an office. If an older person has a job which involves ICT, then they may need to have access to things such as fast internet speed and computer's with a high memory. However, these things may cost a lot of money which a lot of people may not have, and this means that the people who need certain things will not be able to have them. This leads to them not being able to do their jobs properly and as quickly as they would like to.
Students
Next, students. Almost every student nowadays requires access to software such as Microsoft Word and Power Point to complete various pieces of work. Students usually have access to these different pieces of software in school or university etc, but this may not be the case at home, and this is because of the cost of the software. To have access to the software, you need to buy Microsoft Office which isn't cheap. Because of the cost of it, students may not be able to purchase this software, and therefore will not be able to complete their work anywhere other than school, which may be bad for them if they have a large assignment to do which has been for homework.
Less Affluent Families
Finally, less affluent families. Nowadays, ICT equipment and software etc. costs a lot of money, especially the more advanced pieces of technology and software. Therefore, if a member of the family needs a computer to do work or research for either work or school, then they will need to purchase one, which may cost a lot of money which the less affluent family doesn't have. Therefore, this means that they cannot do their work or research for work or school, which could lead to further problems such as lack of education and being sacked from work.
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing the ethical impacts of ICT: unequal access. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
Older People
Firstly, I will talk about how older people are affected by unequal access. Many more older people these days are working in jobs which involve ICT, whether it would be at home or in an office. If an older person has a job which involves ICT, then they may need to have access to things such as fast internet speed and computer's with a high memory. However, these things may cost a lot of money which a lot of people may not have, and this means that the people who need certain things will not be able to have them. This leads to them not being able to do their jobs properly and as quickly as they would like to.Students
Next, students. Almost every student nowadays requires access to software such as Microsoft Word and Power Point to complete various pieces of work. Students usually have access to these different pieces of software in school or university etc, but this may not be the case at home, and this is because of the cost of the software. To have access to the software, you need to buy Microsoft Office which isn't cheap. Because of the cost of it, students may not be able to purchase this software, and therefore will not be able to complete their work anywhere other than school, which may be bad for them if they have a large assignment to do which has been for homework.
Less Affluent Families
Finally, less affluent families. Nowadays, ICT equipment and software etc. costs a lot of money, especially the more advanced pieces of technology and software. Therefore, if a member of the family needs a computer to do work or research for either work or school, then they will need to purchase one, which may cost a lot of money which the less affluent family doesn't have. Therefore, this means that they cannot do their work or research for work or school, which could lead to further problems such as lack of education and being sacked from work.
The Legal Impacts of ICT: Copyright Designs and Patent Act
Introduction
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing the legal impacts of ICT: copyright designs and Patent Act. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
The Act and what it Stands for
The Copyright designs and Patent Act was introduced in 1988 to protect the time, effort and money by the people who create original pieces of work.
This can apply to people such as composers of music, authors of books, the makers of a film, a computer game designer or a company who create applications such as word processing software.
All of these people put a lot of time, money and effort into all of the work in which they produce, and luckily and quite rightly for them, their work belongs to them.
Copyright and ICT
The act protects a lot of work, no matter whether it is computer based or written work.
Some examples of how someone can breach copyright in ICT are:
Copying software
Copying or illegally downloading music
Copying photographs or images from the internet
Copying pieces of writing from the internet and using them in your own pieces of work or posting it onto your own website and pretending that it is all your own work.
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing the legal impacts of ICT: copyright designs and Patent Act. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
The Act and what it Stands for
The Copyright designs and Patent Act was introduced in 1988 to protect the time, effort and money by the people who create original pieces of work. This can apply to people such as composers of music, authors of books, the makers of a film, a computer game designer or a company who create applications such as word processing software.
All of these people put a lot of time, money and effort into all of the work in which they produce, and luckily and quite rightly for them, their work belongs to them.
Copyright and ICT
The act protects a lot of work, no matter whether it is computer based or written work. Some examples of how someone can breach copyright in ICT are:
Copying software
Copying or illegally downloading music
Copying photographs or images from the internet
Copying pieces of writing from the internet and using them in your own pieces of work or posting it onto your own website and pretending that it is all your own work.
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
The Legal Impacts of ICT: Data Protection Act
Introduction
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing the legal impacts of ICT: Data Protection Act. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
The 8 Principles of the DPA
There are 8 principles in total of the Data Protection Act.
1. Principal: Personal data should be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully.
Meaning: This means that you should be told about data that is being collected about you and should be asked for your permission to collect it.
You should also be made aware of the reason why the data will be collected and what it will be used for.
2. Principle: Personal data can be held only for specified and lawful purposes.
Meaning: The Data Controller has to state why they want to collect and store information when they apply for permission to be able to do so. If they are using the data they have collected for other purposes, they are breaking the law.
3. Principle: Personal data should be adequate, relevant and excessive for the required purpose.
Meaning: Organisations should only collect the data that they need and no more. Your school only needs to know your parent's phone number in case they need to contact them in case of an emergency. However, they do not need to know what your Grandmother's name is, as is the same in terms of them not needing to know your eye colour. They should not ask, and they should not store these details as this would be excessive and would not be required to help you with your education.
4. Principle: Personal data should be kept accurate and up-to-date.
Meaning: Companies should do their best to make sure that they do not record the wrong facts about a data subject. Your school probably asks your parents to check a form once a year to make sure that the phone and address on the school system is still correct. If a person asks for the information to be changed, the company should comply if it can be proved that the information is indeed incorrect.
5. Principle: Personal data should not be kept for longer than is necessary.
Meaning: Organisations should keep data for a reasonable length of time. Hospitals may need to keep patient information for 25 years or more, that is acceptable as they may need the information to treat a particular illness later on. However, there is no need to keep a personnel department to keep the application forms of unsuccessful job applicants.
6. Principal: Data must be processed in accordance with the rights of the data subject.
Meaning: People have a right to inspect the information help on them. If the data being held on them is incorrect, they have the right to have it changed.
7. Principal: Appropriate security measures must be taken against unauthorised access.
Meaning: This means information has to be kept safe from hackers and employees who don't have rights to see it. Data must also be safeguarded against accidental loss.
8. Principal: Personal data cannot be transferred to countries outside the E.U. unless the country has similar legislation to the D.P.A.
Meaning: This means that if a company wishes to share data with an organisation with a different country, that country must have similar laws to our Data Protection Act in place.
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing the legal impacts of ICT: Data Protection Act. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
The 8 Principles of the DPA
There are 8 principles in total of the Data Protection Act.
1. Principal: Personal data should be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully.
Meaning: This means that you should be told about data that is being collected about you and should be asked for your permission to collect it.
You should also be made aware of the reason why the data will be collected and what it will be used for.
2. Principle: Personal data can be held only for specified and lawful purposes.
Meaning: The Data Controller has to state why they want to collect and store information when they apply for permission to be able to do so. If they are using the data they have collected for other purposes, they are breaking the law.
3. Principle: Personal data should be adequate, relevant and excessive for the required purpose.
Meaning: Organisations should only collect the data that they need and no more. Your school only needs to know your parent's phone number in case they need to contact them in case of an emergency. However, they do not need to know what your Grandmother's name is, as is the same in terms of them not needing to know your eye colour. They should not ask, and they should not store these details as this would be excessive and would not be required to help you with your education.
4. Principle: Personal data should be kept accurate and up-to-date.
Meaning: Companies should do their best to make sure that they do not record the wrong facts about a data subject. Your school probably asks your parents to check a form once a year to make sure that the phone and address on the school system is still correct. If a person asks for the information to be changed, the company should comply if it can be proved that the information is indeed incorrect.
5. Principle: Personal data should not be kept for longer than is necessary.
Meaning: Organisations should keep data for a reasonable length of time. Hospitals may need to keep patient information for 25 years or more, that is acceptable as they may need the information to treat a particular illness later on. However, there is no need to keep a personnel department to keep the application forms of unsuccessful job applicants.
6. Principal: Data must be processed in accordance with the rights of the data subject.
Meaning: People have a right to inspect the information help on them. If the data being held on them is incorrect, they have the right to have it changed.
7. Principal: Appropriate security measures must be taken against unauthorised access.
Meaning: This means information has to be kept safe from hackers and employees who don't have rights to see it. Data must also be safeguarded against accidental loss.
8. Principal: Personal data cannot be transferred to countries outside the E.U. unless the country has similar legislation to the D.P.A.
Meaning: This means that if a company wishes to share data with an organisation with a different country, that country must have similar laws to our Data Protection Act in place.
The Economic Impacts of ICT: Sustainability
Introduction
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing the economical impacts of ICT: sustainability. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
Use of Electricity
The use of electricity in ICT has had a huge economical impact on modern society over the years. The sheer amount of electricity that is needed to power up the millions of computers around the world is ridiculous.
When electricity is used, it produces greenhouse gases because of the way it is generated. Therefore, the less electricity used, the better it will be for the environment. It is also cheaper for all of the companies and houses who are paying for all of that energy.
To help out at home, you can use the 'sleep mode' option on your computer which pretty much shuts it down when it is not currently in use. An alternative to this is to just switch it off.
Recycling
Over a million tonnes of ICT equipment are supposedly thrown away each year, and this is growing by around 80,000 tonnes each year.
The best way possible to recycle an old mobile phone, computer or any other piece of technological equipment is to simply give it to someone else for them to use it.
Over the years, a number of schemes have been made that will re-distribute the items that you wish to donate for other people to use instead of you. Some of these are commercial companies, where as others are charities.
Climate Change
As time has gone by, many more people have became increasingly concerned over our environment and climate change.
An example of this is the fact that we have scientific satellites orbiting the earth, looking down and measuring many different things, such as the state of polar ice over time, the flow of ocean currents, the alarming growth of deserts and a lot more.
The reason why all of this monitoring is taking place is because it may make the nations agree on the best way forward.
WEEE Directive
To encourage further recycling around the world, there is an EU directive called WEEE - Waste Electrical and Economical Equipment. It places an obligation on and stresses to an organisation such as a school or a hospital to recycle their old equipment.
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing the economical impacts of ICT: sustainability. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
Use of Electricity
The use of electricity in ICT has had a huge economical impact on modern society over the years. The sheer amount of electricity that is needed to power up the millions of computers around the world is ridiculous. When electricity is used, it produces greenhouse gases because of the way it is generated. Therefore, the less electricity used, the better it will be for the environment. It is also cheaper for all of the companies and houses who are paying for all of that energy.
To help out at home, you can use the 'sleep mode' option on your computer which pretty much shuts it down when it is not currently in use. An alternative to this is to just switch it off.
Recycling
Over a million tonnes of ICT equipment are supposedly thrown away each year, and this is growing by around 80,000 tonnes each year.The best way possible to recycle an old mobile phone, computer or any other piece of technological equipment is to simply give it to someone else for them to use it.
Over the years, a number of schemes have been made that will re-distribute the items that you wish to donate for other people to use instead of you. Some of these are commercial companies, where as others are charities.
Climate Change
As time has gone by, many more people have became increasingly concerned over our environment and climate change.
The reason why all of this monitoring is taking place is because it may make the nations agree on the best way forward.
WEEE Directive
To encourage further recycling around the world, there is an EU directive called WEEE - Waste Electrical and Economical Equipment. It places an obligation on and stresses to an organisation such as a school or a hospital to recycle their old equipment.
The Social Impacts of ICT: Affects of ICT on Local Communities
Introduction
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing one of the social impacts of ICT - affects of ICT on local communities. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
Positive Affects on Local Communities
Hi, I'm Luca and I am a student in year 10 at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton, Liverpool. One of the subjects I am currently studying at school is ICT, and I am going to share my knowledge and understanding of this subject with everyone in a series of blogs. In this particular blog, I will be discussing one of the social impacts of ICT - affects of ICT on local communities. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and come away learning something new which you can hopefully pass on to someone else.
Positive Affects on Local Communities
A positive impact ICT has had on local communities is that the communities have access to a lot more local information that is likely to be up-to-date then they originally did and they may also be a lot more likely to become more involved in local issues. Therefore, the communities will be able to keep on top of everything that they need to in and around the community.
Another example of a positive affect on local communities is the fact that social networking sites can put advertisements for local companies on their websites. This would make people a lot more aware of who that company are and what they stand for etc.
Negative Affects on Local Communities
Local businesses such as printed publications and newsletters etc may go out of business because computers and other various technology will do this job instead.
Local businesses such as shops will also suffer because most of the retail nowadays is online. This means that the people who run the stores will become out of business which could lead to worse things such as that person having no money or job etc. This may also affect the people who like to have a walk round and look in these shops such as elderly people. If the shops go, the fun which they have looking in these shops will be over.
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