Differentiate between ethics and law.

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ETHICS AND LAW

DEFINITION OF ETHICS
In general, ethics is a moral philosophy where a person makes a specific moral choice and sticks to it. On the other hand, ethics in computing means moral guidelines to refer to when using the computer and computer networks. This includes the Internet.


DEFINITION OF LAW
Law is a legal system comprising of rules and principles that govern the affairs of a community and controlled by a political authority.

Law differs from one country to another. In the era of technology, computer law is needed to clarify goods or actions that fall under the computer law. Computer law refers to all areas in law that requires an understanding of computer technology such as hardware, software and Internet.

Examples of laws of computing in Malaysia include the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Act, the Computer Crime Act 1997 and the Telemedicine Act 1997.

1.2.1.3 State the need for intellectual property laws

WHY DO WE NEED ETHICS AND LAW IN COMPUTING?

• Respecting Ownership
• Respecting Privacy
• Respecting Property

RESPECTING OWNERSHIP
We must respect ownership by not stealing other people’s work either by duplicating or distributing it. Duplicating and distributing copies of audio
tapes, video tapes and computer programs without permission and authorisation from the individual or company that created the program
are immoral and illegal.

RESPECTING PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
We should respect other people's privacy and confidentiality by refraining ourselves from reading their mails or files without their permission. If we do so, it is considered as violating an individual’s rights to privacy and confidentiality.

RESPECTING PROPERTY
Property here means ownership. Since an individual data and information are considered as property, therefore, an act of tampering and changing electronic information is considered as vandalism and disrespect for other people’s property.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN ETHICS AND LAW
Both ethics and law are complimentary to each other and are made:

• to guide user from misusing computers
• to create a healthy computer society, so that computers are used to
contribute to a better life
• to prevent any crime

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ETHICS AND LAWS

ETHICS

GUIDELINE As a guideline to computer users.
MORAL STANDARDS Ethical behaviour is judged by moral standards.
FREE TO FOLLOW Computer users are free to follow or ignore the code of ethics.
NO PUNISHMENTS No punishment for anyone who violates ethics.
UNIVERSALS Universal, can be applied anywhere, all over the world.
PRODUCE ETHICAL
COMPUTER USERS To produce ethical computer users.
IMMORAL Not honouring computer ethics means ignoring the moral elements
(immoral).

LAW

CONTROL As a rule to control computer users.
JUDICIAL STANDARDS Law is judged by judicial standards.
MUST FOLLOW Computer users must follow the regulations and law.
PENALTIES, IMPRISONMENTS
AND OTHER PUNISHMENTS Penalties, imprisonments and other punishments for those
who break the law.
DEPENDS ON COUNTRY Depends on country and state where the crime is
committed.
PREVENT MISUSING OF
COMPUTERS To prevent misuse of computers.
CRIME Not honouring the law means committing a crime.

UNETHICAL VS. LAW BREAKING CONDUCTS

Unethical:

• using the office computer to do personal things
• reading your friend’s e-mail without his or her permission
• plagiarising and using materials from the Internet for your class assignment without giving credit to the original author.

Law breaking:

• sending a computer virus via e-mail
• hacking into your school’s database to change your examination results.
• selling pirated software in a night market


INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

DEFINITION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intellectual Property refers to works created by inventors, authors and artists. These works are unique and have value in the market place. In our daily lives, we are surrounded by things that are protected by IP. Your school bags, your shoes and even your socks are protected by Intellectual Property rights. Nike, Bata or Adidas, for example, are all protected by a group of legal rights.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
Intellectual Property laws cover ideas, inventions, literary creations, unique names, business models, industrial processes, computer program codes and more.

INVENTIONS PROTECTED BY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS
As businesses continue to expand globally, business owners must realise the importance of getting professional advice on how to establish and safeguard their intellectual property rights. These include :

• Trademarks
• Service marks
• Trade/company names
• Domain names
• Geographical indications
• Copyrights
• Patents

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION
There are four types of Intellectual Property protection. They are patents for invention, trademarks for brand identity, designs for product appearance and copyright for material.

• Patents for inventions
• Trademarks for brand identity
• Design for product appearance
• Copyright for material

Patents for inventions
Utility, design or plant patents that protect inventions and improvements to
existing inventions

Trademarks for brand identity
Words, names, symbols, devices and images that represent products, goods or services.

Design for product appearance
Literary and artistic material, music, films, sound recordings and roadcasts,
including software and multimedia.

Copyright for material
The features of, in particular,the lines, contours, colours,shape, texture or material of the product itself or its ornamentation.

THE IMPACT OF ICT ON SOCIETY

FASTER COMMUNICATION SPEED

In the past, it took a long time for any news or messages to be send. Now with the Internet, news or messages are sent via e-mail to friends, business partners or to anyone efficiently. With the capability of bandwidth, broadband and connection speed on the Internet, any information can travel fast and at an instant. It saves time and is inexpensive.

LOWER COMMUNICATION COST

Using the Internet is cost-effective than the other modes of communication such as telephone, mailing or courier service. It allows people to have access to large amounts of data at a very low cost. With the Internet we do not have to pay for any basic services provided by the Internet. Furthermore, the cost of connection to the Internet is relatively cheap.

RELIABLE MODE OF COMMUNICATION

Computers are reliable. With the internet, information could be accessed and retrieved from anywhere and at anytime. This makes it a reliable mode of communication. However, the input to the computer is contributed by humans. If the data passed to the computer is faulty, the result will be faulty as well. This is related to the term GIGO.

GIGO is a short form for Garbage In Garbage Out. It refers to the quality of output produced according to the input. Normally bad input produces bad output.

EFFECTIVE SHARING OF INFORMATION

With the advancement of ICT, information can be shared by people all around the world. People can share and exchange opinions, news and information through discussion groups, mailing list and forums on the Internet. This enable knowledge sharing which will contribute to the development of knowledge based society.

PAPERLESS ENVIRONMENT

ICT technology has created the term paperless environment. This term means information can be stored and retrieved through the digital medium instead of paper. Online communication via emails, online chat and instant messaging also helps in creating the paperless environment.

BORDERLESS COMMUNICATION

Internet offers fast information retrieval, interactivity, accessibility and versatility. It has become a borderless sources for services and information. Through the Internet, information and communication can be borderless.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

There are some negative effects of ICT. It has created social problems in the society. Nowadays, people tend to choose online communication rather than having real time conversations. People tend to become more individualistic and introvert.

Another negative effect of ICT is :

• fraud

• identity theft

• Pornography

• Hacking

This will result a moral decedent and generate threads to the society.

HEALTH PROBLEMS

A computer may harm users if they use it for long hours frequently. Computer users are also exposed to bad posture, eyestrain, physical and mental stress. In order to solve the health problems, an ergonomic environment can be introduced. For example, an ergonomic chair can reduces back strain and a screen filter is used to minimize eye strain.

differences between computerized and non- computerized systems

LESSON 4
COMPUTERISED AND NON-COMPUTERISED SYSTEMS

COMPUTER SYSTEM

A system is an arrangement of elements that when it is put together it becomes an organised and established procedure. A system typically consists of components connected together in order to facilitate the flow of information, matter or energy.

A computer system consists of a set of hardware and software which processes data in a meaningful way.

EDUCATION
• education is the science of teaching and learning of specific skills
• it also imparts knowledge, good judgement and wisdom

BANKING SYSTEM

BANKING BEFORE ICT
• banking was done manually by taking deposits directly
• transactions can only be made during working hours
• takes time to approve any loan applications

BANKING WITH ICT
• all transactions are done by computers
• transaction can be done at anytime and place
• online services, phone banking system, credit cards are available

INDUSTRY

INDUSTRY BEFORE ICT
Production was slow because everything was done manually and totally depended on human labour.

INDUSTRY WITH ICT
Computers and telecommunications industry became very opular and profitable since production can be increased through an all day operation.

COMMERCE

Commerce is an activity of exchanging, buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place.

COMMERCE BEFORE ICT
• Trading was made using the barter system and it was then later developed
into currency.
• Advertisement was in the form of word of mouth, billboards and printed
flyers.
• Trading globally was extremely slow, late and expensive. Traders had to find
ways to market local products in the global market.

COMMERCE WITH ICT
E-commerce plays an important role in the economic scene. It includes distribution, buying, selling and servicing products that are done electronically.

USAGE OF ICT IN DAILY LIFE - E-COMMERCE

E-commerce helps in boosting the economy. It makes buying and selling activities easier, more efficient and faster. For this application, computers, Internet and shared software are needed.

In the e-commerce sector ,customers r, suppliers and employees benefits from the usage of ICT.

1. Customers use computers to be connected online with suppliers to purchase products. This method can save time and cost as they do not have to go to any outlets.

2. Suppliers use computers to keep track of their transactions. All products are bar coded and can be read by the computer scanner to help in determining prices and managing inventory.

3. Employees use computers and telephones to communicate with their customers for any enquiries. The system helps employees to get the latest updates on inventory to be informed to the customers.

USAGE OF ICT IN DAILY - INDUSTRY

Computers are used to facilitate production planning and control systems, to support chain management and to help in product design in the industrial sector In the industrial sector ,workers, researchers and administrator benefits from the usage of ICT.

1. Workers use machines that are connected to computers to operate. In some productions, robots are used to take over jobs that are dangerous to the workers.

2. Researchers use computers to analyze and collect research data for future reference.

3. Administrators use computers to oversee the entire operations in the plant or factory to detect specific errors or defects that occurred in the process.

USAGE OF ICT IN DAILY LIFE - BANKING

The computer is the nerve centre of the banking system around the world. It functions to control the entire banking system that also includes 'Electronic Banking Services'. Electronic banking provides 24 hour services. The services include :

• Automated Teller Machine (ATM)

• Cheque Deposit

• Electronic Fund Tranfer

• Direct Deposit

• Pay by phone system

• Personal computer banking/ internet banking

In the banking sector, customers, businessman and bank administrator benefits from the usage of ICT.

1. Customers can make any transactions at the 24 hour service centres or via online.These services allow them to do transaction at anytime they want.

2. Businessmen can save their time by using the online services offered by banks. They can access company accounts for loan applications, business transactions and update on their cash flow at any time.

3. Bank administrators can oversee the entire banking activities such as reconciliations, inter-branch transactions (IBT), telegraphic 

transfer and others by referring to the banking system.

USAGE OF ICT IN DAILY LIFE - EDUCATION

Today, most schools and higher educational institutions have computers in the classroom for teacher and students. In education, teachers, students, researchers and school administrators benefits from the usage of ICT.

1. Teachers use computers to research for teaching materials, participate in online forums and online conferences as well as to aid their teaching.

2. Students use the computers as a reference tool. They use computers to browse the Internet to look for information.

3. School administrators use computers for administrative purposes to make sure that the entire operation runs smoothly.

Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond) Artificial Intelligence

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come. The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as “the study and design of intelligent agents” where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chances of success. John McCarthy, who coined the term in 1956, defines it as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines.”

The field was founded on the claim that a central property of humans, intelligence—the sapience of Homo sapiens—can be so precisely described that it can be simulated by a machine. This raises philosophical issues about the nature of the mind and the ethics of creating artificial beings, issues which have been addressed by myth, fiction and philosophy since antiquity. Artificial intelligence has been the subject of optimism, but has also suffered setbacks and, today, has become an essential part of the technology industry, providing the heavy lifting for many of the most difficult problems in computer science.

AI research is highly technical and specialized, deeply divided into subfields that often fail to communicate with each other. Subfields have grown up around particular institutions, the work of individual researchers, the solution of specific problems, longstanding differences of opinion about how AI should be done and the application of widely differing tools. The central problems of AI include such traits as reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, communication, perception and the ability to move and manipulate objects. General intelligence (or “strong AI”) is still among the field’s long term goals.

Fourth Generation (1971-Present) Microprocessors

The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the components of the computer—from the central processing unit and memory to input/output controls—on a single chip.

In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors.

As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.

Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated Circuits

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers.

Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run many different applications at one time with a central program that monitored the memory. Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.

Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 1950s. The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.

Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level programming languages were also being developed at this time, such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN. These were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.

The first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry.

First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes

The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.

First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language understood by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts.

The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951.

Evolution Of Computers

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