What is the digital divide?

The digital divide is the gap between people who have good access to digital technology and people who do not. Age, income and location can all widen it.

Why is the digital divide an ethical issue?

People without internet access can miss out on jobs, education, banking and public services. Many services are now mainly online, so the gap can deepen inequality.

How can bias in artificial intelligence be an ethical problem?

An AI system learns from past data, and that data may reflect unfair human decisions. The system can then treat some groups unfairly, for example when screening job applications.

OCR GCSE Computer Science J277

Systems Architecture

Topic overview CPU components and the fetch-execute cycle Factors affecting CPU performance Embedded systems

Memory and Storage

Topic overview RAM, ROM, cache and virtual memory Secondary storage: magnetic, optical and solid state Data units and storage capacity calculations Binary, denary and hexadecimal conversions Binary addition, overflow and binary shifts Character sets, ASCII and Unicode Bitmap images, colour depth and resolution Sound sampling, sample rate and bit depth Lossy and lossless compression

Computer Networks, Connections and Protocols

Topic overview LANs, WANs and network performance Client-server and peer-to-peer networks Network hardware, DNS, hosting and the cloud Star and mesh topologies Wired and wireless connections, IP and MAC addresses Protocols, standards and layers

Network Security

Topic overview Malware, social engineering and brute-force attacks Denial of service, data interception and SQL injection Identifying and preventing vulnerabilities

Systems Software

Topic overview User interfaces, memory management and multitasking Peripheral, user and file management Utility software

Ethical, Legal, Cultural and Environmental Impacts of Digital Technology

Topic overview Ethical and cultural issues in digital technology Environmental impact of digital technology Privacy and digital technology Computer Science legislation and software licences

Algorithms

Topic overview Abstraction, decomposition and algorithmic thinking Flowcharts, pseudocode and structure diagrams Trace tables and correcting algorithms Linear and binary search Bubble, merge and insertion sort

Programming Fundamentals

Topic overview Variables, constants, operators and assignment Sequence, selection and iteration Data types and casting String manipulation and file handling Arrays, records and SQL Functions, procedures and random numbers

Producing Robust Programs

Topic overview Defensive design, input validation and authentication Writing maintainable code Testing, errors and test data

Boolean Logic

Topic overview Logic gates and truth tables Combining gates in logic diagrams

Programming Languages and Integrated Development Environments

Topic overview High-level and low-level languages and translators The integrated development environment (IDE)

Ethical, Legal, Cultural and Environmental Impacts of Digital Technology

4 subtopics
12 things to know
J277/01

What Ethical, Legal, Cultural and Environmental Impacts of Digital Technology covers

Ethical, Legal, Cultural and Environmental Impacts of Digital Technology is examined in J277/01, Computer systems. It covers ethical and cultural issues in digital technology, environmental impact of digital technology, privacy and digital technology and computer Science legislation and software licences.

Where it is assessed

J277/01

Computer systems, 1 hour 30 minutes and 50% of the GCSE.

Check the OCR specification ↗

The 4 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

State four principles that personal data must follow under the Data Protection Act 2018.

Key term

State the three main offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

Key term

What is an ethical issue in computing?

Key term

What environmental issues does digital technology raise?

Key term

What is privacy in computing?

Key term

What is a cultural issue in computing?

Key term

How does making digital devices harm the environment?

Key term

What is personal data?

Key term

Why does automation raise ethical concerns about jobs?

Key term

What is e-waste?

Key term

How do apps and websites collect personal data?

Numbers

What is the purpose of the Data Protection Act 2018?

Take Ethical, Legal, Cultural and Environmental Impacts of Digital Technology further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Open source software vs Proprietary software
Open source software: programs supplied with their code so users may change and share them. Proprietary software: programs whose code stays hidden and whose use is bought under licence.
Computer Misuse Act 1990 vs Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Computer Misuse Act 1990: a law making it a crime to access or alter another person's files or systems without permission. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988: a law stopping original creative work such as software being reproduced without the owner's permission.
Data Protection Act 2018 vs Computer Misuse Act 1990
Data Protection Act 2018: a law setting rules for how organisations collect, store and use personal information. Computer Misuse Act 1990: a law making hacking and unauthorised changes to files a crime.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is an ethical issue in computing?
Model answer
An ethical issue is a question of whether a use of technology is morally right or wrong. The law may allow something that many people still think is wrong.
2
What is a cultural issue in computing?
Model answer
A cultural issue is a change in the way people live, communicate and behave because of technology. Social media has changed how friendships and news work.
3
Why does automation raise ethical concerns about jobs?
Model answer
Robots and software can replace workers in factories, warehouses and offices. Some people lose their jobs, while new jobs appear in designing and maintaining the technology.
4
What is the digital divide?
Model answer
The digital divide is the gap between people who have good access to digital technology and people who do not. Age, income and location can all widen it.
5
Why is the digital divide an ethical issue?
Model answer
People without internet access can miss out on jobs, education, banking and public services. Many services are now mainly online, so the gap can deepen inequality.
6
How can bias in artificial intelligence be an ethical problem?
Model answer
An AI system learns from past data, and that data may reflect unfair human decisions. The system can then treat some groups unfairly, for example when screening job applications.

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Systems Architecture

Memory and Storage

Computer Networks, Connections and Protocols

Network Security

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Ethical, Legal, Cultural and Environmental Impacts of Digital Technology revision questions

What does Ethical, Legal, Cultural and Environmental Impacts of Digital Technology cover in OCR GCSE Computer Science?: 4 subtopics: ethical and cultural issues in digital technology, environmental impact of digital technology, privacy and digital technology and computer science legislation and software licences. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Ethical, Legal, Cultural and Environmental Impacts of Digital Technology organised?: By the OCR J277 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

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