The syllabus contains all the material needed to unserstand the course. The important pafges are included here.
Section 1: social and ethical issues
The widespread use of IT raises questions about social and ethical issues that shape the world today. Students should become familiar with all the social and ethical issues described in this section. Teachers should introduce the social and ethical issues as appropriate using the integrated approach illustrated in the diagram at the beginning of the syllabus details. In this way students can examine social and ethical issues that are raised when IT systems are used in a range of areas. The use of IT is likely to bring both advantages and disadvantages, both costs and benefits, and students should study the impact of IT in a critical way. It is important that examples are drawn from the local, national and global level.
1.1 Reliability
Reliability refers to the operation of hardware, the design of software, the accuracy of data or the correspondence of data with the real world. Data may be unreliable if it is entered incorrectly or if it becomes outdated. For example, a medical record that becomes dissociated from the patient it refers to becomes unreliable. The reliability of machines, software and data determines our confidence in their value.
1.2 Integrity
Integrity refers to correspondence of data with itself, at its creation. Data lacks integrity when it has been changed accidentally or tampered with. For example, a hacker might change driver licence data resulting in arrests of innocent people.
1.3 Security
Security refers to the protection of hardware, software, machines and networks from unauthorized access, alteration or destruction. Security measures include restricted access to machines and networks and encryption of information. The degree of security of information systems determines society’s confidence in the information contained in the systems.
1.4 Privacy and anonymity
Privacy is the ability of individuals and groups to determine for themselves when, how and to what extent information about themselves is shared with others. At its extreme, privacy becomes anonymity, which might be called for in some contexts but is dangerous in others. For example, discussion of a delicate subject might require anonymity, or at least privacy. On the other hand, anonymity could also conceal the perpetrators of criminal, terrorist or computer hacking acts.
1.5 Authenticity
Authenticity means establishing the user’s identity beyond reasonable doubt. Authenticating the user is crucial in many situations, particularly in business and legal matters. A simple example of authentication is user login onto a network. A more advanced example would be the use of encrypted digital signatures in a business transaction.
1.6 Intellectual property
Intellectual property includes ideas, discoveries, writings, works of art, software, collections and presentations of data. Copyrights, trademarks and patents legally protect intellectual property, but easy and accurate duplication methods made available by IT can undermine such protections. On the other hand, the same methods create opportunity for inexpensive dissemination of information.
1.7 Equality of access
IT has the potential to offer universal access to information, regardless of distance, age, race, gender or other personal characteristics. However, the above characteristics, and cost, can also bar individuals or groups from access. For example, while telelearning brings previously unavailable opportunities to everyone’s doorstep, the cost of hardware, software or course fees might place the learning beyond the reach of an average person.
1.8 Control
As an instrument of control, IT improves reliability, accuracy and speed of systems. However, it can also be used to control people. An automatic aircraft landing system provides an example of increased reliability resulting from IT control. Employer surveillance of employees represents a new kind of control imposed on people.
1.9 Globalization and cultural diversity
Globalization means the diminishing importance of geographic, political, economic and cultural boundaries. IT has played a major role in reducing these boundaries. For example, any dramatic event anywhere in the world can be broadcast almost instantly by television or on the Internet. However, there is a fear that easier communication can become a source of cultural homogeneity. The new global village provides a worldwide cultural awareness, but may lead to less diversity.
1.10 Policies and standards
Policies are enforceable measures intended to promote appropriate use. They can be developed by governments, businesses, and private groups or individuals. They normally consist of rules governing access to, or use of, information, hardware and software. For example, a national policy on IT security would need to define what constitutes unlawful access to networks and how to treat transgression. Policies also affect the exchange of information, for example, by making it subject to copyright laws. In general, policies can promote or restrict access, modify behaviour or require the fulfillment of certain conditions prior to or during use.
Standards are social or technical rules and conventions that enable compatibility and therefore facilitate communication or interoperability between different IT systems and their components. They might govern the design and use of hardware, software and information. For example, communication protocols used on the Internet, the ASCII representation for characters, or the design of the printer port on a personal computer are all governed by standards.
1.11 People and machines
The interaction of humans with IT hardware raises all the issues encountered in this section, as well as additional ones such as the following.
• Who controls the design of technology and the pace of its introduction?
• How safe and effective is the design?
• Is technology going to extend human faculties and make work easier and more pleasant, or are machines going to displace humans and lead to mass unemployment?
• Is technology used appropriately, or should a better, possibly non-technological alternative be found?
• Which areas of human endeavour are best served by IT systems?
• Which social and ethical issues arise from a comparison of people and machines in the following areas: stamina, memory, accuracy, speed, analysis, synthesis, judgment, innovation, creativity?
Section 2: IT systems in a social context
In this section neither the social and ethical issues nor the technological concepts listed under knowledge of technology are exhaustive nor is the study of all of them compulsory. They are given as examples only.
Teachers should make a judgment on the level of detail and depth of study that is required to enable students to understand the social and ethical issues that arise in the areas of impact because of the use of information technology.
New technological developments during the lifetime of this syllabus will raise new social and ethical issues that will affect the areas of impact. Teachers should introduce these technological developments and related issues into the course as appropriate, using the integrated approach illustrated in the diagram at the beginning of the syllabus details.
2.1 Basics: hardware and networks
2.1.1 Systems fundamentals
Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of IT systems. These may include:
• the economic value of information
• environmental issues related to the production of computer components and supplies
• environmental issues related to the disposal of obsolete hardware and computer supplies
• health issues and ergonomics related to the use of hardware
• password protection, security, biometrics and authorized access
• issues related to viruses on both stand-alone and network systems
• greater dependence of organizations on IT
• increase in teleworking and the virtual office
• the need for ongoing training and retraining
• the economic and psychological implications of planned IT obsolescence in hardware, software and services, which has been forced on consumers by the IT industry
• organizational policies and standards, for example, e-mail, surveillance and monitoring policies.
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2006 13
Syllabus details
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of IT systems, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:
• key terms—data, information, hardware components, for example, input devices, output devices, processing, storage, memory (RAM, ROM), MHz, dpi, bit, KB, MB, GB, TB, ASCII, compatibility, OCR, OMR, bar code, baud, verification and validation, encryption/decryption, firewall, virus, Trojan horse, worm, logic bomb, platform, peripheral
• use, advantages and disadvantages of analogue and digital data
• operating systems (multitasking, boot) and utilities, for example, defragment, disk format, virus scan programs
• responsible computer use (for example, regular back-ups, virus checking, security, storage, housekeeping)
• a responsible and systematic approach to implementing or upgrading IT systems, for example, analysis, design, implementation, testing, evaluation, training, policies and standards.
2.1.2 Networks
Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of networks. These may include:
• vulnerability of networks to intrusion
• ability to implement different levels of access
• implications of network failure, for example, banks, transportation, hospitals, schools
• implications of collaboration, groupware and data sharing
• threat of compromising data integrity in shared databases
• additional threats to privacy on a network compared with stand-alone computers
• the need to authenticate information
• intellectual property protection on networks, for example, site licences, file access
• equality of access for different groups and individuals
• ability to monitor users (surveillance); concerns of people regarding monitoring
• ability to filter incoming data
• ability to control personal, business, military, government operations over a wide geographical area
• increased globalization, for example, EFT, EDI, e-commerce
• need for interface standards
• need for network use policy.
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of networks the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:
• key terms—LAN, WAN, client, server, Ethernet, access, access permissions, login, password, firewall, sysadmin, UPS, EDI
• types of intrusion, for example, viruses, hacking, phreaking
• security measures
• network types, for example, Intranet, Internet, VPN
• encryption and SSL
• e-commerce.
2.2 Applications
2.2.1 Software fundamentals
Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of software. These may include:
• bug-free software
• software piracy
• interfaces adapted for the disabled
• language independence of GUIs, making computers accessible to a very wide range of users, including those with special needs, and very small children
• use of password protection to prevent unauthorized access
• globalization of software.
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of software, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:
• key terms—software (application), shareware, public domain, freeware, commercial software, integrated software, user manual, registration card, serial number, warranty, copyright, licence
(multi-user, single user, site licence), compression/decompression, back-up, back door (trapdoor), upload/download, wizard, template
• GUI, command-line interface, voice recognition.
2.2.2 Databases and spreadsheets
Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of databases and spreadsheets. These may include:
• privacy of information in different cultures
• rights of individuals with respect to the storage of personal data
• social consequences of outdated or incorrect data stored in databases
• social consequences of the release of sensitive data stored in databases
• legislation on access and use of database information in different countries
• responsibility for the security of data stored in databases from different perspectives, for example, the developer, the user and the management of an organization
• accountability for the negative social effects caused by insecure databases
• ethical issues related to the collection and use of personal data
• ethical issues related to the selling of data stored in databases.
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of databases, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include the following.
Design and creation concepts
• Key terms—field, key field, record, search, query, sort, database management system, mail merge
• Flat-file database versus relational database
• Paper files versus electronic files
• Data redundancy and data integrity
• Updating data
Storage and access concepts
• Data transfer between a database and a spreadsheet
• Search and the use of the Boolean operators (AND, OR and NOT)
• Data mining/data matching
Presentation concepts
• Report generation
• Special-purpose databases, for example, personal information managers, encyclopedias, library systems
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of spreadsheets, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include the following.
Design and creation concepts
• Key terms—cell, cell format (number, text, value, function, calculation, date, currency), row, column, label, macro, replicate, template, worksheet, “what if” questions, range, absolute and relative reference
• Paper files versus electronic files
• Reliability and integrity of data
Storage and access concepts
• Data transfer between a database and a spreadsheet
Presentation concepts
• Select, print and display area of a worksheet
• Use of the appropriate graph or chart for the meaningful representation of information
• Special-purpose spreadsheets, for example, inventory, budget
2.2.3 Word processing and desktop publishing
Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of word processing and desktop publishing (DTP). These may include:
• effects of DTP on the right to publish, for example, freedom of the press, free exchange of ideas
• economic effects of DTP on business
• intellectual property issues associated with reproduction and/or transformation of digitized text
• effects of word processing and DTP on the workplace, for example, job loss, deskilling, surveillance
• ergonomics/health impacts of word processing and DTP in the workplace
• social impact of speech-enabled input/output.
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of word processing and desktop publishing, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:
• key terms—formatting, template, spell check, grammar check, ASCII/unicode, PDF, RTF, text
• word processing versus page layout
• appropriate use of templates
• effective use of word processing functions to streamline production of documents
• use of appropriate fonts, white space and line spacing to create output that communicates effectively.
2.2.4 Images, sound and presentations
Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of images, sound and presentations, for example, multimedia, slideshows, virtual reality, games. These may include:
• intellectual property relating to the copying and modifying of text, images, sound and video (fair use policies)
• copyright issues
• printed versus electronically published information
• health issues related to virtual reality
• multimedia solutions for disabled persons
• multilingual selection possibilities of CD-ROMs and DVD
• surveillance and privacy
• global access to information available on CD-ROMs versus Internet
• use of virtual actors in films
• biased information
• reliability of data
• social and ethical issues related to games.
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of images, sound and presentations, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include the following.
Design and creation concepts
• Key terms—animation, bit-map versus vector graphics, object-oriented, clip art, CAD, hypermedia, hypertext, pixel, resolution, MP3, MIDI, morph
• Data integrity
• Consistency in design elements
• Use of appropriate fonts, sound, images, video to convey a specific message
Storage, processing and access concepts
• File formats, for example, storage requirements, loading time, portability
• Sound, image and video capture and editing
• Updating and combining sounds or images at a later point in time to create a new work of art
2.2.5 Modelling and simulations
Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of modelling and simulations. These may include:
• reliability of predictions based on computer models, for example, weather, global warming
• economic effects of the use of models to design and test new products
• security issues involved in military simulations
• social impact of reliance on simulations to examine issues of public policy
• responsibility of the designer for accuracy of assumptions underlying the model
• ethical considerations involved in deciding when to use models or simulations to ensure human safety.
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of modelling and simulations, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:
• key terms—model, simulation, feedback loop
• faulty or hidden assumptions
• extent and effect of the simplification of reality
• extent to which the phenomenon being modelled is understood
• processing power needed to create complex models
• visualization of information
• correspondence of the model with reality.
2.2.6 Tutorials, training and wizards (assistants)
Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of tutorials, training and wizards. These may include:
• the balance in responsibility between an individual and an organization for training
• the need for IT companies to consider global and cultural diversity when preparing training and tutorial software
• the requirement of organizations to provide training when implementing change.
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of tutorials, training and wizards, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:
• key terms—tutorial software, training software, wizards and assistants, help menu and help features,
“Read Me” files
• using wizards, assistants and online assistants in the design and creation of a product, for example, desktop-published documents, slideshows, web sites.
2.3 Communication systems
2.3.1 The Internet
Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of the Internet. These may include:
• reliability and authenticity of information
• social consequences of addiction to the Internet
• social impact of global viruses
• social impact of dependence on the Internet
• etiquette rules for appropriate behaviour when using the Internet
• social impact of the domination of English as the main web language
• social impact of theft of identity through the Internet
• social impact of open access to unsuitable material on the Internet
• ethical issues related to misuse of the Internet, for example, spamming
• ethical considerations of IT-rich versus IT-poor nations as a result of differing access
• ethical considerations relating to the use of encryption
• ethical considerations relating to workplace monitoring.
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of the Internet, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:
• key terms—Internet protocols, for example, HTTP, FTP, TCP/IP, cookies, listserv, web cam, Internet languages, netiquette, Intranet, URL, hyperlink, bandwidth, WWW, browser, search engine, e-mail
• means for blocking access to information
• features of a web browser
• comparison of Internet and Intranet
• encryption methods
• the limiting effect of bandwidth
• e-mail
• viruses
• features of a web page
• global databases
• online services, e-commerce, banking, health, libraries
• use of appropriate search engines.
2.3.2 Personal and public communications
Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of personal and public communications. These may include:
• the psychological consequences of people being in permanent contact
• ethical considerations of control as the result of using communications technologies
• social impact on health of the use of mobile devices
• effect on personal productivity of personal communications devices
• effect on the environment of personal communications devices
• social effects of telecommuting
• social effects of the widespread use of teleconferencing and videoconferencing
• social and environmental impact and ethical considerations of telecommuting
• social impact and ethical considerations of: distance learning, digital entertainment, global media and public information systems.
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of personal and public communications, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:
• key terms—convergence, teleconferencing, videoconferencing, telecommuting, digital television, push–pull technologies
• mobile phone and associated services and uses
• digital entertainment versus live entertainment
• contents of digital entertainment, for example, violence, pornography and realism
• features of telecommuting, for example, environmental aspects, flexibility, productivity, business and social relationships
• face-to-face communications versus communications via technology
• minimum requirements to enable realistic teleconferencing and videoconferencing
• undetected intrusions into IT systems, for example, phone tapping
• personal mobile devices, for example, PDA, laptop
• emerging technologies as the result of convergence of computers and communications technology
• public information systems, for example, traffic control, security camera systems, public transfer information systems.
2.4 Integrated systems
2.4.1 Robotics
Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of robotics. These may include:
• social and economic effects of replacing people with robots in the workplace
• ethical decisions regarding the use of robots in situations that might endanger human beings
• social impact of human interaction with robots, for example, artificial pets, robots for the disabled and elderly
• social impact and ethical considerations regarding the use of robotics in medicine, for example, robotic surgery, computer-controlled prostheses
• reliability of robotic devices, particularly in life-threatening situations.
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of robotics, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:
• key terms—robot, android, cyborg, sensors
• determining situations in which it is more appropriate to use a robot than a human being
• types of input/output peripherals used in various situations, for example, arms, fingers, voice, wheels
• reasons why robots are/are not designed as androids with human-like form
• the capabilities and limitations of robots with respect to vision, touch, sound and movement
• processing power in relation to the capabilities and limitations of robots.
2.4.2 Artificial intelligence and expert systems
Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of artificial intelligence
(AI) and expert systems. These may include:
• responsibility for the performance of an expert system—knowledge engineer, informant, programmer, company that sold it, the buyer/consumer
• value of the development of AI as a field, for example, whether it is an appropriate place to put economic resources
• ethical issues of various applications of AI, for example, replacement of human workers, handing decision-making tasks to a computer
• social impact of the use of “smart” machines on everyday life
• ethical issues related to military applications of AI, for example, smart weapons, reconnaissance, decision making
• implications of creative production by computers using AI, for example, Aaron, an expert system, creates visual art
• access to the knowledge base underlying an inference engine in an expert system, for example, whether people affected by decisions made using an expert system should have access to the rules by which the decision was made.
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of AI and expert systems, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:
• key terms—AI, Turing test, parallel processing, machine learning, natural language, common-sense knowledge, agent, pattern recognition, expert system, knowledge base, inference engine, heuristics, fuzzy logic, knowledge engineer, domain
• storage requirements for common-sense knowledge
• processing requirements for AI
• collection/creation of a knowledge base
• creation of an inference engine (for example, if/then rules, fuzzy logic)
• identifying domains that are suitable for expert systems.
Section 3: areas of impact
Students at SL are required to study part A and a minimum of two other areas of impact chosen from part B. Students at HL are required to study all six areas of impact.
The use of real-life situations based on current issues is recommended as an appropriate vehicle for the study of the areas of impact. The topics given under each area are provided as examples only. Teachers should use any relevant topics that integrate the areas of impact with social and ethical issues (section 1) and IT systems in a social context (section 2) as illustrated in the diagram at the beginning of the syllabus details. It is important that examples are drawn from the local, national and global level.
Part A
The study of this area of impact is compulsory for all students.
3.1 Business and employment
• Transportation: reservation systems, luggage processing, navigation, scheduling and distribution, traffic simulation, smart roads and cars, fuel efficiency and traffic safety systems
• Employment: electronic employee monitoring, telecommuting, ergonomics and health, job obsolescence and retraining, online job search, employee surveillance
• Banking and finance: EFT, ATMs, Internet banking and brokerage, electronic cash, insurance
• International commerce: management of transnational corporations, business concentration
• E-commerce: teleshopping, online marketing, data mining, spyware
• Retailing, advertising, media
Part B
Students at SL are required to study a minimum of two of the following areas of impact. Students at HL
are required to study all five of the following areas of impact.
3.2 Education
• Telelearning: isolated and remote areas; use in hospitals, prisons, retirement homes
• Modification of hardware and software for special needs: voice recognition software, text-to-speech, special input and output devices, Internet resources
• Software in the classroom: science experiments, social studies modelling and simulation, instructional tools and media, computer-aided instruction, computer-aided learning
• School library systems: catalogues, security systems, online research
• Hardware in the classroom: laptops, notebooks, teleconferencing
• Software in school administration: record keeping, scheduling, Intranets, public information
• Training, tutorials, simulators
3.3 Health
• Telemedicine: service delivery to isolated and remote areas
• Electronic health records: privacy, data analysis, public health
• Diagnostic and therapeutic tools: robotic surgery, prosthetic devices, diagnostic software, drug development and marketing
• Medical advice on the Internet or a CD-ROM
• Monitoring patients
• IT solutions for disabled people
3.4 Arts, entertainment and leisure
• Digital art: electronic music, interactive visual art, desktop publishing
• Film: digital actor simulations, characters and animation
• Live arts: digital effects, choreography, lighting, marketing
• New media: DVD, CD, VR, stereolithography
• Broadcast media: digital radio and television, electronic news, magazines and books
• Toys and games: CD or online games, online gambling
3.5 Science and the environment
• Modelling and simulation: digital experimentation, demographic and environmental simulation
• Visualization: mapping
• Data search, collection, processing and analysis
• Forecasting
• Data logging
3.6 Politics and government
• Political process: voting and elections, lobbying, open government and free movement of information
• Government administration: record keeping, tax collection, policy implementation
• Legislation: policy development, enactment, enforcement and analysis
• Police: DNA data collection, video surveillance
• Military: cyberwarfare, smart weapons development, espionage
• Rebel and terrorist use of IT
. Explain its significance. [3 marks]