SOCIAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES

Rights and responsibilities of software developers

  • Software users have the right to reliable, high quality software, and in turn, are expected to use this software in a socially and ethically responsible manner.
  • Software developers have the right to authorship of any intellectual property that they create. They have the right to be protected under copyright law against plagiarism and unlawful use of software.
  • A code of conduct is a set of ethical standards for a particular industry. It involves:

-confidentiality between developers and users

-competence (developer indicates limits)

-adherence to copyright laws

-computer misuse (viruses, exploiting knowledge for personal gain)

Software piracy and copyright

concepts associated with piracy and copyright, including:

  • Intellectual property is the personal ownership of creative ideas or works.
  • Plagiarism is the theft of the ideas of another and claming them as your own.
  • Shareware: trial version/can make copies/can distribute/no modification
  • Public Domain: full version/can make copies/can distribute/can modify
  • It is perfectly legal to make one copy of any commercial software you have purchased legally, for either back-up purposes or for research or study purposes (“fair dealing”).
  • Copyright is legal protection of intellectual property against illegal copying. It is not necessary to apply for copyright – anything you create is automatically covered by it.
  • Reverse engineering is the process of reading source code and then translating it into an algorithm, where it can be recoded in another programming language. It is illegal to do this unless the software is public domain, or you own the rights to the intellectual property.
  • Decompilation is conversion to machine code to source code so it can be read and understood by developers.
  • Licence conditions determine what can be done with software. Conditions vary between programs but they are usually included in both written and electronic forms with commercial programs. Often, developers will include a compulsory reading of the licence conditions before the program can be installed. Even without distinct licence conditions, basic copyright conditions still apply (no copying, decompilation, reverse engineering or modification).
  • Network use software includes:

-Centralised Software: Available as a single copy from a central server on a network. All machines that use it require a separate licence.

-Distributed Software: Available as individual copies on local machines. Each machine requires a separate licence.

various national perspectives to software piracy and copyright laws

  • Australia is part of international agreements that recognise copyright law. There are many countries however, that are not a part of these agreements. Often, distribution of pirated software is common in these counties.

the relationship between copyright laws and software licence agreements

  • Software licence agreements are contracts that protect the developer’s ownership of their program. There are several different end user licence agreements:

-Single-use Licences allow the purchaser to install one copy on one computer.

-Multi-use Licences allow the user to install copies of the software on multiple computers.

-Network Licences are available for some software, but network use is generally negotiated separately between cases due to the variations in different networks.

The software market

maintaining market position

  • Maintaining market position involves balancing several factors:

-Product: Software being produced must satisfy the needs of the target audience.

-Place: It must be readily accessible to anyone who falls inside the target audience, distributing through retail shops, the Internet, with other programs, etc.

-Promotions: People need to hear about the product, and includes advertising in its various forms (online, telemarketing, personal).

-Price: Software package must be appropriately priced to obtain maximum profit.

  • In order for software to be commercially viable, it must have an effect on the marketplace by emphasising unique capabilities and convincing consumers that there are no better or more effective alternatives. A SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) may be carried out to ensure the product still remains viable.

the effect on the marketplace

  • A market leader is a software program that is innovative and well established.
  • A market challenger is a non-leader that makes an aggressive bid for market position.
  • Market followers do not produce innovative new products.
  • Market nichers are specialists who focus on a small area of the software market.
  • When a market leader produces a new product, it encourages competitors to improve their product to retain market share. When market challengers or followers develops a new product as good as the market leader, it encourages the market leader to continually innovate.

Significant social and ethical issues

national and international legal action resulting from software development

  • Only in recent years has the need for copyright protection for software been in dire need. When the Australian Copyright Act was written in 1968, computers were restricted to only those who could afford them. As a result, many of the legal structures relating to computer software have developed from court cases that have made rulings based on laws related to other forms of intellectual property. This has also been the case in other countries.
  • Sega vs Accolade: Accolade was denied permission to produce games for the Sega system, and thus could not make games without the secret codes needed to play them on the system. They reverse engineered Sega games to determine these codes then built these codes into their own games. Sega took Accolade to court for breach of copyright but lost, because it was ruled that Accolade had not stolen the creative works of Sega.

public issues, including:

  • The Y2K problem stemmed from early years in computer development, and allowed memory storage to be cut in half when it came to years (using 2 digits instead of 4). In the 1990’s, there was concern for many software applications still using 2-digit format. As it turned out, the effect was very minor, but highlights the need for software developers to consider the viability of a product in the future.
  • Viruses have become more of an issue since the spread of internet use throughout the world. The onus is on software developers to make sure their programs are clean of any viruses before making them available to users.
  • Reliance on software extends to many different parts of our life. Banks, transport, medical diagnosis, and many more technologies are used to control and look after people in society. The misuse or malfunction of technology can result in catastrophe.

HSC Syllabus

Students learn about: / Students learn to:
Rights and responsibilities of software developers
•authorship
•reliability
•quality
•response to problems
•code of conduct
•viruses
Software piracy and copyright
•concepts associated with piracy and copyright, including:
–intellectual property
–plagiarism
–shareware
–public domain
–ownership versus licensing
–copyright laws
–reverse/backwards engineering
–decompilation
–licence conditions
–network use
•various national perspectives to software piracy and copyright laws
•the relationship between copyright laws and software license agreements
The software market
•maintaining market position
•the effect on the marketplace
Significant social and ethical issues
•national and international legal action resulting from software development
•public issues, including:
–the year 2000 problem
–computer viruses
–reliance on software / •identify the impact on consumers of inappropriately developed software
•interpret copyright agreements and develop personal practices that reflect current laws
•acknowledge all sources in recognition of the intellectual contribution of authors
•debate current issues relevant to software development

2001 HSC

A team of software programmers is asked to put together a package similar to

the DisplayTrain program. All team members are asked to find a solution and

then pool their discoveries. One of the team members decides to use the Internet

and downloads a run-time component from another manufacturer’s closed

website. However, this member does not give the website address and details of

who actually wrote the code. The code is passed on to the team as the member’s

programming code.

(i) Outline the ethical issues that are involved in this scenario.

(ii) Discuss ways in which management could ensure that the software team

carry out their responsibilities as software developers.

2002 HSC

A particular software development project has serious implications for the

working conditions of an organisation’s employees. There will be job losses and

significant changes in people’s roles.

In this situation the employees may have negative feelings towards the project

and could be quite obstructive as the project team tries to do its work.

Both management and the project team must consider this problem. Discuss

TWO strategies that might be adopted.