Paul works part-time for a large software company. The company sells security software to a number of banks. He also runs his own software company that produces and sells computer games. Six statements about computer ethics are shown below. Draw lines to indicate whether each statement describes ethical or unethical behaviour. Statement To save time, Paul fakes the test results when testing the bank security software. Ethical Unethical Paul uses the software developed in his day job to help write some of the games software routines. To allow him to concentrate on his games software, Paul has frequently turned down job opportunities in his day job. To make the games software more realistic, Paul uses password protection code used in the bank security software. Because his work load is increasing, Paul is now using overseas companies to write some of the routines used in his games software. Paul carries out training on how to write games software in his spare time.

9608_w15_qp_13

THEORY

2015

Paper 1, Variant 3

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The IEEE Software Engineering Code of Ethics uses eight key principles shown in the right-hand column of the following diagram. Tom is employed as a tester with a software company. He is keen to become a trainee programmer. The middle column in the diagram labels six incidents which have happened to Tom this week. The table that follows the diagram describes each incident. Public Client and Employer Product Judgement Management Profession Colleagues Self Incident A Incident B Incident C Incident D Incident E Incident F Ethical behaviour Unethical behaviour IEEE category Incident Description A Tom has received some phishing emails. He reported this to the bank they were supposed to have come from. B Tom has asked his manager if they will pay for him to attend a programming course. C Tom is testing beta versions of new games software at work. He copies the software on to CD-Rs and sells them to his friends. D Tom has completed the application forms to join the Chartered Institute for IT. E Tom finds it difficult to work with one of his colleagues. His way of dealing with this has been to refuse to speak with the colleague. F Tom’s manager had considered the testing of a new game was completed. Tom reported to his manager that he thought there were still bugs which needed to be rectified. Draw a line on the diagram to link each of the six incidents to either ethical behaviour or unethical behaviour. Consider each incident you have identified as ethical behaviour. Draw a line from each incident to indicate the IEEE category it maps to.

9608_w17_qp_12

THEORY

2017

Paper 1, Variant 2

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For each of the following scenarios, tick (3) one box for each scenario to indicate whether you think the person’s behaviour is ethical or unethical. Justify your choice. Kevin is a software engineer who has recently started a job with a new company. He is using program code from his previous employer in his new employer’s programs. Ethical Unethical Justification Nadya is a software developer. She has accepted a new job. She has never worked with the programming languages used by this new company. Nadya is planning to increase her knowledge of these programming languages before she starts her new job. Ethical Unethical Justification Maria finds that one of her team members has produced some inventive code. She presents this to her manager, stating that it was produced by the team. She does not mention the individual’s name. Ethical Unethical Justification

9608_w18_qp_11

THEORY

2018

Paper 1, Variant 1

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This question presents three scenarios. For each scenario, tick (✓) one box to show whether you think the person’s behaviour is ethical or unethical. Justify your choice. Wendy is a software engineer who is developing a program for her company. Her friend, Noah, is developing a program for a different company. Wendy looks at the code that Noah is writing to get ideas for her own program. Ethical Unethical Justification Amit is fixing some bugs in the computer system of a large multinational company. He is asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. He sees some confidential information which contains the names of other multinational companies that have broken the law. He copies this information and releases it on the Internet. Ethical Unethical Justification Farah is providing a company with an estimate for the cost of writing a program. The company she works for is in financial difficulty so she increases the estimate by 10%. Ethical Unethical Justification

9608_w18_qp_12

THEORY

2018

Paper 1, Variant 2

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This question presents three scenarios. Tick (✓) one box for each scenario to indicate whether you think the person’s behaviour is ethical or unethical. Justify your choice. Mason is using his work computer to book a holiday whilst at work. Ethical Unethical Justification Ethan is supervising a trainee. The trainee asks Ethan for a reference for another job. Ethan does not want to lose the trainee, so refuses to give him a reference. Ethical Unethical Justification Margarita finds that one of her team members has produced some inventive code. She presents this to her manager, praising the individual by name. Ethical Unethical Justification

9608_w18_qp_13

THEORY

2018

Paper 1, Variant 3

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Ria manages a team of software developers. The team is creating a mobile application game for a client. Ria wants to ensure that her team works to the ACM/IEEE Software Engineering Code of Ethics. Explain the ways in which Ria and her team can ensure that they follow the Code of Ethics in relation to the product and their colleagues. Product Colleagues Ria’s client wants to sell the game for a profit. The client cannot decide which type of software licence to use to distribute the game. Identify two types of licence that Ria could recommend to her client and justify the use of each licence. Licence 1 Justification Licence 2 Justification

9608_w20_qp_11

THEORY

2020

Paper 1, Variant 1

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Malika has started a new job as a trainee software engineer. Malika’s manager has asked her to work with a senior software engineer for the first week. Explain the ways in which Malika’s manager has acted ethically. Malika researched the company and the programming languages used by the company before she started the job. Explain the ways in which Malika has acted ethically. Malika thinks that her colleagues do not like her, so she asks her manager for help. Describe the actions the manager could take to support Malika in an ethical way.

9608_w20_qp_12

THEORY

2020

Paper 1, Variant 2

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Lara is managing a team of software developers who are writing a computer program. Benedict is one of the developers. He is struggling to keep up with his workload. Describe the ways in which Lara can ethically support Benedict. Lara has identified that when a specific sequence of actions is performed in the program, a run-time error causes the program to crash. She has decided there is not enough time to debug the code because the client needs the system urgently, and there is a possibility that the client may never perform this sequence of actions. Explain the reasons why Lara is not acting ethically. The client wants to copyright the final program so that no one else can copy or amend it. State the purpose of copyrighting the computer program. Identify two software licences that would be appropriate for the program. Licence 1 Licence 2 Identify one software licence that would not be appropriate for the program. Justify your choice. Software licence Justification

9608_w20_qp_13

THEORY

2020

Paper 1, Variant 3

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Arnold is a software developer. He has created a computer game for people to download over the Internet. Arnold is considering releasing the game as a piece of commercial software. Describe what is meant by a commercial licence. Name and describe one other type of licence that Arnold can consider using. Licence type Description Users need to enter their name and email address to create an account. The information is stored in a database on Arnold’s computer. Give three ways that Arnold can ensure users’ details are kept secure.

9608_w18_qp_13

THEORY

2018

Paper 1, Variant 3

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Shazia is creating a computer program that will be released to the public. The program includes a video. Shazia uses a microphone to record a sound track for the video. Describe the internal operation of a microphone. The script for the sound track is printed using a laser printer. Describe the internal operation of a laser printer. The video is recorded using progressive encoding. Describe progressive encoding. Shazia’s computer has Dynamic RAM (DRAM) and Static RAM (SRAM). Explain the differences between Dynamic RAM and Static RAM. Shazia wants to make sure her computer program is copyrighted. Define the term copyright. Shazia does not want to release the software as open source. Explain why Shazia does not want to use an open source licence. Name and describe two software licences, other than open source that Shazia could use. Licence 1 Licence 2

9608_s19_qp_12

THEORY

2019

Paper 1, Variant 2

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