History of Computers & Impacts on Societygolstein.co.uk/files/Log Book.pdfLogBook Computer and Society Student No: IM1690 0420345 Page 1 of 59 History of Computers & Impacts on Society

LogBook Computer and Society Student No: IM1690 0420345

Page 1 of 59

HHiissttoorryy ooff CCoommppuutteerrss && IImmppaaccttss oonn SSoocciieettyy

Computers are heavily relied on in our ever growing society. They range from simple calculators to complex servers and enable us to communicate across the world within a split second. This research assignment contains information on how the computer evolved from a simple adding machine used in Babylonian times, to the complex multi-processor systems of today’s industries. According to The Concise Oxford Dictionary, Ninth Edition, by Della Thompson, The word “computer” can be defined either as a “device for storing and processing data” or “a person who computes or makes calculations”. [1] Dated as far back as 500 B.C, computers were being used in order to aid simple arithmetic. These computers however, were not the electronic devices of today, they were tablet slabs, made of white marble and used as a counting board by the Babylonians (Picture 1). This later evolved into a wooden device (plastic, in recent times), known as an abacus, where the person operating the abacus performs calculations in their head and uses the abacus as a physical aid to keep track of the sums (Picture 2). [2]

Picture 1

“The Salamis Tablet”, The first counting board.

Picture 2

The first abacus that is used today, the “Suan-pan” was first used in china around 1200 AD.

In 1614, John Napier published a paper on his discovery of the logarithm, a technology that allows multiplication to be performed via addition. He also invented “Napier's Rods” allowing an operator to multiply, divide and calculate square and cube roots by moving rods around in specially constructed boards (Picture 3). [3, 4]


Page 2 of 59

In 1623 Wilhelm Schickard made the first gear-driven calculating machine which was capable of adding and subtracting up to 6 digit numbers this was named the” Calculating Clock" (Picture 4). A more limited machine was then invented in 1642 called the “Pascaline” by inventor Blaise Pascal (Picture 5). It consisted of 10 wheels representing 10 digits, 0 - 9. This mechanical gear system performed addition by stepping through the wheels in the number of intervals equal to the number to be added. [4, 5]

Picture 3

“Napier's Rods” also known as “Napier’s Bones”

Picture 4

Schickard’s “Calculating Clock”

Picture 5

The “Pascaline”

In 1671, Gottfried Leibniz designed a machine to carry out addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. He called this calculator “Stepped Reckoner” (Picture 6) and it employed fluted drums rather than the use of gears. Using the same general approach, in 1820 Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar made a device known as an “Arithmometer" (Picture 7). This was the first mass-produced calculator and according to The “New York University of Computer Science”, “Fifteen hundred models were sold over the next thirty years, chiefly to banks, insurance companies, and other businesses.” [3, 4, 6]

Picture 6

A re-construction of Leibniz’s “Stepped Reckoner”

Picture 7

The first mass-produced calculator, the “Arithmometer”

In 1801, Joseph Marie Jacquard invented a way of automatically controlling the threads on a silk loom by using patterns of holes automatically read from wooden cards, held together in a long row using rope (Picture 8). This new technology was great for mill owners however it put many loom operators out of work. [7]


Page 3 of 59

In 1822, Charles Babbage proposed making the first mechanical computer, a steam driven calculating machine the size of a room, which he called the “Difference Engine”. This machine would be able to compute tables of numbers, such as logarithm tables. Up until this point, the term "computer" was used as a job description for people that performed computations on a calculator however Babbage’s idea was soon to cause the interpretation of the word to be associated with a machine that could perform computations on its own. The construction of Babbage's Difference Engine proved exceedingly difficult and it soon became the most expensive government funded project up to that point in English history as it reached £17,500. By 1832, Babbage and toolmaker, Joseph Clement produced a prototype segment of the difference engine (Picture 9). Unfortunately in 1833, work on the Engine was halted due to an unresolved dispute over compensation. [7, 8, 9]

Picture 8

Joseph Marie Jacquard's loom showing the threads and the punched cards.

Picture 9

This portion of the “Difference Engine” has nearly 2,000 individual parts and is

about one seventh of the calculating mechanism of the full size engine.

After the Difference Engine project collapsed, Babbage began to design another idea that he had conceived, the “Analytical Engine”. This device was thought to be as large as a house and powered by 6 steam engines and would be more general purpose in nature than other devices, because it would be programmable. Babbage had the idea for using the punched cards from the Jacquard loom for representing a problem statement or the raw data required for that problem's solution. Babbage also realized that punched paper could be employed as a storage mechanism, holding computed numbers for future reference (Picture 10). Because of the connection to the Jacquard loom, Babbage called the two main parts of his Analytic Engine the "Store" and the "Mill", as both terms are used in the weaving industry. The Store (memory unit) was where numbers were held and the Mill (central processing unit) was where they were "woven" into new results. [10, 11]


Page 4 of 59

The Analytic Engine was the first device to be distinguished as a computer rather than a calculator as it was capable of “looping” and “conditional branching” (IF… THEN… statements), this meant that the statements to be executed next could be determined based upon a condition or situation that is detected at the very moment the program is running, allowing a program to achieve different results each time it is run. The machine was intended to do an addition in 3 seconds and a multiplication or division in 2-4 minutes.

Picture 10

Punched cards for Babbage's Analytical Engine

Picture 11

ADA95, an updated version of the program language, named by the Department of Defence.

Babbage befriended the daughter of the famous poet Lord Byron, Ada Byron. She was fascinated by his ideas and through letters and meetings with him she learned much about the Analytic Engine. [3, 10, 11] Babbage asked Byron to translate and interpret his ideas for the Engine and agreed to let her add notes to his text. These "notes", comprised of 7 brief essays, 40 pages long and became an invaluable set of complex instructions for the operation of the Analytical Engine. The notes also included Byron's own speculations on the potential that the machine could achieve. She was able to foresee that Babbage's engine could have vast applications in the area of graphics, artificial intelligence, and the composition of complex computer music. Even though the machine had not been built, Ada began to design programs for it, one of which was a program that would have been able to compute a mathematical sequence known as Bernoulli numbers. Ada invented the subroutine and was the first to recognize the importance of looping. Maxfield & Montrose Interactive Inc state, “Based on this work, Ada is now credited as being the first computer programmer”. In 1979 The Department of Defence honoured her by naming a programming language ADA (Picture 11). [11, 12]


Page 5 of 59

The Analytical Engine was designed in great detail on paper (Picture 12) although Babbage made little attempt to raise funds to build it. Instead, he worked on simpler and cheaper methods of manufacturing parts. The Analytical Engine is not a single physical machine but a succession of designs that Babbage refined, he attempted to build a small trial model (Picture 13), although he died before it was completed in 1871.

Picture 12

Sketch of the driving and direction of the Analytical Engine, 1841 by Babbage.

Picture 13

Portion of the mill of the Analytical Engine with printing mechanism.

According to CBI (Charles Babbage Institute), “Babbage is sometimes referred to as "father of computing."”. [13] A Swedish printing press owner, George Scheutz acquired a design of Babbage’s difference engine in 1834, and to Babbage’s delight, completed the first full-scale model of the engine, complete with a printing mechanism in 1853. He called it a “Tabulating Machine” (Picture 14). It operates on 15-digit numbers printing out results, and rounding off to eight digits as Babbage's would have. Babbage was impressed by the work and recommended that Scheutz win a medal from the Royal Society. [3]

Picture 14

Scheutz’s Tabulating Machine


Page 6 of 59

Over in America, the population was drastically increasing and the 1880 census took 7 years to complete since all processing was done by hand off of journal sheets. Due to the urgent need for automation for the next census, a competition was held to try to find an inventor that could come up with a better method. This was won by Herman Hollerith who borrowed Babbage's idea of using the Jacquard's punched cards from the textile industry for the data storage. Using Hollerith’s idea, the 1890 census result (62,622,250 people) was released in only 6 weeks! [3, 7]

Picture 15

An operator working at a Hollerith Desk

Hollerith's invention, known as the “Hollerith Desk” (Picture 15), consisted of a card reader which sensed the holes in the cards, a gear driven mechanism which could count (using Pascal's mechanism), and a large wall of dial indicators to display the results of the count. In 1896, Hollerith built The Tabulating Machine Company which, after a few buyouts, eventually became International Business Machines in February 1924, known today as IBM. IBM grew rapidly and punched cards became increasingly popular to society. Gas bills would arrive each month with a punch card that had to be returned with the payment. These punch cards recorded all the details of consumers account i.e. name, address, gas usage etc. On toll ways (highways where a fee was collected from each driver), a toll punch card was given out which recorded the start and exit points from the highway, the fee was then computed based upon the miles driven. Election ballots, Social Security checks issued by the Federal government and the check-out slip inside library books were also making use of the punch card technology (Picture 16). [3, 7]


Page 7 of 59

Picture 16

Two types of computer punch cards

In 1937, a scientist at Bell Laboratories called George Robert Stibitz built a 1-bit binary adding digital machine, based on relays. This machine, known as “Model k”, worked on the principle that if two relays were activated, they caused a third relay to become active. Although only a demonstration machine, Model K was one of the first binary computers. Around the same time, Alan M. Turing published a paper on "computable numbers", the mathematical theory of computation. This paper solves a mathematical problem, but the solution is achieved by reasoning (as a mathematical device) about the theoretical simplified computer known today as a Turing machine. [3, 14] In 1938, Claude E. Shannon recognized that “Boolean Algebra” can be relevant to electronics design. This was a system invented almost a century earlier in 1848 by George Boole, in which he represented logical expressions in a mathematical form (e.g. True + False = False). Shannon published an article based on his master's thesis at MIT stating that Boole's concepts of TRUE and FALSE could be used to represent the functions of switches in electronic circuits. Due to this recognition, Shannon had provided electronics engineers with the mathematical tool they needed to design digital electronic circuits. Shannon's thesis has since been described as “Possibly the most important master's thesis of the twentieth century” [15]

In November 1939, John V. Atanasoff and Clifford Berry completed a prototype for the first electronic machine to calculate using vacuum tubes. One of the biggest problems for computer designers of the time was to be able to store numbers for use in the machine's calculations however Atanasoff's design utilized capacitors to store electrical charge that could represent numbers in the form of logical 0’s and 1’s. From this point on computer development progressed in five different eras. [3, 16] First Generation: Vacuum Tubes: In the summer of 1940, Atanasoff and Berry go on to complete a special-purpose calculator for solving systems of simultaneous linear equations, later called the "ABC" ("Atanasoff-Berry Computer" (Picture 17)). This has 60 50-bit words of memory in the form of capacitors (with refresh circuits, the first regenerative memory) mounted on two revolving drums. The clock speed is 60 Hz, and an addition takes 1 second. For


Page 8 of 59

secondary memory it uses punch cards, moved around by the user. The holes are not actually punched in the cards, but burned. [3]

Picture 17

“Atanasoff-Berry Computer”

Picture 18

The Harvard Mark I: an electro-mechanical computer

In January 1943, The Harvard Mark I (Picture 18) (originally ASCC Mark I, Harvard-IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator) was built at Harvard University by Howard H. Aiken and his team, this was partly financed by IBM. The Mark 1 was 51 feet long, weighed 5 tons, incorporated 750,000 parts and became the first program controlled calculator. It used 3304 electromechanical relays as on-off switches, had 72 accumulators (each with its own arithmetic unit) as well as mechanical register with a capacity of 23 digits plus sign. The arithmetic was fixed-point, with a plug board setting determining the number of decimal places. I/O facilities included card readers, a card punch, paper tape readers, and typewriters. There were 60 sets of rotary switches, each of which could be used as a constant register, this being a “sort of mechanical read-only memory”. The program was read from one paper tape; data could be read from the other tapes, or the card readers, or from the constant registers. Conditional jumps were not available. However, in later years the machine was modified to support multiple paper tape readers for the program, with the transfer from one to another being conditional, sort of like a conditional subroutine call. Another addition allows the provision of plug board-wired subroutines callable from the tape. The Mark 1 was used to create ballistics tables for the US Navy. [3, 17] In December 1943, the earliest Programmable Electronic Computer first ran in Britain, it contained 2400 Vacuum tubes for logic, and was called the Colossus (Picture 19). This machine was built by Dr Thomas Flowers to crack the German Lorenz (SZ42) Cipher used by the 'Enigma' machines during WWII. It translated an amazing 5000 characters a second, and used punched tape for input. Although 10 were eventually built,


Page 9 of 59

unfortunately they were destroyed immediately after they had finished their work - it was so advanced that there was to be no possibility of its design falling into the wrong hands.

Picture 19

The code-breaking Colossus of Great Britain

According to Computer Science Lab, “The title of forefather of today's all-electronic digital computers is usually awarded to ‘ENAIC’”. ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) was one of the first totally electronic, valve driven, digital computers, it started development in 1943 and finished in 1946 by John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert who got funding from the war department after promising they could build a machine that would replace all the "computers", meaning the women who were employed calculating the firing tables for the army's artillery guns. ENIAC filled a 20 by 40 foot room, weighed 30 tons, and used more than 18,000 vacuum tubes. Like the Mark I, ENIAC employed paper card readers obtained from IBM (these were a regular product for IBM, as they were a long established part of business accounting machines, IBM's forte). When operating, the ENIAC was silent but you knew it was on as the 18,000 vacuum tubes each generated waste heat like a light bulb and all this heat (174,000 watts of heat) meant that the computer could only be operated in a specially designed room with its own heavy duty air conditioning system (Picture 20). [3, 18] One of the most problems was that the design would require 18,000 vacuum tubes to all work simultaneously. Vacuum tubes were so notoriously unreliable that even twenty years later many neighbourhood drug stores provided a "tube tester" that allowed homeowners to bring in the vacuum tubes from their television sets and determine which


Page 10 of 59

one of the tubes was causing their TV to fail, and television sets only incorporated about 30 vacuum tubes. ENIAC was used for calculating Ballistic trajectories and testing theories behind the Hydrogen bomb.

Picture 20

ENIAC: Replacing a bad tube meant checking among ENIAC’s 19,000 possibilities.

In 1945 a man called John Von Neumann documented the concept of stored program computing based on EDVAC computer. Von Neumann published a paper entitled “First Draft of a report to the EDVAC”, in which he presented all of the basic elements of a stored-program computer. These were:

A memory containing both data and instructions, also to allow both data and instruction memory locations to be read from, and written to, in any desired order.

A calculating unit capable of performing both arithmetic and logical operations on the data.


Page 11 of 59

A control unit, which could interpret an instruction retrieved from the memory and select alternative courses of action based on the results of previous operations.

In 1949, Von Neumann proposed creating EDVAC (electronic discrete variable computer). This was the first computer to use Magnetic Tape and was a breakthrough, as previous computers had to be re-programmed by re-wiring them whereas EDVAC could have new programs loaded off of the tape. It was completed in 1952 at the Institute for Advance Study, Princeton, USA. [18] Second Generation: Transistors: The first working transistor (Picture 20) was invented in 1947 by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley at Bell Laboratories in the United States. They discovered that by placing two contacts close together on the surface of a crystal of germanium, through which an electric current was flowing, a device which acted as an amplifier was produced. Transistors are semiconductors which operate as controlling devices in electric circuits. The transistor enabled computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable as they operate at a lower voltage, are more compact and robust, and cheaper to make. [3, 18] Computers built between 1959 and 1964 are often regarded as 'Second Generation' computers (Picture 21), they based on transistors and printed circuits resulting in them being much smaller. More powerful, the second generation of computers could handle interpreters such as FORTRAN (for science) or COBOL (for business), that accepting English-like commands, and so were much more flexible in their applications.

Picture 20

Replica of the first working transistor invented in 1947.

Picture 21

The “Elliott 803” is an early example of a transistorised computer.


Page 12 of 59

Third Generation: Integrated Circuits: On September 12th 1958, the integrated circuit (Picture 22) was invented by Jack St Clair Kilby at Texas Instruments.

Picture 22

An integrated circuit ("silicon chip")

Computers built between 1964 and 1972 are often regarded as 'Third Generation' computers, they are based on the first integrated circuits - creating even smaller machines. Typical of such machines was the IBM 360 series mainframe (Picture 22), launched in 1964, while smaller minicomputers began to open up computing to smaller businesses. The first minicomputer, called DEC PDP-8 Mini Computer (Picture 23), was built by Digital Equipment Cost (DEC) and cost $16,000 to buy. [3, 17, 18]

Picture 22

IBM System/360, Model 91 (console)

Picture 23

The DEC PDP-8 Mini Computer

Operating systems were introduced to run many different applications at one time with a central program that monitored the memory.


Page 13 of 59

Forth + Fifth Generation: Microprocessors & Artificial Intelligence Computers built after 1972 are often called 'fourth generation' computers, based on LSI (Large Scale Integration) of circuits (such as microprocessors), typically 500 or more components on a chip. Later developments include VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) of integrated circuits 5 years later, typically 10,000 components. Modern circuits may now contain millions of components. This has led to very small, yet incredibly powerful computers. The fourth generation is generally viewed as running right up until the present, since although computing power has increased the basic technology has remained virtually the same. By the late 1990s many people began to suspect that this technology was reaching its limit, further miniaturisation could only achieve so much. 64 megabit RAM chips have circuitry so small that it can be measured in atoms, circuits this small pose many technical problems, notably the heat created but they are also very susceptible to influence by temperature or radiation. The First microprocessor was the 4004, developed in 1971 by Marcian E. Hoff for Intel, was released. It contains the equivalent of 2300 transistors and was a 4 bit processor. It is capable of around 60,000 Interactions per second (0.06 MIPS), running at a clock rate of 108 KHz. Nowadays it’s common to find a microprocessor with 42 million transistors and the 2 GHz clock rate (i.e., 2,000,000,000 times per second) as used in a Pentium 4. [3, 18]

Within the short space of time that computers have been around, they have certainly made an impact to our society. They are used for banking, communication, entertainment and business. Computers have made it easier for information to travel across to all parts of the world, with usage of the internet. Many new job opportunities have arisen for companies needing, system analysts, database designers, it support etc. A “DIGITAL DIVIDE” (e-Society) has been created which includes the use of:

E-Commerce E-Government E-Health E-Learning E-Business

The computer industry is expanding, and with newer technology being produced all the time, it will continue to expand, the future will hold the fifth generation computers, which include artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and voice recognition, smart homes and quantum computation.


Page 14 of 59

References

1. Thompson, D (2000) “Concise Oxford Dictionary”, Ninth Edition

2. Anon. (2005) “A Brief History of the Abacus” [Internet] Available from: The Abacus: A Brief History. http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/abacus/history.html [Accessed 04 March 2005]

3. White, S {2004) “A Brief History of Computing - Complete Timeline” [Internet] Available from: Oxford University Computer Society. http://www.ox.compsoc.net/~swhite/history/timeline.html [Accessed 04 March 2005]

4. Kopplin, J (2002) “An Illustrated History of Computers Part 1” [Internet] Available from: Computer Science Lab http://www.computersciencelab.com/ComputerHistory/History.htm [Accessed 04 March 2005]

5. Anon. “Computer History” [Internet] Available from: Bletchley Park http://www.bletchleypark.net/stationx/computer_history.html [Accessed 04 March 2005]

6. Anon. “Gottfried von Leibniz's Step Reckoner” [Internet] Available from: Maxfield & Montrose Interactive Inc. http://www.maxmon.com/1670ad.htm [Accessed 04 March 2005]

7. Kopplin, J (2002) “An Illustrated History of Computers Part 2” [Internet] Available from: Computer Science Lab http://www.computersciencelab.com/ComputerHistory/HistoryPt2.htm [Accessed 04 March 2005]

8. Anon “Charles Babbage's Difference Engine” [Internet] Available from: Maxfield & Montrose Interactive Inc. http://www.maxmon.com/1822ad.htm [Accessed 04 March 2005]

9. Anon. “The Difference Engine” [Internet] Available from: Science Museum http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/babbage/page3.asp [Accessed 04 March 2005]

10. Anon. “Analytical Engine” [Internet] Available from: Science Museum http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/babbage/page5.asp [Accessed 04 March 2005]

11. Anon “Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine” [Internet] Available from: Maxfield & Montrose Interactive Inc. http://www.maxmon.com/1830ad.htm [Accessed 04 March 2005]

http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/abacus/history.html

http://www.ox.compsoc.net/~swhite/history/timeline.html

http://www.computersciencelab.com/ComputerHistory/History.htm

http://www.bletchleypark.net/stationx/computer_history.html

http://www.maxmon.com/1670ad.htm

http://www.computersciencelab.com/ComputerHistory/HistoryPt2.htm


http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/babbage/page3.asp

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/babbage/page5.asp



Page 15 of 59

12. Ortiz, E (2005) “SCIENCE HERO: AUGUSTA ADA BYRON” [Internet] Available from: Scientist Heroes http://myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=adabyron [Accessed 04 March 2005]

13. CBI (2004) “Who was Charles Babbage?” [Internet] Available from: Charles Babbage Institute http://www.cbi.umn.edu/exhibits/cb.html [Accessed 04 March 2005]

14. Anon “Alan Turing invents the Turing Machine” [Internet] Available from: Maxfield & Montrose Interactive Inc. http://www.maxmon.com/1937bad.htm [Accessed 04 March 2005]

15. Anon “Claude Shannon's master's Thesis” [Internet] Available from: Maxfield & Montrose Interactive Inc. http://www.maxmon.com/1938ad.htm [Accessed 04 March 2005]

16. Anon “John Vincent Atanasoff's Special-Purpose Electronic Digital Computer” [Internet] Available from: Maxfield & Montrose Interactive Inc. http://www.maxmon.com/1939bad.htm [Accessed 04 March 2005]



http://myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=adabyron

http://www.cbi.umn.edu/exhibits/cb.html

http://www.maxmon.com/1937bad.htm


http://www.maxmon.com/1939bad.htm




Page 16 of 59

HHiissttoorryy ooff tthhee IInntteerrnneett aanndd iittss AApppplliiccaabbiilliittyy

The internet, “a global network connecting millions of computers”, links more than 100 countries together, allowing them to exchange data, news and opinions [1]. “It has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before.” [2] During the Cold War between the U.S.S.R and America, the need for gaining a technical advantage was critical and on October 4th 1957, U.S.S.R launched the first artificial earth satellite, known as “Sputnik 1” (Figure 1). It was a metallic sphere about 2 feet across, weighing 84 kg, with long "whiskers" pointing to one side. In response to this threat from the U.S.S.R, the United States formed the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) within the Department of Defense (DoD) to establish US lead in science and technology applicable to the military. [3, 4]

Figure 1

Image of Sputnik satellite from The National Air and Space Museum

The U.S. Air Force commissioned a government agency known as the “RAND Corporation” to do a study on creating a military research network that could survive a nuclear strike. This network also needed to have the ability to maintain command and control over missiles and bombers so that if any cities in the U.S. were attacked, a counter attack could still be issued from a remote location. The idea of a packet switched


Page 17 of 59

network was proposed in 1962 by a member of the “RAND Group” known as Paul Baran. [3] In a “packet switched network” all electronic messages are divided into little chunks called a “packet”. Each “packet” is then transmitted individually over a network, and can follow different routes to its destination where the message is then recompiled once all packets have arrived. [5] In the autumn of 1969 ARPA connected a computer to an IMP node at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) via 50 Kbps circuits, thus creating the ARPANET. By the end of the year, the network also included the computers at Stanford Research Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara, and University of Utah. The computers used different operating systems and they were able to talk to each other across the network with equal status (Figure 2) [3, 6]. The ARPANET is described as the “grandfather to the Internet” [6]

Figure 2

Diagram of how the ARPANET was first connected.

In 1972 electronic mail (e-mail), was introduced. Ray Tomlinson at BBN (Bolt Beranek and Newman) created basic software able to send and read emails. Roberts later expanded this utility by writing the first email program to list, read, file, forward, and respond to messages. [2] Within a year, the creation of Telnet (a remote connection service for controlling a computer) and FTP (file transfer protocol), which allows


Page 18 of 59

information to be sent from one computer to another in bulk was also created. [6] ARPANET was currently using the Network Control Protocol (NCP) to transfer data. This allowed communications between hosts running on the same network. [3]

As ARPANET expanded, many compatibility problems arose due to different models of computers being connected. The solution was to use a better set of protocols which could meet the needs of an open-architecture network environment. [6]

In 1974 Vinton Cerf and Bob Kahn wrote a paper on Transmission Control Protocol, this is the first time the term “Internet” was used. [7]

The Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) was later designed in 1982 by Bob Kahn. This allows each message sent on the network to be broken up into IP (Internet Protocol) packets, like “individually addressed digital envelopes”. TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) makes sure the packets are delivered from client to server and then reassembled in the right order. [2, 6] By the 1st January 1983, every machine connected to ARPANET had to use TCP/IP. It became the core Internet protocol and replaced NCP entirely. By this time there were 562 different hosts connected using either the ARPANET 50 Kbps backbone, satellite and radio connections or CSNET. CSNET was created by The National Science Foundation and used a 56 Kbps network for institutions without access to ARPANET. The Domain Name System (DNS), a system designed to make it much easier for people to access other servers was created by The University of Wisconsin. It allowed packets to be directed to a domain name, which would be translated by the server database into the corresponding IP number. This meant people would no longer have to remember numbers in order to connect to another computer.[7]

As non-military uses for the network increased, it was no longer safe for military purpose so in 1984 the ARPANET was divided into two networks, one called MILNET, used to serve the needs of the military and ARPANET to support the advanced research component. The Department of Defense continued to support both networks. By this time the Internet Protocol software was being placed on every type of computer this allowed the Universities and research groups to connect to each other over Local Area Networks (LAN). [6, 8] A crucial component to the development of LANs was Ethernet, which allowed coaxial cable to move data extremely fast. This was developed in 1976 by Dr. Robert M. Metcalfe. [7] In 1986, one LAN branched out to form a new competing network, called the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET). They began deploying new T1 lines, allowing connections of up to 1.544Mbps. It linked together the five national supercomputer


Page 19 of 59

centres and soon began to include every major university. NSFNET started replacing the slower ARPANET. [6, 8]

According to Mary Bellis, “NSFnet formed the backbone of what we call the Internet today.” [6] The Internet was beginning to be used by many communities for daily computer communications. Email was starting to become more widely used and was usually sent and received from different operating systems. By this time it consisted of 2308 different hosts, connected via, the 50Kbps ARPANET backbone, 56Kbps CSNET backbone, 1.544Mbps (T1) NSFNET backbone, or satellite and radio connection. [2, 8] In 1990, Merit, IBM and MCI formed a not for profit corporation called the Advanced Network & Services (ANS), which was to conduct research into high speed networking. They soon came up with the concept of the 45 Mbps line known as T3, which was soon to be implemented. Whilst development of the new lines took place the Department of Defense took the original 50Kbs lines of ARPANET and completely replaced it with the NSFNET 1.544 Mbps. backbone.

In 1991 CSNET was discontinued, by the end of year all of the NSFNET sites were connected using the newer T3 backbone. By this time the amount of hosts connected to the internet was 617,000, by 1992 this number increased to 1,136,000. [8, 9] In 1992, the World-Wide Web released by an organisation known as CERN (Centre Européen de Recherche Nucléaire), documents coded with HTML elements were stored on one main computer. This special type of computer was called a “web server” as it "served-up" batches of cross-linked HTML documents. There was only one Web server located at CERN, but by the end of 1992 there were over 50 Web servers in the world. [10] The use of web servers on the WWW were using line-mode user interfaces up until Marc Andreessen at University of Illinois developed a graphical user interface to the WWW in 1993, which they called “Mosaic for X”. [9] Version 1.0 of Mosaic was released in September 1993 for the Windows, Macintosh and the X Windows System platforms. The graphical user interface (GUI) browser was an immediate success and was very popular due to its ease of use. By the end of 2004, Hundreds of thousands of new hosts were added to the INTERNET, many companies were making use of the internet for conducting business via web pages. During this year the first virtual cyber bank opened, Pizza Hut also started offering pizza ordering on its Web page. NFSNET also started installing a new backbone called Asynchronous Transmission Mode (ATM), this ran at 145Mbps. By this time the internet hosts had reached 3,864,000.


Page 20 of 59

On the April 30, 1995 The National Science Foundation announced that it would no longer allow direct access to the NSF backbone. They contracted with four different companies that would be providers of access to the NSF backbone. These companies would then sell connections to groups, organizations, and companies. [10] In May, A man called Chris Lamprecht (Minor Threat) becomes first person banned from the Internet. In the early 1990s Chris wrote a program called ToneLoc (Tone Locator), a phone dialing program to find open modem lines in telephone exchanges. Later that month the computer programming language known as JAVA was created by James Gosling. By the end of 1995 many more e-commerce web sites were online including the Amazon and Ebay. Microsoft also realised Internet Explorer 1.0 which led to the “WWW browser war” fought primarily between Netscape and Microsoft. [11, 12] A study showed that by 1996 approximately 45 million people were using the Internet globally, within the United States, it was shown that 44% (43.2 million) of households owned a computer and 32% (14 million) of them had a connection to the internet. [13] On July 1996 Hotmail, created by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith went online. This would later be sold to Microsoft for $400 million. [11] By the beginning of 1999, the number of Internet users worldwide reached 150 million. E-commerce was becoming more popular and Internet shopping was becoming more commonplace. [13]

Figure 4

Diagram of internet usage in 1999.


Page 21 of 59

A Northeastern University student, known as Shawn Fanning invented Napster on May 1999. Napster was a computer application that allows users to swap music over the Internet in the form of mp3’s over a peer-to-peer file-sharing system. Before being shut down in 2001, Napster had attracted 85 million registered users who were trading as many as 3 billion songs a month. [11, 13]

Figure 5

Napster allows a user to locate and download music in MP3 format from a giant shared library of all its users.

In 2003 it was estimated that Internet users illegally download about 2.6 billion music files each month and about half of all emails sent were spam. Apple Computer introduces Apple iTunes Music Store, which allows people to download songs for set cost per song. [13] The future of the internet already under development, a not-for-profit, led by over 200 US universities called Internet2. At present there is participation by over 60 leading companies. New technologies are being designed and tested for use on Internet2, these include; IPv6 and multicasting quality of service (QoS). Unfortunately these applications require performance not possible on today's Internet. The new technologies will enable completely new applications such as digital libraries, virtual laboratories, distance-independent learning and tele-immersion. [14]


Page 22 of 59

References

1. Anon. What is Internet? [Internet]. Available from: Webopedia Computer Dictionary http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/Internet.html [Accessed 12 March 2005]

2. Cerf, V.G. et al. (2003) “History of the Internet” [Internet]. Available from: Internet Society (ISOC) All About The Internet http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml [Accessed 12 March 2005]

3. Kristula, D (2001) “The History of the Internet” [Internet]. Available from: The History of the Internet http://www.davesite.com/webstation/net-history.shtml [Accessed 12 March 2005]

4. The Windows Team. (2000) “Sputnik” [Internet]. Available from: Windows To The Universe http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/space_missions/sputnik.html&edu=high [Accessed 12 March 2005]

5. Anon. “Packet Switching” [Internet]. Available from: Webopedia Computer Dictionary http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/p/packet_switching.html [Accessed 14 March 2005]

6. Bellis, M “ARPAnet - The First Internet” [Internet]. Available from: Inventors of the Modern Computer http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa091598.htm [Accessed 14 March]

7. Kristula, D (2001) “The History of the Internet - 1974-1983” [Internet]. Available from: The History of the Internet http://www.davesite.com/webstation/net-history2.shtml [Accessed 12 March 2005]



10. Gribble, C (2005) “History of the Web Beginning at CERN” [Internet]. Available from: Hitmill.com http://www.hitmill.com/internet/web_history.html [Accessed 12 March 2005]

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/Internet.html

http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml

http://www.davesite.com/webstation/net-history.shtml

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/space_missions/sputnik.html&edu=high

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/p/packet_switching.html

http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa091598.htm

http://www.davesite.com/webstation/net-history2.shtml



http://www.hitmill.com/internet/web_history.html


Page 23 of 59

11. Anon. (2005) “A Computer Geek's History of the Internet” [Internet]. Available from: WBGLinks http://www.wbglinks.net/pages/history/ [Accessed 13 March 2005]

12. Anon. “History of the Internet” [Internet]. Available from: History of the Internet http://www.netvalley.com/archives/mirrors/davemarsh-timeline-1.htm [Accessed 13 March 2005]

13. Pearson Education. (2005) “Internet Timeline” [Internet]. Available from: factmonster.com http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0193167.html [Accessed 13 March 2005]

14. Arbor, A (2005) “FAQs about Internet2®” [Internet]. Available from: Internet2

http://www.internet2.edu/about/faq.html

http://www.wbglinks.net/pages/history/

http://www.netvalley.com/archives/mirrors/davemarsh-timeline-1.htm

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0193167.html

http://www.internet2.edu/about/faq.html


Page 24 of 59

CCoommppuutteerrss,, NNeettwwoorrkk SSeeccuurriittyy aanndd PPrriivvaaccyy

With the ever increasing use of the internet, the security risks to both corporate and an individual’s personal computer are becoming greater. According to an article by CERT® Coordination Centre “Computer security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your computer.” [1] There are many security risks and countermeasures associated with Internet connectivity, and with the use of “broadband” (high-speed network connections) and other “always-on” connections to the internet i.e. cable modems (Figure 1), the possibility of being subjected to “intruders” (unauthorized users), malicious software, worms and other successful cyber attacks are greatly increased. [1, 2]

Figure 1

A Motorola SURFboard cable modem

According to the Mocana Corporation, the term Internet security can be divided into two main categories; “Access Security”, and “Transaction Security”. [3] Access security is primarily to do with protecting computers or any device attached to a computer from unauthorized use, it contains three main areas. The first is “Confidentiality”, referring to information only being available to those who have the rightful access to it. The second area access security covers is data “Integrity”, this means that information should only be allowed to be modified by somebody that has


Page 25 of 59

rightful access to it. The last area that access security covers is “Availability”, which refers to information being accessible on demand to people that need it. Many security risks arise from the intentional misuse of a computer system by “intruders” via the Internet. These concepts apply to home users as they do to any corporate or government network [1, 3] There are several different ways in which an intruder could “attack” another computer system and gain access to a system, the first is known as “Hacking” (Figure 2). A hacker is a slang term which means “computer enthusiast”, this is usually a person who is considered an expert of networking and computer programming. A hacker is also a term used by media to describe a group of individuals who gain unauthorized access to a computer system for the purpose of stealing and corrupting data. Many computer experts (hackers) do not like this term to be used for people with malicious intent as they feel a computer hacker is more interested in gaining information, they usually argue that that the proper term for such individuals that break into a computer system is a cracker. [4, 5]

Figure 2

An example of what a hacker might see when gaining access to a computer system.

Hacking is a very big security concern, as if an individual were to gain access to a computer system, not only could they view all data on it, they could modify, erase, steal confidential information or sabotage the entire system, on a business, this could have disastrous effects. An example of this is found in the book “Questioning the Boundary


Page 26 of 59

Issues of Internet Security” by Dr. Charles Shoniregun. “A network of 1000 hackers who call themselves Masters of Deception (MoD) …” “…were severally charged with computer tampering, Internet fraud, illegal wiretapping and conspiracy. The MoD broke into over 25 of the largest corporate computer systems in the USA, including Equifax Inc. (a credit reporting firm with 170 million records), Southwestern Bell Corporation, New York Telephone and Pacific Bell.” [6] Another form of attack can be referred to as “computer jamming”. Jamming occurs when interference overpowers the sender or receiver of a communications link, thereby effectively rendering the communications link useless. These attacks are better known as denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and usually cause a computer to crash or to become so busy processing data that it is unable to be used. A DoS attack can also be used to force the victim to loses connectivity and disconnect from the internet. DoS attacks on wireless networks may be difficult to prevent and stop. (Figure 3) [1, 7]

Figure 3

An example of jamming a wireless network. A hacker may also decide to attack a computer using a “packet sniffer”. When data is transmitted over a network, it is broken into chunks called packets which then re-assembled once it has reached the destination. A packet sniffer will “sniff” out and capture data from these information packets as they travel over the network. This data may include text, such as user names, passwords and other private information. Anybody connected to the internet using a cable modem have a higher risk of exposure to packet sniffers, as most computers within a neighbourhood usually part of the same LAN (Local Area Network). A packet sniffer installed on any pc using a cable modem may be able to capture any data transmitted by any other cable modem in the same neighbourhood (Figure 4). [1]


Page 27 of 59

Figure 4

A comparison of Cable modem users vs. DSL users. The next access security issue is malicious software are known as malware, this refers to software developed for the purpose of doing harm. There are different classifications of malware are based on how they get executed, spread, and/or what they do, however these groups often overlap and are sometimes hard to distinguish the difference. The most common form of malware is the computer virus. Viruses work and spread by attaching themselves to pieces of software, the viral code is then executed when the software is executed on the infected system. A macro virus are also very similar, they uses are built with “visual basic code” and reside in Microsoft Office documents such as “word” or “excel” files. Viruses spread across computers when the attached program or document is transferred from one computer to the other (Figure 5).

Figure 5

The trend of virus infections from July 1994 to February 1996.


Page 28 of 59

Computer worms, although very similar, differ from a virus as they do not require a program to attach to in order to run, this is known as “stand-alone” software. Worms modify their host operating system by forcing the computer to make it start-up during boot process of a computer system. In order to spread, worms usually exploit a vulnerability of the infected system or trick users into executing them. [8] Trojan horses are similar to viruses as they get executed by attaching themselves to other software. However, unlike viruses, Trojan’s can not infect other pieces of software automatically, it must be done manually and is usually used by an individual wanting to gain unauthorised to a computer system. Trojan horse programs trick a user into installing a “back door” program to their computer system allowing somebody to access it without their knowledge, change system configurations or infect a computer with a virus or other malicious software. On Windows computers, three tools are commonly used by intruders to gain remote access to a computer system. These include, BackOrifice, Netbus, and SubSeven (Figure 6). These programs allow an intruder total control over a computer system. [1, 8]

Figure 6

SubSeven – This is the client part of the program, this example shows an intruder gaining access to the victims passwords.

Spyware is a threat that is becoming more and more popular nowadays and it usually works and spreads like a Trojan horse. Spyware products perform many different functions, including advertising via pop-ups, collecting private information on a user


Page 29 of 59

ranging from internet browsing patterns to credit card details, re-routing page requests to illegally claim commercial site referral fees, and installing stealth phone dialers. Many web browser toolbars may also contain spyware. A very similar type of program is known as adware, however these software programs function ethically by simply loading adverts and displaying them while a user runs a program, with the user's permission in return for a free service. The software is only considered “spyware” if it collects personal information without the user's permission i.e. a list of websites visited, or a log of keystrokes. Spyware is usually installed alongside with free software from the internet. (Figure 7) [8, 9]

Figure 7

An example of spyware being installed, usually bundled with free software downloads.

Another type of malicious software can be categorized as an email virus. This is where malicious code is often spread as attachments to an email message. These usually contain a “familiar” email address as the sender to fool the victim in opening the file (Figure 8), an example of this is the “Melissa” virus. [1]

Figure 8

An example of spyware being installed, usually bundled with free software downloads.


Page 30 of 59

The next danger relating to access security is “spoofing”. This is when something, i.e. an email message, appears to have originated from one source when it actually was sent from another. It is used in order to trick a computer user into releasing sensitive information i.e. as passwords or credit card details or to trick them into installing a virus (Figure 9).

Figure 9

This email is pretending to contain a file to update account information, it is actually a virus. An example of spoofing is an email claiming to be from the system administrator, stating that all users of a network must change passwords to a specific word, i.e. “password” otherwise they will have their account suspended, or an email claiming to be from a bank requesting users to users to send theirs personal information to them for their records. [1] Another type of spoofing is known as “phishing”, this is usually an email that contains convincing text and a link to a website that appears to belong to the bank or credit card company. The email will request the user to log in to the web site enter their bank account, credit card or other financial or personal details (Figure 10). [10]


Page 31 of 59

Figure 10

This email looks identical to a real one sent by “eBay”. It contains a fake link to steal account and billing information.

Unlike access security, “transaction security” is related to conducting a private transaction via the internet. This includes internet banking, shopping and making on-line purchases via credit cards. The current issue related to transaction security is ID verification of those involved in the transaction. [3, 4] There are several mechanisms in place that ensure a transaction is safe and secure, these include encryption, digital signatures and the use of “Secure Shell” (SSH) and “Secure Sockets Layer” (SSL). SSH is a program that allows one computer to log into another over a network using an “encrypted” transmission. It provides the ability to execute


Page 32 of 59

commands from a remote location and move files from one machine to another whilst protecting network from attacks. When using SSH's “slogon” the entire login session, including of password, is encrypted this means that it is almost impossible for an outsider to collect passwords. When a document is encrypted, the data becomes scrambled using a sophisticated and mathematical formula (algorithms) which makes use of a numeric key. This key is usually a very long number, without it, the encryption process cant be reversed (decrypted). [3] All internet applications i.e. e-mail, World-Wide Web, telnet use a “socket” to transport data between two computers. SSL is a security-enhanced socket that provides transaction security at the transport level. Version 1 of the “Netscape” Web browser contained a powerful encryption program which allowed users to send encrypted messages to any other web servers which supported SSL. Nowadays, most web browsers support SSL, and many of the popular Web servers have SSL versions. A lot of small businesses who want to sell directly on the Internet, rent web servers equipped with SSL. This ensures that customers can communicate securely with it and any order placed, can’t be intercepted by a hacker. In order to verify a merchant's identity, all SSL equipped secure servers use what are called “RSA Digital Certificates” these certificates are issued by a company called VeriSign, and are used to prove that the business is legitimate (Figure 11). [3, 11]

Figure 11

An example of a SSL Digital Certificate


Page 33 of 59

User authentication is also a very important internet security issue, as of now applications over the internet rely heavily on passwords pin numbers, and keys however this is still not a very reliable method of authenticating a specific user as numbers can be guessed, passwords can be forgotten and keys can be copied. The future for internet security is to use biometrics, human biology, in order to authenticate a user as unique. [6] There are three main types of authentication. The first uses information, this includes using a pin number, password or piece of personal information to authenticate a user. Most internet transactions use this or a combination of these, i.e. an e-commerce web site may require a specific password to allow a user to logon to their website and purchase items (Figure 12).

Figure 12

Online banking system using password and pin for authentication. The second is to use an object, such as a card key or smart card, for example. When transferring encrypting data a key is used to verify the data is kept secure. At present the first two methods have been implemented, however due to their flaws and limits the newer “Biometrics” is starting to surface.


Page 34 of 59

There are two types of Biometrics, “physical characteristics” of an individual and “behavioural characters”. [12] The first type of physical characteristics biometrics is a “fingerprint reader”, this will scan patterns found on a fingertip and compare them to an image stored on a database. At present, more and more everyday gadgets are coming equipped with fingerprint scanners. Computer hardware manufacturers at present have started to include fingerprint scanners and software into their machines so that companies can authenticate the user by verification of the finger. [6] A Japanese mobile communications company has recently released the “F505i”, this is the first mobile phone with a built-in fingerprint scanner and Samsung also included fingerprint authentication in the “Centrino X10” laptop (Figure 13). [13]

Figure 13

Samsung Centrino “X10” with built-in fingerprint technology. Hand geometry involves analyzing and measuring the shape of the hand. Organizations are using hand geometry readers in various applications i.e. time and attendance recording. A retina-based biometric uses a low-intensity light source through an “optical coupler” to scan the unique patterns blood vessels at back of the eye. Retinal scanning is very accurate however requires a user to look into a receptacle and focus on a given point. An iris scan is similar to the retina scan however instead of scanning the retina, it scans the coloured ring surrounding the pupil. It requires no close contact between the user and the reader and work with glasses in place.


Page 35 of 59

A face scanner requires a digital camera to develop a facial image of the user. It then scans and analyzes facial characteristics for authentication. Unlike physical characteristics, which use part of a body for authentication, behavioural characters i.e. the way a user moves or talks can be used. Signature verification analyzes the way a user signs their name. It analysis features such as speed, velocity, and pressure just as it analyses the finished signature's shape (Figure 14).

Figure 14

ePad-i.d A combination of fingerprint and signature scanner. Voice authentication is not based on voice recognition but on voice-to-print authentication, this is a technology that will transform voice into text and all it requires is a microphone. However, background noise can affect verification and voice verification has been found to be not very user friendly.” [12]


Page 36 of 59

References

15. Carnegie Mellon University. (2001) “Home Network Security” [Internet] Available from: CERT® Coordination Center http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/home_networks.html [Accessed 22 March 2005]

16. SANS Institute. (2004) “The Twenty Most Critical Internet Security Vulnerabilities (Updated) ~ The Experts Consensus” [Internet] Available from: SANS Top 20 Vulnerabilities - The Experts Consensus http://www.sans.org/top20/ [Accessed 22 March 2005]

17. Mocana Corporation. “Frequently Asked Questions” [Internet] Available from: Mocana Corporation http://www.mocana.com/faq.html [Accessed 23 March 2005]

18. Anon. What is hacker? [Internet]. Available from: Webopedia Computer Dictionary http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/H/hacker.html [Accessed 24 March 2005]

19. Anon. What is crack? [Internet]. Available from: Webopedia Computer Dictionary http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/crack.html [Accessed 24 March 2005]

20. Shoniregun, C. A, (2004) “Questioning the Boundary Issues of Internet Security” Pages 53-74

21. Grech, S (2005) “Wireless Security Tutorial” [Internet]. Available from: Wireless Security: Wireless Threats http://www.lancs.ac.uk/postgrad/grech/threats.htm [Accessed 24 March 2005]

22. Anon. “Antivirus World - Definition of malware” [Internet] Available from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://www.antivirusworld.com/articles/malware.php [Accessed 24 March 2005]

23. Anon. “Spyware” [Internet] Available from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware [Accessed 24 March 2005]

24. Anon. (2004) “Phishing” [Internet]. Available from: University of Bath Computing Services - Forging and Spoofing http://www.bath.ac.uk/bucs/email/phishing.shtml [Accessed 24 March 2005]

25. Dr. Wilson, R, F, (2001) “What Web Merchants Should Know about Transaction Security” [Internet] Available from: Web Marketing Today http://www.wilsonweb.com/articles/security.htm [Accessed 24 March 2005]

http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/home_networks.html

http://www.sans.org/top20/

http://www.mocana.com/faq.html

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/H/hacker.html

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/crack.html

http://www.lancs.ac.uk/postgrad/grech/threats.htm

http://www.antivirusworld.com/articles/malware.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware

http://www.bath.ac.uk/bucs/email/phishing.shtml

http://www.wilsonweb.com/articles/security.htm


Page 37 of 59

26. Liu, S et al. (2000) “A Practical Guide to Biometric Security Technology” [Internet] Available from: Security http://www.computer.org/itpro/homepage/Jan_Feb/security3.htm [Accessed 24 March 2005]

27. Latieule, T (2003) “Unlocking market for fingerprint scanners” [Internet] Available from: International Biometric Group http://www.biometricgroup.com/in_the_news/07_28_03.html [Accessed 24 March 2005]

http://www.computer.org/itpro/homepage/Jan_Feb/security3.htm

http://www.biometricgroup.com/in_the_news/07_28_03.html


Page 38 of 59

CCoommppuutteerrss aanndd IInntteelllleeccttuuaall PPrrooppeerrttyy

Intellectual property (IP) is a way of giving ownership to a creative idea in the same way ownership can be placed on a physical item. The owner of intellectual property can control the use of the idea and also be rewarded for it. Intellectual property right (IPR) is a way of protecting the owner of the intellectual property from unauthorized copying of their ideas. It also gives the owner of the IP to have the option of getting financial gain from their idea. [1, 2] IPR contains some problems, sometimes it is hard to prove that the idea produced was original and with the expansion of the internet, and explosion of free information that is now being transmitted across the world faster then ever before, this problem has become much more of an issue for assigning intellectual property rights to an original idea. [2] Intellectual property contains four main areas, these include; patents, copyrights, trade marks and trade secrets. A “patent” is a right given to an inventor for a limited period (Figure 1), usually up to 20 years in the UK. It allows the inventor to stop others from making using or selling an invention without the permission of the inventor. It also allows them to receive money, in return for making the invention public whenever it is used.

Figure 1

Image of Sputnik satellite from The National Air and Space Museum


Page 39 of 59

Most patents are for improvements to known technology, “evolution rather than revolution”. In order to get a patent, the technology does not have to be complex however, several conditions must be met. These include;

• The invention must be original (new). • It must involve an inventive step, meaning the invention can be made

or used in any kind of industry.

Every patented invention is recorded in a “patent document” (Figure 2). A patent document must have a description of the invention (usually with drawings), and must include with enough for detail so that a skilled person in the technological area can perform the invention. [3]

Figure 2

Front page of a U.S. Patent Document


Page 40 of 59

A patent does not necessarily entitle the owner to use the invention, only to stop someone else from using it. An example good example of this was documented by BTG:

“Bill has invented the wheel. It’s a great invention with lots of potential. He has a good patent attorney who writes an excellent patent which is then “granted” by the patent office. So Bill has a patent on the wheel.

Susan then invents the automobile - four wheels, engine, transmission, chassis, brakes etc. She then goes to her patent attorney who also writes a very good patent (a patent can - and often does - use existing things (which may be already patented), in this case wheels, in a novel way). Susan’s invention is novel and also is granted by the patent office.

So is Susan then free to make and sell automobiles? No - she cannot, because then she would be infringing Bill’s patent on the wheel – Bill is entitled to stop anyone else from making and using wheels. So Susan has a patentable invention (the automobile) but she does not have freedom to use it unless Bill either sells her wheels or licenses her to use them.

What is Bill entitled to do? He can make and sell wheels - and if he sells them to Susan, she is then free to make them into automobiles. But Bill is not entitled to make wheels and then build automobiles with them – Susan is entitled to stop him because she has the patent on automobiles.” [4]

There are several issues with intellectual property and the computer industry, the first is patentability. Computer software programs, for example can only be patented if they produce a “technical contribution”. This means that in order for a computer program to be patentable it needs to produce a technical improvement in a technical area i.e. a program which speeds up image enhancement. Any program that does not produce a technical improvement to the area of computers beyond the normal physical interactions between a program and the computer such as, software that converts Japanese to English, is not patentable. [5, 6] Another intellectual property issue with computers is to do with the internet, copyright and trade marks. Copyright gives “economic” and “moral” rights to the creators of many different forms of “work” such as literature, art, music, sound recordings, films and broadcasts. It does not protect ideas, names or titles. The owner of copyrighted “work”, like patented materials doesn’t necessarily have the rights to reproduce the material, but gets the right to prevent anybody else from copying it. Anybody trying to reproduce a copyrighted piece of work must gain permission from the copyright owner first, except for in certain circumstances i.e. “limited” use of copyrighted works for non-commercial research, study, teaching, non-profit playing of sound for visually impaired people… etc [7, 8, 9]


Page 41 of 59

In UK law, copyright protection is automatically given to any material that has been created; the only requirement is the “work” must not have been copied from someone else. It is not uncommon however, for two apparently identical items to have separate copyrights. For example, if two people stood up and took a picture at the same instant, they would look identical, and however both would be considered new as they were not copied, providing the work is not “copied” it is considered “new.” [7, 8] There is no official registration or form or fee to copyright a piece of work, however, there are still ways of proving that a piece of work belongs to a creator. One example is to send a copy of the work back via special delivery to themselves and leaving it unopened. This will give a clear indication of when the work was sent as a special delivery will stamp the envelope with a date on the work. Even though this does not prove the work has been created by the owner, it shows that they were in possession of the work at a particular date and therefore nobody can claim it was created by them at a later date. [8, 10]

Due to international treaties such as the “Berne Convention”, once a copyright work is created in the UK, it automatically has copyright protection in all other countries. The internet however, creates a new set of complications and questions with copyright laws. The “Berne Convention” answers a major issue to which law to use in the event of a breach of copyright when downloading a file in the UK from a US server. The convention states that if an infringement of copyright law takes place, the law of the country where it was downloaded applies. So if a file was downloaded in the UK, the UK copyright law would apply, regardless of the files origin. However, there are many more complicated issues such as if somebody in the UK, sends instructions to a computer in the USA to copy information over to a computer in Saudi Arabia. In this scenario the data doesn’t starts or finish in the UK so to the question on who’s law would apply, as of yet there is no agreement. [7]

Trade marks, unlike copyrighting, require a registration and are used to distinguish a good or service from another registrant with a different trade mark. They can include any sign (collection of shapes, words or letters) which can be represented graphically i.e. a company logo (Figure 3-4). A trade mark is only protected in the country that it is registered in and requires permission from the owner to use.

Figure 3

The McDonalds trade mark, “The Golden Arches”

Figure 4 The IBM trade mark


Page 42 of 59

Trade marks are registered for 10 years, after the resister expirers, it can then be renewed for a fee of around £250 (at the time of this document). Trademarks cannot be registered if they are identical or similar to one which already exists. Registration is usually done through a patent agent or directly with the Patent Office. The application will be examined and published to allow for opposition and this process takes approximately two years. [11] A “trade secret” is any information that is not known to the public and its value relies on it being kept secret, such as a formula, a computer program, a technique etc. An example of a trade secret is “the formula for Coca-Cola” which is only known by a few people within the company. A trade secret is very different to a patent, copyright or trademark. Patents require all information to be disclosed, which eventually becomes public. Trade secrets require the information to be kept secret and can potentially last longer than patents. Protection of a trade secret is internal to the company and is usually achieved by restricting access to the information, and signing non-disclosure agreements (Figure 5). If the trade secret is discovered independently, there is no protection for the company that uses it. [12]

Figure 5

A non-disclosure agreement from “XR Illusions Group”


Page 43 of 59

References

28. Anon. “What is intellectual property or IP?” [Internet]. Available from: Intellectual Property http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/question1.htm [Accessed 29 March 2005]

29. Shoniregun, C. A, (2004) “Questioning the Boundary Issues of Internet Security” Page 85

30. Anon. “What is a patent?” [Internet]. Available from: Intellectual Property http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/patents/what.htm [Accessed 29 March 2005]

31. BTG. (2002) “Patentability vs. freedom to use” [Internet] Available from: BTG -- patentability -- http://www.btgplc.com/patentability.php [Accessed 30 March 2005]

32. Anon. “Can I patent computer software?” [Internet]. Available from: Intellectual Property http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/question8.htm [Accessed 29 March 2005]

33. Anon. “Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions” [Internet] Available from: Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure in the UK http://www.ffii.org.uk/swpat/eudir/analysis/november2002.html [Accessed 30 March 2005]

34. Oppenheim, C “Intellectual Property” [Internet] Available from: Intellectual Property - Facing the Legal Challenges of Providing Internet Access in HEIs - Organised by The JISC with support from UKOLN http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/elib/papers/other/copyright/session1/ [Accessed 30 March 2005]

35. Anon “What is copyright?” [Internet]. Available from: Intellectual Property http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/copyright/what.htm [Accessed 29 March 2005]

36. Anon “Are there any exceptions to copyright?” [Internet] Available from: Intellectual Property http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/copyright/exceptions.htm [Accessed 29 March 2005]

http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/question1.htm

http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/patents/what.htm

http://www.btgplc.com/patentability.php

http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/question8.htm

http://www.ffii.org.uk/swpat/eudir/analysis/november2002.html

http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/elib/papers/other/copyright/session1/

http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/copyright/what.htm

http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/copyright/exceptions.htm


Page 44 of 59

37. How can I protect my copyrights? [Internet] Available from: Intellectual Property http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/copyright/protect_rights.htm [Accessed 29 March 2005]

38. IPR - Registered Trademarks [Internet]. Available from: Pronovus http://www.pronovus.org.uk/help/ipr/trademark.htm [Accessed 30 March 2005]

39. What is a trade secret, and how is it different from a patent or copyright? [Internet]. Available from: Howstuffworks http://www.howstuffworks.com/question625.htm [Accessed 30 March 2005]

http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/copyright/protect_rights.htm

http://www.pronovus.org.uk/help/ipr/trademark.htm

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question625.htm


Page 45 of 59

CCoommppuutteerrss,, EEdduuccaattiioonn aanndd DDiissttaannccee LLeeaarrnniinngg

Distance learning is “the method of gaining professional and academic qualifications without having to attend a college or university on a full time basis.” [1] Distance learning is a type of education where students can be educated from home or work by themselves. The global success of the internet has made distance learning possible, students can use e-mail in order to chat and send and receive files from a teacher or other student. They also have options to use electronic forums, videoconferencing, chat sites and any other computer-based communication in order to keep in close contact with anybody from the class. [2]

Figure 1

An example of a virtual classroom.

Distance learning also offers many benefits to students. Because the Internet is accessible from nearly all computers in the world it is possible to learn from a teacher in America whilst being in the UK by using sophisticated computer programs to create “virtual” classrooms (Figure 1) and due to the busy lives led by many students, distance


Page 46 of 59

learning enables them to participate from ANY location with a computer and internet connection including internet cafes [2, 3]

The ability of home study offers “flexibility”. Companies such as ICS, allow customers (students) to learn at their own pace, in their own home and in their own time. This means that people, of any age who are full time employed or have family to look after can still have time to study and learn new things. Also due to the speed and ease sending email or posting to online bulletin boards or forums (Figure 2), there is a quick and easy opportunity for all students to leave feedback, instead of just relying on the few who might raise their hands in a classroom. [3, 4]

Figure 2

An online forum accessible to all students at UEL.

Distance learning also makes it possible for people range of disabilities to gain a better education. Mobility impairments can affect a person’s ability to use their hands, however by using alternative keyboards, mice, speech control and other input devices they are able to access a wide range of Internet-based course materials. Another advantage is, by using virtual classrooms, people in a wheelchair will have the ability to take part in and interact with a class, even if the lecturer is in a wheelchair inaccessible area. Students with limited vision also have the option of using special software to enlarge screen images and blind students are able to use sophisticated programs which convert all learning material into “Braille” (Figure 3). [5]


Page 47 of 59

Figure 3

A Braille input and display for a computer.

There are some negative points to distance learning however, these include, miscommunication due to having non-direct communication with lecturers or students which can result in a student not understanding the work properly. Procrastination is also an issue as many students may start to do other tasks i.e. browse the internet and due to not having a set date and time to do week by, many students may find it hard to concentrate on getting work finished. Another issue is “technical difficulties” this includes problems with the computer system or Internet connection and can result in work not getting completed or a student missing a very important piece of information during a video conferencing session. An example of this is if the ISP was to go down, or computer is subjected to a virus. [3]


Page 48 of 59

References

40. Anon. “Distance Learning Resources – Psychology” [Internet]. Available from: Distance Learning Training and Courses in Psychology http://www.psychnet-uk.com/training_ethics/distance_learning.htm [Accessed 10 April 2005]

41. Anon. “Distance Learning” [Internet]. Available from: What is distance learning? - A Word Definition From the Webopedia Computer Dictionary http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/distance_learning.html [Accessed 10 April 2005]

42. Anon. “Distance Learning Benefits?” [Internet]. Available from: FurtherYourEducation.com - Distance Learners - Distance Learning Benefits - Text Only Version http://www.furtheryoureducation.com/distance_learners/benefits/index_text.shtml [Accessed 10 April 2005]

43. ICS. (2004) “Benefits of Home Study” [Internet]. Available from: distance learning courses, home study courses, e-learning, vocational courses – ICS Learn http://www.icslearn.co.uk/ [Accessed 10 April 2005].

44. Burgstahler, S (2002) “Distance Learning Universal Design, Universal Access” [Internet] Available from: Educational Technology Review Issue 2 http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/issue2/burgstahler.cfm [Accessed 11 April 2005].

http://www.psychnet-uk.com/training_ethics/distance_learning.htm

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/distance_learning.html

http://www.furtheryoureducation.com/distance_learners/benefits/index_text.shtml

http://www.icslearn.co.uk/

http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/issue2/burgstahler.cfm


Page 49 of 59

CCoommppuutteerr CCrriimmee aanndd LLaaww It is hard to define the term “computer crime” without defining what a “computer” actually is. According to the Malaysian Computer Crimes Act 1997, the definition of the computer is “An electronic, magnetic, optical, electrochemical, or other data processing device, or a group of such interconnected or related devices, performing logical, arithmetic, storage and display functions, and includes any data storage facility or communications facility directly related to or operating in conjunction with such device or group of such interconnected or related devices” (Figure 1). [1]

Figure 1

Different types of computers.

The definition of a computer does not include any type of “automated typewriter or typesetter, or a portable handheld calculator or other similar device which is non-programmable or which does not contain any data storage facility”. [1]

Even after several years, there is no internationally recognised definition of the term “computer crime” due to the wide range of things it can be related to. A hacker, for example would be guilty of a “computer crime” if they were to break into a computer system and erase files, but the definition of the term could also be related to a person using a computers to create a fake bank account to handle stolen money. Computer crime


Page 50 of 59

can involve any criminal activities, such as theft, fraud, forgery and mischief, all of which are generally subject everywhere to criminal sanctions. A “computer crime” has therefore been defined as any crime committed where a computer has been used to commit the crime. [2, 3] There are several types of computer crime, these include; Hacking, Fraud, Theft, Piracy, Pornography and Incitement. [4] Hacking is usually defined as gaining entry to an unauthorised system, however in the terms of the law, hacking is described as “the deliberate and unauthorized access, use, disclosure, and/or taking of electronic data on a computer” and is covered governed by federal law in the United States. Even if a person were to hack into a computer system unknowingly, they would still under law be committing an offence. Stealing, Changing, Destroying and modifying data on a computer system is considered hacking. (Figure 2) [5]

Figure 2

Example of hacking into a computer system within a “Unix” environment.

Fraud is a common computer crime, however there are many different forms of computer fraud, a common one is to create an online database of credit card and calling card numbers, or stealing existing ones from an existing database and publishing them on the internet, this results in theft due to people using the stolen credit cards to purchase goods over the internet. Another definition is to create a fake listing in an online auction i.e.


Page 51 of 59

eBay and use this to steal money from auctioneers. According to the U.S. Secret Service, half a billion dollars may be lost annually due to this computer crime. Bulletin boards and other on-line services are frequent targets for hackers who want to access large databases of credit card information. According to a chart by the “National Consumers League” the age of most internet fraud are in the range of between 10 and 60 years, it also states that 94% of all computer criminals are aged between 20 and 59. The National Consumers League has also created a chart showing the top ten internet frauds of 1998 (Figure 3). This chart shows that almost three quarters of all internet fraud crimes are committed via online auctions. [6, 7]

Figure 3

Chart showing top ten internet frauds of 1998.

Another type of computer fraud was committed by a company called “Fortuna Alliance Company”; they took $6,000,000 from thousands of investors who were involved in a “pyramid scheme.” The company promised each person, if they invested $250 - $ 1750 and convince their friends to do so also, then they would get at least $5000 per month back in return. The fraud was discovered in May 1996 and the Federal Trade Commission obtained a court order to freeze all assets of the Fortuna Alliance company. [8]


Page 52 of 59

Theft is the fastest growing computer crime. A study produced by Dr. David L. Carter and Dr. Andra J. Katz shows that there is “a significant relationship between personal use of company computers and increases in intellectual property theft.” Meaning that the more companies allow employees to use the computers for personal use rather than work, the more computer theft crimes are committed. The research also shows how personal use of company computers can lead to employees stealing or attempting to steal money. In the United States, Michigan, a computer cracker accessed a banks computer system and opened an account where over time transferred little amounts of money at a time, these transitions eventually added up to $50,000. [9]

According to Andrey Belousov, computer piracy is defined as “reproduction, distribution and use of software without permission of the owner of copyright.” Any selling of computer systems with illegally installed software, replication and distribution of software without permission and illegal distribution of software over networks is considered piracy (Figure 4). This software includes free programs such as Bareshare, Kazaa, Direct Connect, Limeware etc. According to the U.S. Software Publishers Association, the amount of American software that is illegally copied and distributed through the world is estimated to be around $7.5 billion. [10, 11]

Figure 4

Chart showing top ten software piracy titles shared on peer-to-peer networks.


Page 53 of 59

Pornography is a computer crime that is very difficult to assess due to the different morals or ethics of each individual, however if the material in question involves a person that has not consented to having sex, producing the material, or the person is of an age lower than the legal age of consent then the material in question is considered illegal. The most common crime committed in this topic is the sharing of child pornography. Any person providing access to this type of pornography faces the same charges as if they were supplying actual photos that were not digital. [12]

The internet can also be used for publishing Incitement (racist comments), however most system administrators will remove any content under this category when they see it. In some countries it isn't a criminal offence to distribute racist information and in these cases the government has no jurisdiction on what is being published. [13]

The motivation for computer crimes are very different from person to person, however it is usually for one of the following:

• money • ego • rebellion against all symbols of authority • dysfunctional families • bright children suffocated by ill-equipped teachers • mental illness and instability • obsession and addiction • technical challenge • the potential for gain, notoriety or revenge • ideological beliefs (eg. the Robin Hood mentality) [14]

In order to prosecute any person that has committed a computer crime, several new laws had to be produced. These laws and the definitions of what specifically qualifies as a computer crime is defined in “The Computer Misuse Act 1990” which came into effect on 29August 1990. This “Act” contains several offences that are punishable with either a fine or up to five years imprisonment. The Act also states that any offence where the hacker or the machine is “based in the UK” then the law will apply. This takes care of any international issues. The Act states that all offences have to be committed deliberately rather than accidentally and anybody that accesses a computer system will not be committing a crime unless they alter, erase or copy data. [15]


Page 54 of 59

References

45. Shamsul, A. “Computer Crimes: Is There a Need for Legislations’ Reform?” [Internet]. Available from: Malayan Law Journal Sdn Bhd http://www.mlj.com.my/free/articles/ahmad&zainal.asp [Accessed 28 April 2005]

46. Rasch, M, D, (1996) “Criminal Law and The Internet” [Internet]. Available from: S. G. R. MacMillan: For the defence of serious criminal cases http://www.sgrm.com/art14.htm [Accessed 28 April 2005]

47. Anon. “Introduction” [Internet] Available from: Legal Issues in IT - Home http://www-staff.mcs.uts.edu.au/~jim/cit2/cit2-99/legal/LegalIssue.html [Accessed 28 April 2005]

48. Anon. “Computer Crime” [Internet] Available from: Legal Issues in IT - Home http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~jim/cit2/cit2-99/legal/CompCrime.html [Accessed 28 April 2005]

49. Anon. “Computer Crime Law and Legal Definition” [Internet] Available from: Computer Crime Law and Legal Definition - USlegalforms.com http://www.uslegalforms.com/lawdigest/legaldefinitions.php/computer_crime.htm [Accessed 28 April 2005]

50. Anon. “Fraud” [Internet] Available from: Fraud http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~jim/cit2/cit2-99/legal/Fraud.html [Accessed 28 April 2005]

51. Anon. “Top Ten Internet Fraud Reports Charts” [Internet] Available from: Top 10 Internet Fraud Reports Fact Sheet http://www.nclnet.org/Internetscamfactsheet.html [Accessed 28 April 2005]

52. Shoniregun, C. A, (2004) “Questioning the Boundary Issues of Internet Security” Page 61

53. Carter, D, L. (1997) “Computer Crime: An Emerging Challenge for Law Enforcement” [Internet] Available from: S. G. R. MacMillan: For the defence of serious criminal cases http://www.sgrm.com/art11.htm [Accessed 28 April 2005]

http://www.mlj.com.my/free/articles/ahmad&zainal.asp

http://www.sgrm.com/art14.htm

http://www-staff.mcs.uts.edu.au/~jim/cit2/cit2-99/legal/LegalIssue.html

http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~jim/cit2/cit2-99/legal/CompCrime.html

http://www.uslegalforms.com/lawdigest/legaldefinitions.php/computer_crime.htm

http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~jim/cit2/cit2-99/legal/Fraud.html

http://www.nclnet.org/Internetscamfactsheet.html

http://www.sgrm.com/art11.htm


Page 55 of 59

54. Belousov, A. (2004) “Definition of Computer Piracy, Carrying Out Expert Examination” [Internet] Available from: Computer Crime Research Center http://www.crime-research.org/articles/Belousov0604/ [Accessed 28 April 2005]

55. Anon. “Piracy”[Internet] Available from: Piracy http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~jim/cit2/cit2-99/legal/Piracy.html [Accessed 28 April 2005]

56. Anon. “Pornography” [Internet] Available from: Pornography http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~jim/cit2/cit2-99/legal/Porn.html [Accessed 28 April 2005]

57. Anon. “COMPUTER CRIME: TERMINAL SLAVES, CREDIT CARD FRAUD, AND CENSORSHIP” [Internet] Available from: CDNE Chapter 10 - Computer Crime http://home.c2i.net/nirgendwo/cdne/ch10web.htm [Accessed 28 April 2005]

58. Anon. “Criminal Profile” [Internet] Available from: Legal Issues in IT - Home http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~jim/cit2/cit2-99/legal/CrimProf.html [Accessed 28 April 2005]

59. Anon. “The Computer Misuse Act 1990” [Internet] Available from: Internet laws and data protection act uk specialist lawyers in London http://www.hamiltons-solicitors.co.uk/archive-docs/CMA.htm [Accessed 28 April 2005]

http://www.crime-research.org/articles/Belousov0604/

http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~jim/cit2/cit2-99/legal/Piracy.html

http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~jim/cit2/cit2-99/legal/Porn.html

http://home.c2i.net/nirgendwo/cdne/ch10web.htm

http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~jim/cit2/cit2-99/legal/CrimProf.html

http://www.hamiltons-solicitors.co.uk/archive-docs/CMA.htm


Page 56 of 59

CCoommppuutteerrss,, wwoommeenn aanndd mmiinnoorriittiieess;; EEtthhiiccaall aanndd pprrooffeessssiioonnaall iissssuueess rreellaattiinngg ttoo ccoommppuutteerrss iinn tthhee

ssoocciieettyy

In general the computer culture is created, defined and controlled by men as women do not often feel as welcome. According to research in 1994, about a third of American families have at least one computer in their home however, most of those are purchased and used by males. [1] At present, African Americans and women are not achieving the business success that white men do. Research in 2000 showed that 1 in 7 employed white men owned their own business compared to approximately 1 in 18 employed African American men and only 1 in 14 employed women (Figure 1). [2]

Figure 1

Business ownership for minorities relative to their population.

The use of a computer for business is becoming more standardised as time goes on. According to Dr. Charles Shoniregun, the internet is becoming “the de facto standard for


Page 57 of 59

doing business” [3], this means that any part of society that has not got access to computers or computer training will find it much harder to succeed in creating newer businesses. Computers can be used as a tool to assist business and modern management practices and most small firms use computers for several business functions, including accounting and core work activities. Research has shown that using computers for more business functions can raise productivity to up to 41% and profitability up to 49%. It has also been found that the amounts of computers used in small firms are dependent on the owner’s personal education and involvement with the technology. One of the main barriers that limit computer use is “having the skills to use computers a great deal in the business”. As a result, women and other minorities in computing stand little chance of creating a successful business due to computers being dominantly male orientated. [2] The government is now trying to find ways to persuade more women to join computing courses and recruit them into the computer science and engineering fields. There are several reasons for this:

60. “The justice argument”, allowing women to have an opportunity to contribute and influence a growing and important technology.

61. “The equal opportunity argument”, to allow women to have the same rights to the benefits offered by the ICT labour market.

62. “The resource argument”, to utilise the talents and ability of capable women.

63. “The labour market argument”, stating that a woman has a “potential role in contributing to the supply of computer science educated labour to the industry”.

Many different techniques are being used to make more women apply to higher education in computer science and engineering. These include; Extensive advertising campaigns to inform and encourage women to apply and media attention about the efforts to recruit women. [4] A recent Ball State University study showed that women were more likely than men to believe computer technology has a positive impact on their lives. [5] New research by the Universities of Warwick and Leeds for the Department for Education and Skills has also found that ethnic minorities use their home computers for educational use a lot more than white people do. The study shows that ethnic minorities only appeared to be less computer literate due to them having less access to home computing and the internet. The research was from a survey of over 1500 houses in the areas of; inner and outer London, Birmingham, Leeds, Bradford, Cardiff and Glasgow in areas of highly concentrated ethnic minority groups.


Page 58 of 59

The survey found that African Caribbean people were less likely to own a PC, over south Asian and White people (Figure 2).

Percentage of surveyed people that owned a computer.

42%

37% 31%

African Caribbean South Asian White

Figure 2

Percentage of surveyed people that owned a computer.

The study showed that out of the results attained, 73% of people from ethnic minority groups use their home computers for educational purposes compared to only 61% of white people, showing that more white people use their home computers for leisure instead of study. [6]


Page 59 of 59

References

1. Kantrowitz, B et al. (1994) “Men, women & computers. (cover story)” [Online] Available from: Newsweek; 5/16/94, Vol. 123 Issue 20, p48, 8p, 6c http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=9405117622 [Accessed 01 May 2005]

2. Lerman, R, I et al. (2004) “Can Expanding the Use of Computers Improve the Performance of Small Minority- and Women-Owned Enterprises?” [Internet]. Available from: Can Expanding the Use of Computers Improve the Performance of Small Minority- and Women-Owned Enterprises? http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=310971 [Accessed 01 May 2005]

3. Shoniregun, C. A, (2004) “Questioning the Boundary Issues of Internet Security” Page 51.

4. Stewart, J “Getting more women into computer science and engineering: 1” [Internet]. Available from: Computing http://www.rcss.ed.ac.uk/sigis/public/theme/computing/1 [Accessed 01 May 2005]

5. Moore, P (2000) “Women more positive about computers” [Online] Available from: Women more positive about computers http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=2753005 [Accessed 01 May 2005]

6. Don de Silva. (2003) “Ethnic Minorities Make Better Use of Computers Than Their White Neighbours” [Internet]. Available from: Ethnic Minorities Make Better Use of Computers Than Their White Neighbours http://www.blink.org.uk/print.asp?key=2606 [Accessed 01 May 2005]

http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=9405117622

http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=310971

http://www.rcss.ed.ac.uk/sigis/public/theme/computing/1

http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=2753005

http://www.blink.org.uk/print.asp?key=2606

History of Computers & Impacts on Societygolstein.co.uk/files/Log Book.pdfLogBook Computer and Society Student No: IM1690 0420345 Page 1 of 59 History of Computers & Impacts on Society

Documents