Ethics and Health Issues in ICT
AdvancedUsing ICT demands both ethics and health. Ethically: respect intellectual property, refuse piracy and plagiarism, follow netiquette and protect personal data privacy. For health: apply ergonomics to prevent eyestrain, repetitive strain injury and the hazards of sitting. Good habits plus institutional rules are the usual combination in scenario questions.
- Intellectual property protects creation; unauthorised copying is infringement and quotations must be cited
- Netiquette means politeness; cyberbullying harms and may be illegal — keep evidence and tell teachers
- Personal data collection must be lawful in purpose and proportionate in use; monitoring must balance need and privacy
文體小知識：科技知識說明文——講解使用資訊科技的道德規範（知識產權、私隱、網上禮儀）與健康議題（人體工學、屏幕時間、勞損預防），並示範情境應用題的答法。
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1ICT makes copying and sharing effortless, so ethical and legal boundaries matter more than ever. Intellectual property protects creators' work, and copyright law forbids copying or distributing works without authorisation; pirated software, films and music are not only unlawful but also sap the will to create. Learning is no different: pasting online passages as one's own work is plagiarism — quotations must be acknowledged and then digested into one's own analysis.
2Online communication has its own norms. Netiquette means treating others politely, watching one's words and avoiding personal attacks in forums; cyberbullying — humiliating or isolating people with words and pictures — can cause serious psychological harm, and some acts breach the law. Personal data privacy matters just as much: names, phone numbers, addresses and ID numbers are personal data that may only be collected for lawful purposes and used within the stated scope. When monitoring technologies manage employees or students, a balance between reasonable need and privacy is required, with prior notice and limited use.
3The physical effects of long computer sessions follow a pattern. Ergonomics studies how tools and postures should fit the body: the top of the screen level with the eyes at about 50–70 cm; chair height letting forearms rest flat on the desk and feet flat on the floor; keyboard and mouse close to the body to keep wrists straight. Correct posture plus regular breaks is the foundation of preventing musculoskeletal strain.
4Common problems include eyestrain, neck, shoulder and back pain, repetitive strain injury in the wrists, and circulation trouble from sitting too long. Prevention is practical: after 30–40 minutes at the computer, look far away or rest the eyes for a few minutes, following the 20-20-20 rule — every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds; stand and stretch regularly; balance screen time with sleep and put glowing screens away before bed. Used with care, technology need not cost health.
5In examinations, ethics and health often appear together in scenario questions: someone downloads infringing software, spreads a classmate's data in a group chat, or feels unwell after long gaming sessions — the task is to identify the problems, explain the effects and suggest remedies. The remedy is habit: respect creation, protect privacy, communicate politely and use technology in moderation; schools and organisations add rules, filtering software and education, building a healthy, lawful and respectful digital culture together.
1Summary 重點摘要
Using ICT demands both ethics and health. Ethically: respect intellectual property, refuse piracy and plagiarism, follow netiquette and protect personal data privacy. For health: apply ergonomics to prevent eyestrain, repetitive strain injury and the hazards of sitting. Good habits plus institutional rules are the usual combination in scenario questions.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Legal rights over creations, including copyright, trademarks and patents.
The legal right protecting original works from unauthorised copying or distribution.
Unauthorised copying, downloading or distribution of copyrighted software, media or publications.
Presenting others' work or ideas as one's own without acknowledgement.
The code of polite conduct for online communication.
Deliberately humiliating, threatening or isolating someone through electronic channels.
The legal protection of personal data: collection must be lawful and necessary, and use limited to stated purposes.
The study of designing tools and workspaces to suit the human body and reduce strain.
Injury to muscles or tendons caused by repeated movements such as typing over long periods.
The total daily time spent on screens, which can affect eyesight, sleep and wellbeing.
3Step by step Steps
- Step 1: Intellectual property and copyrightIntellectual property protects creations, and copyright is the part closest to students. For example, installing paid software on many computers without a licence, downloading pirated films, or reselling paid online teaching materials all infringe copyright; using open-source or free software, or quoting with acknowledgement in fair amount, is proper. Copyright ensures creators are rewarded so creation continues; before using anyone's work, checking the licence terms is a basic habit.
- Step 2: Plagiarism and academic integrityRich online resources make plagiarism more tempting. Pasting a searched paragraph straight into a report as one's own writing is plagiarism even for a single paragraph. For example, when a group report cites statistics, the proper way is to state the source and year and explain them in one's own words; changing a few words is still plagiarism. Academic integrity is the baseline of learning, and penalties in the DSE and universities are severe — citing sources and analysing independently benefits one's own thinking in the long run.
- Step 3: Netiquette and cyberbullyingOnline talk without face-to-face cues demands self-discipline. Netiquette includes polite wording, no personal attacks, verifying before forwarding, and respecting different views. Beyond impoliteness lies cyberbullying: humiliating classmates in group chats, uploading embarrassing photos, deliberately isolating people — such acts can drive victims into anxiety and depression, and some are illegal. For example, posting an embarrassing clip of a classmate to tease cannot be recalled once it spreads; on witnessing bullying, keep evidence and tell teachers, and remember that bystander silence encourages it.
- Step 4: Personal data privacy and the limits of monitoringPersonal data means data identifying an individual, such as names, phone numbers, addresses and photos. Organisations may collect it only for lawful purposes, use it within the stated scope, and secure it. For example, when a school monitors campus with software or cameras, it should give prior notice, limit the purpose and set retention periods; employers reading staff emails must likewise balance reasonable management against privacy. When installing apps, check what permissions they request and never fill in personal data that is not necessary — the first step of self-protection.
- Step 5: Ergonomics and workspace setupErgonomics studies how tools should fit people, not people bend to tools. Set up a computer workspace by a few points: screen top level with the eyes, viewing distance about 50–70 cm; chair adjusted so forearms rest flat and feet flat, with lumbar support; keyboard and mouse close, wrists straight. For example, hunching over a laptop lying on the bed soon aches the neck and shoulders; adding a riser and an external keyboard greatly improves the posture.
- Step 6: Common health problems and preventionLong sessions bring eyestrain, dry eyes, neck, shoulder and back pain, wrist repetitive strain injury, and circulation problems from sitting. Prevention rests on breaks and movement. For example, when revising, rest the eyes by looking into the distance every half hour — follow the 20-20-20 rule, every 20 minutes looking at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds; stand and stretch every hour; watch total screen time and put glowing screens aside an hour before bed to protect sleep. These habits cost little yet markedly reduce strain.
- Step 7: Self-discipline and systems togetherEthics and health issues share one feature: they are built by habits and systems together. Individually: respect creation, protect privacy, communicate politely, moderate screen time. Institutionally: acceptable-use policies, filtering and protective software, education talks, and ergonomic environments. For example, a library may arrange computer screens back to back to cut glare and disturbance while usage rules govern behaviour — when systems and self-discipline cooperate, a healthy and lawful digital culture grows.
5Worked example Example
Scenario application: Ah Ming, a Secondary 6 student, spent eight straight hours at the computer rushing a project: he pasted three online passages without citing sources, installed a pirated design program from a classmate, and ended the night with aching wrists and dry eyes. Identify two ethical problems and one health problem in his conduct, and propose one improvement for each.
- Read the question: two ethical problems plus one health problem, each with a suggestion — answer item by item, never only one side
- Ethical problem one: pasting passages without citation is plagiarism, breaching academic integrity — remedy: digest the material and write in his own words, listing sources clearly
- Ethical problem two: installing pirated software infringes copyright and is unlawful — remedy: switch to free or open-source software, or buy a genuine licence
- Health problem: long fixed postures brought wrist repetitive strain and eyestrain — remedy: rest and look far every half hour, set desk, chair and keyboard to ergonomic positions, stretch on breaks
- Conclude: using technology demands self-discipline — respect creation and protect the body; both are basic qualities of a digital citizen
- Answer: Ah Ming's conduct involves two ethical problems. First, pasting three online passages without citation is plagiarism, breaching academic integrity; he should digest the material, express it in his own words and list the sources clearly. Second, installing the pirated design program infringes copyright and is unlawful; he should switch to free or open-source software or purchase a genuine licence. For health, eight straight hours kept his wrists repeating one motion and his eyes without rest, producing signs of repetitive strain injury and eyestrain; he should rest and look into the distance about every half hour, stand and stretch regularly, and adjust desk, chair and keyboard to ergonomic positions. Marking points: naming plagiarism and copyright infringement, identifying strain or eyestrain, and a concrete suggestion for each.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1What is the definition of plagiarism?
Q2Give two requirements of netiquette.
Q3What principles must organisations follow when collecting personal data?
Q4What is the 20-20-20 rule?
Q5Give two ergonomic points for a computer workspace.
8Recap Recap
- Intellectual property protects creation; unauthorised copying is infringement and quotations must be cited
- Netiquette means politeness; cyberbullying harms and may be illegal — keep evidence and tell teachers
- Personal data collection must be lawful in purpose and proportionate in use; monitoring must balance need and privacy
- Ergonomics: screen at eye level, 50–70 cm away, wrists straight, back supported
- The 20-20-20 rule and regular stretching, with self-discipline and systems, prevent eyestrain and strain injuries