Portfolio Section D

Ethics, Copyright and IPR in Computer labs

Ethical and IPR issues that the faculty is confronted with :

 The IPR issues the University is confronted with are Software piracy and
Plagiarism . The students installing pirated software is not only unethical but
endangers the University as a whole. Installing unlicensed and unauthorized
software on the schools computers could lead to major issues such as negatively
affecting the performance of the schools computers and making the schools
system vulnerable to security breaches and giving unauthorized personal access to
the schools system which could have dire consequences and could see the
University being held at ransomed. Plagiarism is also unethical and against the
Universities Policy for Copyright and Plagiarism. The act of Plagiarism taints all
affected parties. The student committing the offense wont be assessed
accordingly and therefore wont receive the skills and growth that come with
appropriate assessing and rectification. Plagiarism is not only a moral offense to
the original Author but also strips them of any financial gain or accolade due to
them. The universities integrity and reputation especially on any original
internally produced works will take a knock and credibility will be questioned
because of its affiliation with perpetrators.
Steps that the faculty should take to address the ethical and IPR
issues :

 The faculty should make sure that the students are fully aware and educated
on the Universities policies on Copyrights and plagiarism and other important
guidelines such as the Students policies and rules , UNISA code of Ethics and
conduct and other Guidelines deemed important by the faculty to combat the
issue. Learners should sign declaration stating they understand the guidelines
and implications of contravening them . The faculty can also run an anti-IPR
Violation campaign highlighting the consequences of IPR violations for all
involved parties. Regular audits should also take place to ensure that such
behaviors prevented and weeded out all together.
Consequences I would expect if I was caught for copying and
plagiarism:

 If I were caught contravening the university's plagiarism policy I would expect

action to be taken against me as per Disciplinary code , I would also expect
possible dismissal and to be prohibited from applying with the institution
based on the severity of my case and the outcome of the disciplinary
committee,
References

 Reddi, U.R.V., 2011, Primer series for ICTD youth, UN-APCICT/ESCAP

 University of South Africa Copyrights and plagiarism Policy , Students
policies and rules , UNISA code of Ethics
 Google and Wikipedia definitions