Importance of Computer Usage and Copyright Policies - Research Paper Example

?Running head: IMPORTANCE OF COMPUTER USAGE AND COPYRIGHT POLICIES Importance of Computer Usage and Copyright Policies Introduction The usage of computers and internet has become an integral part of our day to day lives. One cannot imagine the world without these advanced technological boons to our society. The use of these gadgets and increased dependency on them has also ushered in the good and the bad. Technology has been used not only for the good of the society, but has been used to harm and disrupt the society through many acts of violence and terror. That necessitated the implementation of corrective and pre-emptive measures to restrict and regulate the usage of computers and internet. Every single organization, educational institutes and businesses using computers has introduced certain policies and regulatory measures to keep the computer usage under control. The computer usage policy ideally defines certain goals and principals of the organization with respect to the computer systems. The basic principles that the policies are based upon are essentially the beliefs of the organisation like ethics, morality, values and philosophy. Generally every organization has a written set of rules also known as the Acceptable Usage Policy (AUP). These form a core part of the information technology security procedures and define what a user must do or not. It also in clear and concise manner defines the penalties that might be implemented if a user does not comply with the rules. Regular audits within the organizations ensure the compliance of the AUPs. The most important segment in every AUP is the code of conduct that regulates and controls the behaviour of a user while at work. It defines how one should conduct oneself while using the internet, permissible languages, prevent activities that might cause harm to the organization or any colleague, and ensure that there is complete data security and privacy. (Office of Information Technology, 2010). The AUP also defines the consequences that one might face incase the policies are violated or not adhered to. Non-compliance to the policies can lead to termination, suspension, or dismissal from educational institutes. There is another important factor apart from the computer usage policy that is relevant to most organizations and educational institutes; that being the copyright policy. Copyright is defined as exclusive rights granted by the Government to the creator or builder of something original and unique. (Quarterman, 1986). It prohibits anyone else from copying, imitating or using the contents for any other purpose, other than for what it was created or conceived. Organizations and institutes using computer technology incorporate the copyright policy as well to protect their work, study material, thesis etc. It is the user’s responsibility to ensure that they comply with the copyright laws and restrictions while using resources on the internet, journals or accessing databases. The copyright policy prohibits users from making copies of copyrighted material or software, non-compliance of which can lead to fatal outcomes. Both policies are equally important in any organization or educational institutes to maintain sanctity of work and data privacy, while permitting the employees and students to perform their duties properly. Institutes incorporating Computer Usage Policy American University (AU) established at Washington in the early 18th century remains a prestigious university. Moving along with changing time and period, it has ensured it remained in sync with the modern technologies and along with everything else, has incorporated the computer usage policy. The policy restricts individuals from accessing any account, file or software that they don’t have the authorization for. All staff and students are given network access privileges, with unique access codes, that allow them to access all resources like the library, research materials, systems, networks and registered software’s. (Stanford University, 2011). It is indeed a privilege to have access to these University resources and utmost care has to be taken to protect them from being misused, hence the policy. The University’s entire resources are stored in computers and the whole student and staff community depend on these, so it of utmost importance that the resources are secured and well protected. It is very critical that no one is able to disrupt, endanger or misuse someone else’s work or the university operations. The policy ideally takes care of all these by: 1.prohibiting students from sharing their passwords and other personal details, 2.changing files without permission, 3.disrupting or corrupting the hard disks or any storage material, 4.downloading or accessing unauthorised or illegal material, 5.misusing emails and other messaging services and 6.wasting precious resources for malicious purposes. Any violation of the above mentioned policy can result in: 1. Termination of the individual from the university, 2. Permanent forfeiture of access codes and computer systems, 3. University claiming monetary reimbursement, and 4. Legal prosecution. The University bears this tremendous responsibility of protecting its networks, databases, knowledge banks and software from unauthorized hacking, malicious use and security breaches. The policy helps the University achieve these to a great extent. Another institution that has incorporated excellent computer usage policies is the Stanford University (SU). This esteemed university was established in 1891 and has evolved since then into a state of the art institute integrating modern technology and world class education methodology. Technology brought in the need to have control and the introduction of correct computer usage and copyright policies. The Stanford University policy stresses on ensuring that all information and infrastructure that aid the University in imparting learning and knowledge need to be safe guarded against malicious and improper access and usage. It states that it is the sole responsibility of the students and staff of the University to help protect database, knowledge banks, resources and libraries from being accessed illegally or through unauthorised means. Computer technology is a powerful source for accessing and sharing information and data within the University as well as globally. The policy lays down rules on what according to the University is the appropriate usage of computers, what privileges should be granted to various users and to what extent data accessing should be permitted. It states that data relevancy and database is individualistic, so unique access codes is a must for data protection and data sanctity. Data integrity is a critical aspect for all information systems, so the policy ensures that all data is kept under secure environment and access to that is restricted. (Wellman, 2001). The policy also highlights the importance of copyrights and licenses, stating that the user shall adhere to all the copyright laws and regulations and software licenses should be duly audited for their validity. The computer usage policy restricts the usage of the University computers and networks for any kind of commercial, political and personal activities. All these are steps towards safeguarding the enormous databases and knowledge banks that the University has accumulated over decades. Institutes incorporating Copyright policy and regulations Copyrights rules and regulations form an integral part of the AUP for all organizations, especially educational institutions. The same is practised and promoted at the University Of Maryland University College (UMUC). The University has included the Copyright and Fair use policy for all staff and students. This protects the sanctity of all original works, ideas, facts and researches. UMUC permits students and staff to use material, documents, journals etc for reference but prohibits them to be directly copied or reproduced in any manner that is similar to the original. The policy also permits Fair use, which is a State authorized permit as to how much and to what extent content can be copied. There are certain guidelines that Fair use has implemented to avoid plagiarism, with the intent of protecting the original work. UMUC understands that certain copyrighted material if reproduced in an ethical manner, would only help in the enrichment of the society. With the intent to enable students generate quality work; UMUC incorporated the Fair use practice. (University of Maryland College, 2001). It is a generic permission or authorization for using copyrighted material and ideas without the actual permission of the copyright owner. However, UMUC does insist that correct quotes, references and citations need to be provided if there is any material used from copyrighted work. Students using the internet and multimedia should also cite the correct websites and sources for their work; these will help in abiding the copyright rules and regulations. Columbia University (CU) Berkeley in New York is the fifth oldest university in the United States, established in 1754. Traditions are at their highest essence in CU and with technical advancement making its presence felt tremendously, CU too had to accept the modernization. Computers and technology introduced plagiarism, infringing of copyrighted material and illegal usage of technology. With the whole student body dependent highly on computers and internet for all their work, CU had to initiate the Copyright policy. CU believes that honesty is the foundation to all academic and intellectual brilliance. Original ideas and work should be applauded, enjoyed, perceived and shared by all but it is critical to maintain the originality as it is. Copyright violation is a serious offence and can lead to termination from the university. CU has granted privileges to all students with respect to the computer and internet usage; however it also ensures that the privileges are not misused or misconstrued by implementing the copyright policy. (Columbia University, 2003). The copyright protection covers almost all work and software used, so it becomes more important that the user adheres to the rule of not copying, displaying, reproducing or performing a copyrighted work without the n authorization or permissions. CU has included Fair use policy as well, which does not permit the use of complete original work but allows certain modified versions to be used. Infringement of any kind would force CU to take serious actions against the culprit and the user may face legal charges or be terminated from the university or may have all his privileges taken back, any of which is not very conducive for any student or staff. References Office of Information Technology.(2010). Computer Use and Copyright Policy. American University.Retrieved from: http://www.american.edu/oit/policies Stanford University. (2011). Computer and Network Usage Policy. Retrieved from: http://adminguide.stanford.edu/ University of Maryland University College. (2011).Copyright and Fair use Online or Face-to-Face Classroom. Retrieved from: http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/copyright.cfm Columbia University. (2003). Computing, Network and Information Policies. Retrieved from: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/policy/copyright-info.html Quarterman, J. (1986). Notable Computer Networks. Communications of the ACM, 29(10). Wellman, B. (2001). Computer Networks as Social Networks. Science, 293. Read More