OCR J277 Mark Scheme - Unit 1.6 Extended Response

OCR GCSE (9-1) Computer Science

Mark Scheme: Unit 1.6 (8-Mark Scenarios)

Question	Marks	Indicative Content	Marking Guidance & Levels
1: Auto Manufacturing	8	Company: Higher initial setup costs but lower long-term wage bills. Consistent quality and 24/7 production increases total output. Employees / Ethical: Redundancies for manual staff; de-skilling of the workforce. Reduced risk of injury (robots handle dangerous tasks). Mental health impact/anxiety over future job security.	Level 3 (6-8 Marks) Thorough knowledge and understanding. Discussion is balanced (weighs up multiple sides). Response is contextualised to the scenario. There is a logical chain of reasoning. Level 2 (3-5 Marks) Reasonable knowledge. Reasoning is present but may be underdeveloped or unbalanced (e.g., only discussing drawbacks). Level 1 (1-2 Marks) Basic knowledge with limited understanding. Unsupported assertions (e.g., "it is just faster").
2: Facial Recognition	8	Positive Impacts: Quick identification of banned individuals; reduced stock loss. Privacy / Ethical: Scanning without explicit consent; "surveillance state" concerns. Risk of algorithmic bias leading to false accusations. Legal (DPA 2018): Must inform customers (signage); secure storage of biometric data.
3: VLE Licences	8	Proprietary: Includes official support/training; polished, bug-tested UI. Expensive annual fees; no ability to customise source code. Open Source: Free; can be customised for school-specific grading systems. Requires internal technical expertise; no official help desk. Recommendation: Must be justified.
4: Medical Wearables	8	Patients: Independence (staying at home); peace of mind. Loss of human contact; anxiety regarding 24/7 monitoring. Hospital: Reduces bed-blocking; data-driven alerts for emergency intervention. Privacy: Security of sensitive health data transmitted over the internet.
5: Social Media AI	8	Positive: Automated removal of harmful content; 24/7 monitoring. Ethical/Legal: Censorship vs freedom of speech; AI lacks context (sarcasm).	Refining Level 3 To reach the top of the band, students must use technical terminology correctly: "Data Protection Act 2018" "Planned Obsolescence" "Digital Divide" "Intellectual Property" "Proprietary / Open Source"
6: Upgrade Cycle	8	Environmental: E-waste issues; extraction of raw materials (lithium/gold). Ethical: Planned obsolescence; social pressure to have latest tech.
7: BYOD	8	Legal: DPA 2018 compliance on personal devices; encryption requirements. Ethical: Work-life balance (blurring boundaries); inequality among staff.
8: Smart Cities	8	Privacy: Constant tracking of movement; creation of digital footprints. Ethical: Safety benefits vs mass surveillance concerns.
9: AI Research	8	Impact: Discovery speed increase; removal of human error in data. Ethical/Cultural: Replacement of highly skilled jobs; loss of human intuition.
10: Village Internet	8	Positive: Telemedicine; global e-commerce for local businesses. Negative: Exposure to cyber-crime; erosion of traditional local culture.