The use of electronic reading devices has proliferated in the last few years. These reading devices appear to be particularly popular with young readers. A generation of students that has grown up with computers, cell phones, iPods, and other high-tech devices is more likely to embrace electronic book technology for both their educational and…

Addressing the issues of the application of the First Amendment and deregulation, this paper examines the judicial and legislative precedents for cable television regulation and the current industry status. The paper then addresses the questions: (1) Should and could a different regulatory approach be taken? (2) What types of models might best be…

Discussions collected in this newsletter include the following speeches all of which were presented at the 1976 convention of the Western States Speech Communication Association: "Where the First Amendment is Silent," a sketch of current speech rights and a prediction for the future; "Freedom of Speech in University Theatre; or,…

Suggesting future lines of inquiry for policymakers and others, this report attempts to distill the essential points of discussion and debate that occurred during a conference on electronic media regulation and the first amendment attended by 21 experts representing legislative, regulatory, business, judicial, academic, audience, and media…

This master's thesis assumes that the argument presented in "The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty" (D. G. Myers) is correct. The United States presently suffers from a social recession arising from the impoverishment of the human spirit. The thesis diagnoses four underlying causes of U.S. social ills: (1) science;…

A historical analysis of the laws surrounding college-fraternity relationships, governed by the first amendment to the Constitution, and the likely state of those laws following the 1984 Supreme Court decision in Roberts v. United States Jaycees, is presented. (MSE)

Presents a lesson plan on the First Amendment that encourages students to think about what their lives, both now and in the future, would be like without the First Amendment freedoms. Gives the poster "First Amendment Freedoms" that identifies the first five freedoms of the amendment and a student handout. (CMK)

The historic development of the cable phenomenon is traced through industry rhetoric that promised a multitude of services and "voices" in exchange for benign regulations. The current rhetoric of the "wired nation's" latest entrant into the broadband information delivery business--the telcos--also is examined in order to assess…

Seventeen national organizations have sponsored this statement of principles that reaffirm a shared commitment to the religious liberty clause of the First Amendment. The importance of religious liberty is asserted, as is recognition of the primary responsibility of parents in child rearing. (SLD)

Examines the current relationship between religious liberty and U.S. democracy. Presents a proposal to reforge the U.S. public philosophy according to the notion of chartered pluralism that celebrates the diversity embodied in the First Amendment. Ties this to the conflict between communitarianism and libertarianism. (DB)