The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) provides students and parents access to their school records and requires that parents and adult students be informed of their rights under the act. FERPA also bars the release of records to third parties without written consent except to school district employees possessing legitimate…

The press and public should have access to pretrial discovery documents in civil litigation when matters of public concern are at issue. Recently, the Supreme Court expanded the public's First Amendment right of access to criminal proceedings, and based on that, some lower courts have granted access to civil trials. In its decisions establishing…

The field methods for data collection in a research project on linguistic change and variation in the Philadelphia speech community, their origins and use, are described. Five working principles of the project are detailed: (1) there are no single style speakers; (2) styles can be ranged along a single dimension, according to the attention paid to…

An overview of six major issues in computer ethics is provided in this paper: (1) unauthorized and illegal database entry, surveillance and monitoring, and privacy issues; (2) piracy and intellectual property theft; (3) equity and equal access; (4) philosophical implications of artificial intelligence and computer rights; (5) social consequences…

The desire to abolish the gap between research theory and classroom practice has sparked an increasing interest in field-based research among science educators. Although most researchers are aware of the standard meanings of informed consent and confidentiality, and there are some codes of ethical principles published by such groups as the…

In considering the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), it is essential to keep in mind that the Act is not, and never could be, a statute with the singleminded purpose of disclosing government information. Many kinds of information that the government has in its possession must be kept confidential to protect important public…

This participant manual is designed to provide an overview of federal laws and regulations pertaining to the confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse patient records. The relationship of federal laws to state laws and regulations is also discussed. The materials, useful for persons involved in the fields of substance abuse treatment or…

In the 1978 "FCC v. Pacifica Foundation" ruling, the United States Supreme Court considered the authority of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate indecent radio programing, finding that the public has a constitutionally protected interest in being protected against objectionable programing. The FCC suit, arising out of…

One function of a Human Subjects Committee is to review the possible adverse effects of ethically problematic experiments. The concerns of an institutional review committee about the possible adverse effects of an ethically-problematic "cheating" study were examined with regard to the actual effects reported by the subjects. Retrospective…

The materials listed were selected to provide insights into the role of information systems and technology in present day American society. Emphasized throughout the bibliography are the issues of right to privacy, research and development reporting, information access and policy, and legislator reliance on information services. Citations are…

This report of a Louis Harris poll on national opinions toward privacy includes the questions asked of each respondent and the responses given in categories related to age, sex, employment, income, and other factors. There are chapters on privacy and the individual; personal privacy in relation to governmental and business institutions; privacy…

Investigated whether trait differences in self-consciousness would account for egocentric attribution bias in social interaction. Bias was greater for high public self-consciousness. Public self-consciousness had no effect in the Interaction Unimportant Condition where social interaction was not salient. Contrary to prediction, however, the…

Examines the advantages and disadvantages of both the open and the confidential letter of recommendation and offers suggestions as to what kind of information should be included in such letters. (JC)

The advantages and disadvantages of laws mandating openness in decision-making are outlined, and their particular relevance in the case of collegial decision-making is discussed. (MSE)

Presents a lesson plan for grades 4-6 which illustrates the concepts of privacy, property, and search and seizure. Calls upon students to recognize that individual property and society's need for security may conflict. Uses seven cases to help students learn and identify legal search and seizure procedures. (GEA)