The right to privacy is a firmly entrenched democratic principle that has been inferred in the U.S. Constitution and protected by the Fourteenth Amendment as a liberty of personal autonomy. It is the statutory right to privacy that has been most closely aligned with data protection as a form of self-protection. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission…

In this article I explore the ethical terrain of experiential learning activities drawing on my experiences leading college students on field trips into criminal justice settings. Though there are numerous educational benefits to adopting experiential learning activities, the rewards must be evaluated in light of the potential harms to nonstudent…

The Secretary of Education (Secretary) establishes requirements, definitions, and approval criteria for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (Stabilization or SFSF) program. The Secretary may use one or more of these requirements, definitions, and approval criteria in awarding funds under this program in fiscal year (FY) 2010. These requirements,…

Education-agency and school staff are legally and ethically responsible for safeguarding student information. In addition to federal and state laws and regulations, education agencies need policies and procedures to guide their everyday information-maintenance operations. This document provides examples of policies and procedures as well as…

With each technological advancement--telephone, automobile, television, and modem--people gain convenience, efficiency, and speed; they lose immediacy, real as opposed to virtual community, and physicality. At a writer's computer conference, journal writers who have used a diary with a lock and key to keep writings private wonder how to reconcile…

The increasing use of computer technology for sending and receiving electronic mail messages not only signifies changes in how we communicate, but also signals changes in the skills, knowledge, and practices associated with communication by mail. Some of the characteristics of electronic mail (e-mail) are considered. E-mail refers to the capacity…

A series of four speeches on law-related topics comprise this volume. The text of each speech along with comments of invited respondents are included. The presentations include: "Justice and Sentencing" (Daniel Moylan); "Law: Obedience and Civil Disobedience" (Linda Irvin); "Liberty--The Right of Privacy" (Allan Powell); and "Punishment: The Death…

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…