Copyright and other intellectual property issues have dominated discussions of legal issues surrounding the Internet. There are other issues of considerable importance that also attract attention. Five legal issues affecting the Internet are addressed: copyright, online service-provider liability, database protection, obscenity, and privacy. Cited…

In July 2000, the Commonwealth Court (of Pennsylvania) issued a decision upholding Bethlehem School District's 10-day suspension of a middle-schooler who had created a website that childishly ridiculed a teacher and the principal. This decision is another that subordinates students' 14th Amendment rights to school-safety concerns. (MLH)

The 11th Circuit Court upheld a Georgia district's termination of an exemplary teacher who refused an immediate drug test after a police dog sniffed out a marijuana cigarette in her unlocked car. This case illustrates application of zero-tolerance policies to teachers and other personnel despite employees' signed contracts. (MLH)

Discusses the importance of drug-testing policies for educators by analyzing the recent Sixth Circuit Court of Appeal's decision in "Knox v. Knox." Concludes that mandatory drug testing for educators in safety-sensitive positions will not infringe on the constitutional rights of school employees. (Contains 30 footnotes.) (MLF)

Explores security challenges and practical approaches to safeguarding school networks against invasion. Highlights include security problems; computer viruses; privacy assaults; Internet invasions; building a security policy; authentication; passwords; encryption; firewalls; and acceptable use policies. (Author/LRW)

Discusses Web-based educational resources in the United Kingdom, focusing on current challenges of linking content with community and static information with dynamic news. Describes the evolution of three social sciences resources and examines sustainability, the need for collaboration, and data protection and privacy concerns. (Author/LRW)

Describes how many college officials are confused by the USA Patriot Act, a new anti-terrorism law that may affect campus networks and library records; they believe its provisions could raise privacy and academic freedom issues. (EV)

This review of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on the Internet focuses on empirical research in noninstitutional and nonorganizational contexts. Highlights include modes of CMC; appropriate uses; social effects; effects on language and communication; freedom of expression; community; personal impacts; privacy; ethics; democracy;…

In the current climate of concern about the privacy of medical records, the following topics should be addressed in the education of health professionals: the moral grounding of informed consent, the moral and legal obligations of professionals, the promise and perils of genetics research, and responsible research conduct. (SK)

Developments in information technology and the ongoing restructuring of health services to increase provision in community settings militate in favour of a streamlining of communications and the exchange of information about patients among health and social care providers. Yet the principles of confidentiality and privacy appear to inhibit this…

What does it mean to be a citizen in a digital world where technology has facilitated global connections? The children of today are immersed in a digital age, and as increasing numbers of students go online, they require skills to securely and responsibly take full advantage of computers and the Internet. Despite the natural enthusiasm that many…

There are some school leaders who believe that the military offers just one more option for students to consider. Others, however, think that military recruiters are too aggressive and that the privacy of students should be better protected. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) gives the armed services unprecedented access to potential recruits at…

This Question and Answer (Q&A) article addresses practice issues related to school health records and school nursing documentation that were posed by school nurses in the field. Specifically, the questions addressed concern the following: education records, medication privacy issues, sharing of sensitive health information, privacy of…

In this era when many Americans seem resigned to greater encroachments on their personal privacy due to the growth and ubiquity of electronic databases with information about almost every aspect of their lives, a recent statement from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) seems timely. The statement highlighted the issue of…

When armed police officers, with no warrant, confiscated and searched the computer from this author's state university office, she began to cross-examine her relationship to computers and to investigate professors' computer privacy at public universities. She had violated no university policy. She had simply received an anonymous e-mail (an e-mail…