The Unconstitutionality of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 Essay

The Unconstitutionality of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 The U.S. Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 on February 1, 1996. Title V of this Act was the Communications Decency Act, or CDA, whose main goal was to regulate pornography on the Internet. It was intended to be similar to the regulations that had already been passed allowing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate indecency on radio and Television (â€Å"Communications†). According to the Center for Democracy and Technology, the CDA prohibited â€Å"posting ‘indecent’ or ‘patently offensive’ materials in a public forum on the Internet – including web pages, newsgroups, chat rooms, or online discussion lists† (â€Å"Overview†). This could have potentially come to prohibit from the Internet some classic texts and other material which, although offensive to some, is protected in print under the First Amendment. It is also important to note that child pornography, which was a reason many supporte d the CDA, was already illegal under laws passed before the CDA (â€Å"Overview†). For these reasons, the CDA was challenged and ruled unconstitutional in a District Court in Pennsylvania, and the Supreme Court eventually upheld that decision (â€Å"Communications†). In what could almost be considered a primary source, David L. Sobel of the University of Florida College of Law outlined many arguments against the CDA. His article in the Journal of Technology Law and Policy (University of Florida College of Law) was written after the March 21, 1996 decision in the Philadelphia, PA District Court but before the case ever went to the Supreme Court in Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union on June 26, 1997 (Sobel). It is interesting to note that many of Sobel’s ar... ...cessed 6 November 2004. http://www.cdt.org/speech/cda/ â€Å"Communications Decency Act.† Wilkipedia Online Encyclopedia. Online. Accessed 6 November 2004. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Decency_Act. Sobel, David L. â€Å"The Constitutionality of the Communications Decency Act: Censorship on the Internet.† Journal of Technology Law and Policy (University of Florida College of Law). 1:1, Spring 1996. Online. Accessed 6 November 2004. http://journal.law.ufl.edu/~techlaw/1/sobel.html Stevens, John Paul. â€Å"Opinion of the Court: Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.† Argued: March 19. 1997 --- Decided: June 26, 1997. Legal Information Institute. Online. Accessed 6 November 2004. http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/search/display.html?terms=CDA&url=/supct/html/histo rics/USSC_CR_0521_0844_ZO.html

Marketing & Advertising Essay

Agriculture, also called farming or husbandry, is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi, and other life forms for food, fiber, biofuel and other products used to sustain life.[1] Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticatedspecies created food surpluses that nurtured the development of civilization. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science. Agriculture generally speaking refers to human activities, although it is also observed in certain species of ant and termite.[2][3] The word agriculture is the English adaptation of Latin agricultÃ… «ra, from ager, â€Å"a field†,[4] and cultÃ… «ra, â€Å"cultivation† in the strict sense of â€Å"tillage of the soil†.[5] Thus, a literal reading of the word yields â€Å"tillage of fields†. In finance, a bond is an instrument of indebtedness of the bond issuer to the holders. It is a debt security, under which the issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay them interest (the coupon) and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed the maturity.[1]Interest is usually payable at fixed intervals (semiannual, annual, sometimes monthly). Very often the bond is negotiable, i.e. the ownership of the instrument can be transferred in the secondary market.[2] Capitalism is an economic system that is based on the private ownership of capital goods, or the means of production, and the creation of goods and services for profit.[1][2] [3] Elements central to Capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, and a price system.[4] Commerce is the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any country. Thus, commerce is a system or an environment that affects the business prospects of an economy or a nation-state.It can also be defined as a component of business which includes all activities, functions and institutions involved in transferring goods from producers to consumer. Competition in biology, ecology, and sociology, is a contest between organisms, animals, individuals, groups, etc., for territory, a niche, or a location of resources, for resources and goods, for prestige, recognition, awards, mates, or group or social status, for leadership; it is the opposite of cooperation.[1][2] It arises whenever at least two parties strive for a goal which cannot be shared or which is desired individually but not in sharing and cooperation. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the sameenvironment.[3] For example, animals compete over water supplies, food, mates, and other biological resources. Humans compete usually for food and mates, though when these needs are met deep rivalries often arise over the pursuit of wealth, prestige, and fame. Competition is also a major tenet in market economy and business is often associated with competition as most companies are in competition with at least one other firm over the same group of customers, and also competition inside a company is usually stimulated for meeting and reaching higher quality of services or products that the company produce or develop. A competition or trade promotion lottery, is also the equivalent of sweepstakes in some countries. consumer An individual who buys products or services for personal use and not for manufacture or resale. A consumer is someone who can make the decision whether or not to purchase an item at the store, and someone who can be influenced by marketing and advertisements. Any time someone goes to a store and purchases a toy, shirt, beverage, or anything else, they are making that decision as a consumer. Credit (from Latin credo transl. â€Å"I believe† ) is the trust which allows one party to provide resources to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), but instead arranges either to repay or return those resources (or other materials of equal value) at a later date. The resources provided may be financial (e.g. granting a loan), or they may consist of goods or services (e.g. consumer credit). Credit encompasses any form of deferred payment.[1] Credit is extended by a creditor, also known as a lender, to a debtor, also known as a borrower. A currency (from Middle English curraunt, meaning in circulation) in the most specific use of the word refers to money in any form when in actual use or circulation, as a medium of exchange, especially circulating paper money. This use is synonymous with banknotes, or (sometimes) with banknotes plus coins, meaning the physical tokens used for money by a government.[1][2] deposit 1. Funds placed into an account at a depository institution to increase the credit balance of the account. 2. Down payment given in advance to support the intention to complete a commercial transaction. Depression is not caused by a virus like a cold or the mumps. There is no blood test that declares the presence of depression. There are many theories on the causation of depression but unfortunately none have been conclusively validated. distribution In marketing, distribution is the process of moving a product from its manufacturing source to its customers. In computer software, distribution is the phase that follows packaging. The package will be on some distribution medium, such as compact disc, or may be simply located on a server where customers can download it electronically. dividend A taxable payment declared by a company’s board of directors and given to its shareholders out of the company’s current or retained earnings, usually quarterly. Dividends are usually given as cash (cash dividend), but they can also take the form of stock (stock dividend) or other property. Dividends provide an incentive to own stock in stable companies even if they are not experiencing much growth. Companies are not required to pay dividends. The companies that offer dividends are most often companies that have progressed beyond the growth phase, and no longer benefit sufficiently by reinvesting their profits, so they usually choose to pay them out to their shareholders. also called payout. Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from theAncient Greek ÃŽ ¿Ã¡ ¼ °ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ¯ÃŽ ± (oikonomia, â€Å"management of a household, administration†) from ÃŽ ¿Ã¡ ¼ ¶ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š (oikos, â€Å"house†) + ÃŽ ½ÃÅ'ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š (nomos, â€Å"custom† or â€Å"law†), hence â€Å"rules of the house(hold)†.[1] Political economy was the earlier name for the subject, but economists in the late 19th century suggested â€Å"economics† as a shorter term for â€Å"economic science† that also avoided a narrow political-interest connotation and as similar in form to â€Å"mathematics†, â€Å"ethics†, and so forth This term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an â€Å"exporter† who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an â€Å"importer†. In International Trade, â€Å"exports† refers to selling goods and services produced in the home country to other markets The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an â€Å"importer† who is based in the country of import where the overseas based seller is referred to as an â€Å"exporter†. [1] Thus an import is any good(e.g. a commodity) or service brought in from one country to another country in a legitimate fashion, typically for use in trade. It is a good that is brought in from another country for sale.[2] Imported goods or services are provided to domestic consumers by foreign producers. An import in the receiving country is an export to the sending country Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, that is generally expressed in monetary terms [1] However, for households and individuals, â€Å"income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings received†¦ in a given period of time. In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.[1] When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a loss of real value in the internal medium of exchange and unit of account within the economy.[2][3] A chief measure of price inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general price index (normally the Consumer Price Index) over time Interdependence is a relationship in which each member is mutually dependent on the others. This concept differs from a dependence relationship, where some members are dependent and some are not. Macroeconomics (from the Greek prefix makro- meaning â€Å"large† and economics) is a branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole, rather than individual markets. This includes national, regional, and global economies.[1][2] Withmicroeconomics, macroeconomics is one of the two most general fields in economics.

Analysis of the Main Theme in Sidney Sheldon’s Tell Me Your Dreams Essay

Sidney Sheldon’s book, â€Å"Tell Me Your Dreams† carries a dark theme. It focuses on how the central character, Ashley Patterson, represents the seemingly well-adjusted, successful and attractive young working professional.   Deep inside though, she is experiencing stormy emotions.   A product of   traumatic childhood experiences, she is a walking disaster, ready to explode.   She is proof that parental abuse can strongly affect an individual’s future behavior and life.   The power of parental nurturing cannot be underestimated, and lack of respect by a parent for a helpless child can produce trauma, shattered dreams and disastrous results which the child carries into adulthood. Ashley Patterson’s troubled personality is introduced at the very start of the novel.   Her paranoid state is immediately presented in the novel’s first few lines: Someone was following her.   She had read about stalkers, but they belonged in a different, violent world†¦ She was trying desperately hard not to panic. But lately her sleep had been filled with unbearable nightmares and she had awakened each morning with a feeling of an impending   doom (Sheldon, 1998, p. 3) Described as an intelligent and attractive woman who has been living in Cupertino, California for three years at the start of   the story, Ashley Patterson, daughter of a famous heart surgeon Dr. Steven Patterson, seems to have many good things going for her. Looks, however, can be deceiving.   Not all that looks well on the outside – like an innocent and beautiful appearance, reflects what is on the inside. Ashley gets involved in a series of brutal murders, specifically men who were stabbed and castrated.   As far as the police authorities were concerned, truth can be hard to find and later, as they were to find out, hard to believe. Eventually, the authorities find the same DNA in each crime scene, trace it to her, and Ashley is arrested and placed under psychiatric investigation. While undergoing therapy Gilbert Keller, Ashley’s dark past is gradually revealed.   Ashley admits that her co-workers, the outgoing and merry Toni Prescott, and the shy and lonely painter Alette Peter are not real, when she says to Dr. Keller: Don’t you understand? They’re not real. They’re my imagination (Sheldon, 1998, p. 308). When Dr. Keller suggests bringing the three women fact-to-face with each other and tells Ashley, â€Å"You have to get to know one another. It’s the only way you’re going to be cured† (Sheldon, 1998, p. 308), he confirms the main character’s multiple personality disorder. Dr. Keller’s calming presence symbolizes peace in Ashley’s world of chaos and pain.   He soothes Ashley when he explains to   her the presence of her other personalities Toni and Alette by saying, â€Å"you must remember that Toni was born out of your pain, to protect you.   The same is true of Alette† (Sheldon, 1998, p. 344).   At this point, and as the story progresses, readers are able to see how Ashley’s painful past – including a father who sexually assaulted her and a mother who did not appreciate her – had caused her personality disorder, leading to her crime. She remembers how her mother was scolding her for singing while they were in a car, which leads to an accident (Sheldon, 1998, p. 349). Her worst and repeated memories of her father saying â€Å"You’ll like this† followed by â€Å"an image of the man getting into bed beside her† followed by a scream to stop (Sheldon, 1998, p. 327) depicts just how haunting and traumatic child abuse in the physical or sexual sense can be. This highlights   the duality of the human psyche.   Ashley’s father may be famous and enviable and he may have obtained the respect of his colleagues and the general public, but to his own daughter he is a monster. Ashley Patterson’s guilt is confirmed in the story when her split-personality character says, †I’m not a dangerous criminal. I’m a normal woman. And a voice inside her said, Who murdered five innocent people† (Sheldon, 1998, p. 291).   With this, the novel’s main theme – of serious parent-child conflict can be highly traumatizing. Parental abuse carries grave consequences like behavioral problems and sometimes, the effect – like youth violence — is irreparable. I chose this theme because it is one that is being experienced in an alarming way in different countries. It is a universal problem that requires concerted action – by therapists, family members, police authorities, social workers, the community-at-large, and so on. What interested me about the novel’s plot is the dramatic revelation, through Ashley’s therapist, of her multiple characters. Then, there is also the gentle and positive reassurance provided by Dr. Keller, which gives an encouraging portrayal of the medical community, and how it sees a   breakthrough when patients who are victims of abuse seem to make progress or attempt to let go of their hurts and pains. The most important character in â€Å"Tell Me Your Dreams† is Ashley Patterson. All the unfolding events and issues revolve through her, and she serves as a symbol of others who suffer a disorder but who deserve to be treated not as inferior beings but as individuals who need understanding and help.   On the other hand, her father symbolizes the demented   minds of those who may appear respectable from the outside but who are capable of causing tremendous harm with their acts. The context, or the place and time where the story takes place, begins in Cupertino, California, a sleepy corner of the world but one which is bustling with corporate activity.   The context helps highlight the dual personalities of several characters in the novel, like Ashley Patterson and Dr, Steven Patterson. The story also takes readers from London to Rome to Quebec City to San Francisco in Bedford, Cupertino, as if pointing out how fast and varied modern-day developments go. The context, or multiple settings, also parallels the multiple personalities of the main character and their different activities at different points in time. Ashley Patterson’s multiple personality disorder is discussed by Dr. Salem, readers gain a better understanding of a disorder which is real.   It is described as â€Å"a condition where there are several completely different   personalities in one body. It’s also known as dissociatve identity disorder. It’s been in the psychiatric literature for more than two hundred years. It usually starts because of a childhood trauma. The victim shuts out the trauma by creating another identity† (Sheldon, 1998, chap. 12).   Ã‚  The author leaves an encouraging note in his book that say that some cases of multiple personality disorders are treatable.   Unfortunately, this was not the case with Ross Carlson, a teenage boy diagnosed with Multiple Personality Disorder. As the news goes: In the summer of 1983, the bodies of Rod and Marilyn Carlson were found beside a road in Douglas County, Colorado. Both had been shot execution-style in the back of the head. Ross Carlson, their teenage son, was later charged with the murders†¦ Eventually, therapists identified as many as 10 personalities residing within Carlson. His attorneys later argued that Carlson’s parents were abusive people who forced their twisted religion on their only child, causing him to develop the diverse characters as a defense mechanism†¦. The six-year drama ended in 1989 when, at age 25, Ross Carlson died of leukemia (â€Å"Multiple Personality Disorder,† para. 2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ross Carlson is the real-life counterpart of Ashley Patterson. In both cases, the truth hurts – that people who are your family and who are   supposed to nurture and protect you can be capable of inflicting the greatest harm.   The two cases – one portrayed in a novel based on real life, and the other a real-life incident – show that family upbringing and genuine care, concern and nurturing from parents are the best guarantees for a child’s future.   The two cases stress that people afflicted with Multiple Personality Syndrome are, after all, human beings who, in the first place, just needed to love, to be understood, and to heal.                                     References Larson, B. (n.d.). Multiple Personality Disorder. Retrieved May 19, 2008, from http://pullingdownstrongholds.com/deliverance/multiple_personality_disorder.htm Sheldon, S. (1998). Tell me your dreams. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

Quality Management Tools & Techniques Assignment - 3

Quality Management Tools & Techniques - Assignment Example Three design specifications are to be maintained in development of the process. The first two design specifications are measurement of distance between two parts of the process while the third specification is power in form of current. Measurement of the distance is in millimeters, where the first one, A, must be 11.5 +/- 1.0mm while the second one, B, must be 8.5 +/- 2.0mm. Finally, current, C must not exceed a maximum threshold of 2.5 amps. In order to appraise the processes technical capabilities, a histogram for the three variables will be plotted and resultant patterns used in selecting optimal set of conditions. Process testing is an essential step in development of manufacturing processes. Engineers and process owners cannot commission manufacturing processes before validating their level of compatibility with pre-determined standards. In this regard, one reason for carrying out process testing involves the need to detect errors. New processes may have technical errors which may lead to increased cost of operation. For example, the process in subject may need current exceeding the technical limit of 2.5 amps. However, optimal operation of the hard drive production process needs a maximum current of 2.5 amps, above that threshold compromise on the power efficiency of the entire production setup. In this case, testing facilitate early detection of errors which would hinder optimal performance later. Apart from errors, testing is also necessary as a means of appraising safety standards. Douglas (2008) mentioned that employees involved in operating the disk drive machine must be certain of the ir safety aspects. Conventionally, every industrial process must conform to some specified safety standards. Therefore, testing will facilitate quantification of the process’ integrity. Detection of any deviation from conformance limits warrants use of appropriate corrective measures. Normally, most processes fail to undergo thorough testing because of

Case Studies of Data Warehousing Failures Essay

Case Studies of Data Warehousing Failures - Essay Example ent), lack of focus or difficulty in identifying the scope of the Project (a business case for the data warehouse not clearly defined), poor data warehousing tool selection process, unproven technology (new or inappropriate software), internal politics within organization, end user involvement/participation in determining information requirements, incomplete functionality, unsatisfied end users, data warehouse tool implemented too complicated for users, below standard or unacceptable performance, not expandable once made, quality of report and data, management not recognizes the benefits of data warehousing, cost is considered instead of project, inappropriate data sources, etc. The three most important factors for successful implementation of any data warehouse project are; well defined scope, reasonable deadline and high-level management support and end users involvement/participation. The scope of the project should be defined clearly by making business case to avoid change of scope during the implementation phase. The deadline should be reasonable because extended deadline ultimately increases the cost of the project (over budget). The most important of all is that the high-level management knows the benefits of the project for providing support. Lacking any of these, results in data warehousing failure. There are several things common in all the case studies. These are high-level management support, the short-term focus of top management (lack of focus), unreasonable deadline, end user involvement, inappropriate tool selection, and internal politics. Auto Guys, Complicated Systems, North American Federal Government and High-Tech Company; all lacks management support for their data warehousing project. In case of North American Federal Government, to acquire the right technology, a formal approval process took almost a year. All the organizations have not clear focus for their data-warehousing project. For example, for North American Federal Government,

Indo-European Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Indo-European - Essay Example One of the theories about Indo-European languages that help in understanding contemporary languages is their disproportional significance. The disproportional nature of their significance is that they have dominated largely than would be expected of their number. This is because the languages are merely less than 30 percent of the total number of languages in the world but they dominate over the remaining majority languages (Diamond 249). The theory of disproportionate significance explains the current trend in languages in which non Indo-European speakers are assimilating Indo-European languages. Loss of linguistic diversity is the consequence because people are forsaking their native languages into the Indo-European languages, a wave that begun towards the end of the 15th century. The theory of disproportionate significance of the Indo-European language is also significant from the fact that it withstood possible influence from other languages that existed in Europe such as Finish and Assyrian. These other languages, in spite of having existed in the region, failed to influence languages in Europe and other regions as the Indo-European languages did. The theory of disproportionate significance of Indo-European languages therefore explains the languages’ spread to become native languages for other people across the world (Diamond 252). Another theory about Indo-European languages that helps understand contemporary languages is the theory that the Indo-European languages substituted other languages that then ceased to exist. This theory explains the spread of the Indo-European theories and supports the disproportionate theory. Not only did the Indo-European theories spread to other regions but also they replaced native languages in those regions. New generations therefore grew with the knowledge that an Indo-European language that they are exposed to id their native language. This theory further explains the use of Indo-European

Summary and write a crytical analysis to article Essay - 1

Summary and write a crytical analysis to article - Essay Example nvestment in software and hardware that allowed workers better technologies to perform their jobs more efficiently; during the period 2001 to 2005, the driving factor was technological progress whereby companies learned new ways to use their equipment more efficiently to reorganize the production and distribution processes. In the year 2005, U.S. productivity grew from 2.9% from 2004. This rate easily surpassed the average 2-1/4% even though its fourth-quarter in fact recorded a fall of 0.5% as compared to the third-quarter. In the same year, unit labor costs grew 2.6% from 2004. Businesses more than covered the added compensation costs with higher prices. On average, the labor cost of manufacturing a given item jumped 2.6%, but the price of the same item increased faster (at 2.8%). The overall indication of 2005 is that U.S. productivity grew strongly, tight labor markets and upward pressure on wages did not cause problems, and profit margins held up well. Acceleration in unit labor costs sets off the inflation alarm. The last time this happened was in the late 1990s, when the growth of unit labor costs exploded upwards from 0.7% in 1996 to 4.2% in 2000. The inflation threat was however diffused when four factors prevented U.S. companies from increasing prices to offset additional production costs, forcing them to make do with severely reduced profit margins instead: a huge excess in global production capacity in the wake of the 1997 Asian crisis; the financial upheaval caused by the Russian debt default in 1998; global labor markets were not tight due to soft world growth; and, the U.S. dollar had strengthened considerably against other world currencies. In 2006 however, the global economic scenario is different. The Japanese economy is showing signs of revival after a long slump; Chinese demand is soaking up capacity throughout Asia; global labor markets are tighter in response to accelerating world growth; and the U.S. dollar has weakened considerably,