1. Read the list of seven oral presentation topic categories and sample issues. Come to class prepared to indicate your first and second choice topic category.  (You do not need to decide on a specific topic at this point, just a general category or chapter.)
   

Homework #2

At the end of the reading (section 5.2.4) the textbook says that the American Library Association (ALA) sued to block the implementation of CIPA.  When the textbook was written the courts had not yet ruled on this case. 

Here's what happened after the textbook was written:

Read the details about what this ruling implies:
CIPA Q&A [pdf]  (Sections II and III).
CIPA Legal FAQ

1. Write a summary of the court's ruling in your own words (no quotes) explaining or interpreting what the ruling means for libraries.  (A full paragraph should be adequate). 

2. Do you think this ruling is a significant blow to free speech? Justify your opinion (one paragraph).

3. Imagine that you are the library director for the SLO City/County Library.  Your library already had Internet terminals and network connections and didn't need e-rate Federal funding.  Therefore you are exempt from CIPA.  However, a group of concerned parents have asked that you install filtering software anyway.   You must adopt a strategy that will try to satisfy the concerns of the many different patrons at your library. Write a draft of an Internet Use Policy for your library (one page max).

Homework #3

Clarifying notes:

• When the problem says "party members" it is NOT referring to candidates for public office.  It just means some citizen who is registered to vote for that party.
• In reality there is no national, centralized voter-registration database.  But imagine that there is just for the problem.
• "Voter registration" is NOT voting history.  It says nothing about how a person has voted. It only says who is registered to vote.
• Voter registration records are public information.   It may take a little effort but anyone can access voter registration data.

Homework #4

Watch the Flash animated video about an imaginary pizza ordering scenario.
    http://www.aclu.org/pizza/index.html
In this scenario the pizza clerk using a computer has access to many personal details about the customer.  Some of these are real today, some of them are technically possible but not currently legal, and some are very unlikely (either technically, legally, or ethically).  The video could be accused of using "scare tactics" by failing to clarify the real threats from those that are speculative or imaginative.  Watch the video (several viewings may be required) and list the kinds of customer data that the pizza clerk is able to read.  For each data type, rank how feasible it would be for the imagined scenario to come true.  1 = it would never happen, 10 = it is happening today.  Give a short explanation (one or two sentences) to justify each answer.

A political activist organization in Cambria created a forum on its Web site where people were encouraged to post individual newpaper articles relevant to political issues of concern to the group.  Two articles were reproduced from major newspapers without permission each week.  About twenty people visited the site on a daily basis.  Participants added comments to the forum, and debate and discussion of the articles continued. Two newspapers sued the organization arguing that posting the articles violated their copyrights. 

1. Analyze the case, mentioning how the fair-use guidelines apply.  Decide who you think should win the case and briefly justify your position.
2. Imagine a similar but different situation.  Imagine the organization was a national group and they posted several articles every day.  Thousands of people visit the site on a daily basis. Would this change the way the fair-use guidelines apply? How?  Would you rule the same way in the case?  Explain why.

1. Read the article online The Futility of Digital Copy Prevention.
2. Summarize the strongest points in the author's argument.  (You can do this "bullet point" style).
   
3. Behind the author's reasons there may be an underlying concern or fear.  Reading between the lines, try to guess what you think might be the fear that prompted the author to write this article. (Describe in two or three sentences).
   
4. Now we are going to disagree with the author.  Take the opposing view and identify the erroneous assumptions, logical fallacies, or flaws in his reasoning. Write an essay style rebuttal to the article.