Arguments for and against the major legislative proposals pertaining to the reform of the nonbroadcast part of the nation's telecommunications law which are pending before the 96th Congress are analyzed. Background information is given regarding (1) the structure of the domestic telecommunications industry, (2) the regulatory authority which…

Summarizes a report noting that although federal regulations require that summary plan descriptions (SPDs) of pensions must be written at low readability levels, both the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) regulating such plans and a mandatory statement for inclusion in SPDs are written at an exceptionally difficult college level.…

Describes various trends apparent in the development of videotex services (teletext/viewdata) in the United States and outlines forthcoming experimental applications. Author discusses policy issues raised by existing systems and concludes that the main constraint to development in the USA derives from uncertainty regarding consumer demand and…

Discusses Federal Communications Commission policies concerning comparative license renewal standards; examines the application of those standards to the case involving control of television station WESH in Daytona Beach, Florida; and evaluates the implications of that case. (FL)

This newsletter focuses on the relationship between the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and religious broadcasters. It traces the history of that relationship and discusses some of the pressures put on both. It includes a discussion of a recent avalanche of mail at the FCC supporting the church on the airways. It also summarizes some of…

The early efforts of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate advertising take on new historical interest in the wake of the United States Supreme Court's landmark decision to grant limited First Amendment protection to commercial speech. An examination of the FTC's advertising regulation from its beginning in 1914 to 1938, when its…

In his review of Frank Caro's article, "Leverage and Evaluation Effectiveness," the author challenges Caro's assertion that evaluations are weaker than they could be because evaluators are in weak organizational positions to demand methodological rigor or full program cooperation. Caro's model aligning evaluation with regulation is…

The rationale for broadcast regulation has undergone some changes over the years. At first, the rationale for such regulation was based on the concept that the airwaves are owned by the public and that the regulatory bodies act as agents for the public in controlling what is transmitted. In 1943, the United States Supreme Court built a rationale…

Though the government only regulates religious broadcasting directly by issuing licenses for stations owned by religious groups or operated for religious purposes, it indirectly affects a large number of religious programers who do not own stations. Also, the courts and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have seldom dealt with cases as…

Reviews the history of bilingual education in the United States from the 1974 Supreme Court ruling to the present. Concludes that federal policy must be flexible in allowing districts to select the program that best meets their needs. Discusses three specific programs. (JOW)

Examines a number of facets of adoption in the United States and recommends that the federal government create an adoption data collection system; states implement a uniform adoption law; and the adoption process be more open, both for adoptees and prospective adoptive parents. Also discusses the adoption of children with special needs, and…

This volume has four main goals. The first is to establish a historical perspective on the development of the for-profit sector in the United States. In most contemporary writing, the phenomenon is treated with only cursory attention to the antecedents of the institutions seen today. Although much is new about the current era, much is familiar,…

The paper discusses the major issues connected with the accreditation procedures in higher education system in the U.S. The questions raised are as follows: what are the reliable and credible indicators of quality instruction that could be measured in the process of accreditation of higher education institutions? How does greater transparency in…

This paper argues that the conditions that have historically supported the regulation of the telecommunications industry in the United States have been reproduced around the world and exist most formidably within the developing nations. In support of this argument, the paper examines several key periods in United States regulatory history. It then…

Examines ramifications of legislative recognition of concept of fair use in Copyright Act of 1976 and argues that elimination of fair use doctrine, coupled with increase in technological approaches to reporting of secondary use of copyrighted material, will benefit authors, publishers, and librarians alike. Fifteen references are cited. (EJS)