Analyzes potential changes in federal copyright law and the fair use doctrine in the digital age. Discusses three policy options for balancing the rights of copyright owners and users--maintaining the status quo; adopting the Information Infrastructure Copyright Act; and adopting proposed revisions of the Digital Future Coalition--using the…

Discussion of scientific misconduct, particularly plagiarism, explores the legal issues and compares the processes by which the Office of Research Integrity and the National Science Foundation conduct investigations and evaluate misconduct allegations. Relationships between allegations of plagiarism, copyright infringement, and theft of…

Includes five articles covering privacy issues surrounding the use of government data by the private commercial sector to profile individuals or households for marketing purposes. The creation of a privacy protection commission, Bureau of the Census measures to protect privacy, and the need for legislation, regulation, and enforcement are…

Factors contributing to the growing federal regulation of United States colleges and universities are explained, and regulation's impact in the areas of student aid, race relations, scientific research, environmental protection, and age discrimination are discussed. It is argued that a balance between institutional autonomy and accountability must…

The process of reauthorization of college student financial aid legislation may be instrumental in reducing the burden and complexity of the financial aid application and need analysis process through simplification. Exempting some students, permitting more to use simplified need analysis, and streamlining reapplication are steps in the right…

Whether governmental funding of academic research entitles the government to impose secrecy conditions on research results is discussed. It is proposed that, although some restraints may be legitimate exercises of government discretion in spending public funds, there may be a limit to those restrictions, based on the recipient's constitutional…

This article analyzes provisions of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, specifically regulations and relevant case law concerning provision of services to students in private schools. It offers guidelines for implementing the new provisions and suggestions for how to avoid violating the establishment clause in…

A study reviewed the U.S. government-funded international educational, cultural, and training exchange programs. Sixteen agencies with about 75 programs were identified for inclusion in an inventory of such programs. The large number of programs managed by the various agencies created the potential for program duplication, overlap, and…

This report, prepared by the Office of Technological Assessment (OTA) in response to a request from the House Committee on the Judiciary, examines the rapid and complex technological changes and trends in computer software technologies and their possible effects on the nation's intellectual property system. The three policy issues identified are:…

Operational alternatives for extending or improving public television service to rural America were studied through site surveys of 47 selected communities in Wyoming, Montana, and the Appalachia regions. The study also examined requirements and costs for and community interest in using small earth stations in conjunction with mini-transmitting…

This report concerns evaluation of federally supported educational programs at the national, state, and local levels. It was undertaken in response to Section 1526 of the Education Amendments of 1978, which requires that the Commissioner of Education conduct a comprehensive study of evaluation practices and procedures. Two broad sources of…

Struggles over educational access to new communications technologies in the age of U.S. radio and television provide insights into current struggles of educational access to the "information superhighway." Findings from an historical analysis of these earlier periods show that educational access to new communications technologies is…

Analysis of the evolution of the regulatory process in federal student aid looks at the ability of stakeholders to influence results and concerns about overregulation. Alternative regulatory approaches, considered less burdensome, are examined, and the appropriateness of using student financial aid policy to achieve social and political objectives…

A new development in teacher education is the involvement of accrediting agencies, legislatures, and the federal government in mandating standards, curriculum, and assessment at all levels of education. The effects of this development on teacher education are examined, and changes needed within teacher education and administrator education…

Mandate Consultant is an expert system that assists in special education file review, to determine compliance with state and federal regulations regarding Individualized Education Program development. In this validation study, a secretary using Mandate Consultant produced reports 5 times more accurate and 20 times less expensive than reports…