(1999). Running Rings Around the Web. Searcher, v7 n4 p67-70 Apr. Describes the development and current status of WebRing, a service that links related Web sites into a central hub. Discusses it as a viable alternative to other search engines and examines issues of free speech, use by the business sector, and implications for WebRing after its purchase by Yahoo! (LRW)…
(2002). Why Free Software Matters for Literacy Educators. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, v45 n6 p514-18 Mar. Notes that understanding what \free software\ means and its implications for access and use of new technologies is an important component of the new literacies. Concludes that if free speech and free press are essential to the development of a general literacy, then free software can promote the development of computer literacy. (SG)…
(1999). Pants and Hats: Dress Codes and Expressive Conduct as Speech. International Journal of Educational Reform, v8 n4 p413-18 Oct. It has been 30 years since the U.S. Supreme Court, in the "Tinker" case, upheld three students' right to wear black armbands protesting the Vietnam War to school. Recent cases involving sagging pants and an African headwrap (dress code violations) did not meet allowable "free-speech" requirements. (MLH)…
(2001). A Gross Over-Order?. Phi Delta Kappan, v83 n3 p273-74 Nov. Describes facts and law leading to Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision to remand for trial a middle-school teacher's claim that suburban Philadelphia school district retaliated against her for advocating the raising of multicultural awareness, thus violating her First Amendment rights of free speech. Discusses implications for teachers and administrators. (PKP)…
(1993). The Sex Panic: Women, Censorship and \Pornography.\ A Conference of the Working Group on Women, Censorship, and \Pornography\ (New York, New York, May 7-8, 1993). In May 1993, representatives of anti-censorship feminists convened at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York to overturn the myths that censorship is good for women, that women want censorship, and that those who support censorship speak for women. Participants at the convention discussed four major themes: the current panic over sexual perversion, the anti-pornography movement among certain feminists, the need for free speech in matters regarding sex, and the struggle for free speech. Lisa Duggan, historian, journalist, and Brown University professor, discussed the history of moral reform movements from temperance to anti-pornography and explains how they have not promoted the interests of women. Speakers denounced the legal theories developed by Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin that excuse censorship and treat the First Amendment as irrelevant. The anti-censorship feminists argued that the banning of pornography amounts to the control of women's images and… [PDF]
(1984). First Amendment Claims by Public Employees. The First Amendment free speech right is one of the most frequently asserted constitutional challenges to dismissal or discipline of a school district employee. In any employee's claim of violation of free speech right by a public employer, a threefold process of review should be made: (1) Was the conduct in question constitutionally protected in that it affected matters of legitimate public concern? (2) If so, was the school district's action in response to the conduct justified in light of the district's interest in the efficiency, integrity, and discipline of its operation? (3) Was the school district's action motivated by the employee's protected conduct or were there other, constitutionally neutral factors that would have caused the action in the absence of the protected conduct? The recent Supreme Court decision in "Connick vs. Myers," by establishing that First Amendment protection extends only to matters of public concern, provides the basis for summary dismissal…
(1988). Sex Differences in Children's Verbal Aggression. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, v34 n4 p389-401 Oct. Used an event-sampling procedure to determine developmental patterns of sex differences in verbal aggression of 32 nursery school children. Verbal aggression was more common than physical aggression for both sexes. Another study that sampled free speech of first, third, and fifth grade children found only fifth grade boys significantly more aggressive than girls. (SKC)…
(1988). Somatization, Paranoia, and Language. Journal of Communication Disorders, v21 n1 p33-50 Feb. Free speech of subjects with somatization and paranoia was analyzed to identify and compare self-concept dimensions reflected in their lexical choices. The somatization disorder group conveyed a sense of negativism, distress, and preoccupation with an uncertain self-identity. The paranoid patients portrayed an artificially positive, grandiose self-image and a defensive abstractness. (Author/JDD)…
(1996). Teacher Racist Speech; A Canada-United States Comparison. West's Education Law Quarterly, v5 n3 p436-50 Jul. Given the common English legal traditions in Canada and the United States, it is not surprising that the courts in both nations have been asked to find the balance between the free speech interests of teachers and their responsibilities as role models. Compares and contrasts court ruling in both countries. (47 footnotes) (Author/MLF)…
(2003). More 'News' About Religion. American School Board Journal, v190 n6 p50-52 Jun. Analyzes New Jersey case wherein a federal district-court judge ruled that religious group had the First Amendment free-speech right to distribute flyers and permission slips to students, post notices on school walls, and participate in back-to-school night in effort to establish a student religious club in two elementary schools. (PKP)…
(1990). Beyond Freedom of Speech and the Public Interest: The Relevance of Critical Legal Studies to Communications Policy. Journal of Communication, v40 n2 p43-63 Spr. Explores the implications of critical legal studies (CLS)–a new current in contemporary legal theory–for general discussions of freedom of speech and public interest. Applies CLS concepts to the conflict between broadcasters' and citizens' free speech rights as expressed in the contemporary Fairness Doctrine. Explores CLS's relevance to several communications policy issues. (RS)…
(1995). Is It Sexually Charged, Sexually Hostile, or the Constitution? Sexual Harassment in K-12 Schools. West's Education Law Quarterly, v4 n3 p488-98 Jul. Describes the panic that typically arises when the First Amendment is invoked in charges of sexual harassment in schools. Contends that sexism is a fundamental part of school culture, that school administrators apply free speech rights differently to males and females in schools, and that the Constitution applies to girls too. (24 footnotes) (MLF)…
(1994). As I See It: Horror, Valour, and the CBC. Canadian Social Studies, v28 n2 p57-58 Win. Asserts that the most significant issue related to the television documentary, "The Valour and the Horror," was not any suggested bias by the producers but the media elite's determination to control public opinion under the banner of free speech. Maintains that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation refused to allow criticism by veterans organizations. (CFR)…
(1992). Academic and Artistic Freedom. Academe, v78 n6 p8-15 Nov-Dec. Issues and recent events concerning censorship of the arts in the United States are examined, and the threat to artistic freedom posed by recent Supreme Court decisions is examined. Focus is on erosion of the actual or imminent harm requirement of the law and on the court's class-based approach to free speech. (MSE)…
(1991). Invocations, Benedictions, and Freedom of Speech in Public Schools. West's Education Law Reporter, v68 n4 p943-55 Sep 26. The Supreme Court, in an upcoming case "Lee v. Weisman," will rule on whether prayer may be offered out loud at a public school graduation program. Argues that past court decisions have interpreted the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment over the Free Speech Clause of that same amendment. (57 references) (MLF)…