The Communication Decency Act became law in 1996 and was immediately challenged on Constitutional grounds. It was subsequently declared unconstitutional based on the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. Using Fantasy Theme Analysis, an analysis of the dramatic elements of the key players was accomplished. The dramatic elements of Overall Theme, Abstract Concept, Hero/Villain interaction and Emotion were the focus of this analysis. The key players have been named the Antiobscenity Crusaders, the Defenders of Liberty and the Homesteaders after the roles they play. The focus of the analysis was an examination of how these groups rhetorically construct the internet as they attempt to persuade the Supreme Court about the Constitutionality of the Communication Decency Act. / Graduation date: 2000

This thesis presents two models to determine technological change and cost inefficiency in the regulated U.S. Motor Carrier Industry following regulatory reform. Data from the LTL sector of the industry from 1976 to 1987 are used in this study. Results provide insights about the observed increase in industry concentration and the effects of regulatory reform. In chapter II, a translog cost function model is used to examine the impact of deregulation and technological bias. We show that technological change has been labor saving and purchased capital using, and that these input biases were induced by changes in output level. The increase of capital cost share and the decrease of fuel cost share are attributed to deregulation. Overtime, the LTL sector of the motor carrier industry has become more capital intensive resulting in even higher entry barriers. Deregulation has had a negative impact on technological change and led to higher industry costs. In chapter III, a stochastic cost frontier model is used to examine cost inefficiency. Results suggest that cost inefficiency accounts for 12.61% of the industry's total cost and the average level of inefficiency has not significantly changed over time. The mean estimates of firm-specific inefficiencies range between 5.5% and 29.6% for the period 1976-1987. Based on the estimated firm-specific inefficiencies, Tobit regression models are constructed to examine variations of inefficiency among firms in different ICC regions and to identify factors contributing to overall inefficiency. The main factors contributing to inefficiency are output, percent of LTL shipments, and input ratios; in particular, large firms appears to operate more efficiently than small firms. We also show that, although large firms have a slower rate of technological advancement than small firms, economies of scale exist and are increasing over time. Therefore, the rise in industry concentration could be justified from the standpoint of scale economies and efficiency gain. Finally, deregulation has had no impact on the overall level of inefficiency. / Graduation date: 1999

The Pacific Salmon Treaty was established by Canada and the United States to secure sustainability of salmon harvests within the Pacific Northwest. Renewed in June 1999, the treaty functions to legitimize and empower the Pacific Salmon Commission as the agent of fishery sustainability. The Pacific Salmon Commission serves as a bilateral recommendation-making body. Through its formal and informal, communications, the commission suggests action and defines regional salmon policy. Over the past decade pressures related to overharvest, changing oceanic conditions, and an increasing demand for production have challenged the commission and the fishery as never before. The Pacific Salmon Treaty was officially signed into existence in 1985. It was supposed to be re-ratified in 1992. This did not occur. From 1992 until 1999 numerous ratification processes were attempted, all but one failed. During this time tensions mounted and expressed frustrations nearly prompted overt violence. In August 1997 Canadian fishermen angered at the lack of a solution blockaded a U.S. passenger ferry thrusting the issue onto the world stage. In response to the crisis Canada and the U.S. empowered a joint commission to find resolution. While the resultant Strangway-Ruckelshaus Initiative proved to be a failure, its findings paved the way for eventual re-ratification. The Pacific Salmon Treaty exists because salmon within the Pacific Northwest represent different but simultaneous values within rooted world view orientations. The respective political cultures of Canada and the U.S. have sustained administrative regimes consistent with their dominant understanding of salmon and its values. Divergent cultural expectations and shared economic pressures have sustained conflict over the fishery and led to political and economic uncertainty. The Pacific Salmon Treaty is a work in progress. Understanding the treaty's context, historical development and function is vital for the sustainability of the fishery. The recent ratification of the Pacific Salmon Treaty represents an evolution in shared resource management. Based upon an "abundance-based management" regime the 1999 agreement provides the Pacific Salmon Commission with more discretionary capacity. However, the new pact may prove to be incomplete in form and function because of contradictory world view orientations. This research suggests that an emphasis on struggle management instead of conflict avoidance coupled with an enhanced bilateral commitment to the sustainability of the fishery may prove most helpful for the long-term outlook of the salmon. It also suggests that it is simply too early to tell whether this most recent attempt can or will "save the salmon." / Graduation date: 2001

The purpose of the study was to ascertain and report current attitudes of public school superintendents in Indiana regarding the problems associated with home schooling, and, to recommend solutions to the problems identified. To facilitate reporting the data the study was written in five chapters. Chapter I included an overview that delineated the purpose for the study and organization for subsequent chapters.Chapter II presented a review of related research and literature directly pertaining to the study. Constitutional issues related to the First, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution were reviewed. The issue of individual rights versus the police power of the state was found to be a balancing act which required careful scrutinization in the courts to protect the rights of individuals and the rights of the state to an educated citizenry.Chapter III contained an explanation of the methods and procedures employed to derive the necessary data. The chapter contained a description of the population, sources of data, methods used in the development of the questionnaire, procedures for collection of the data, and, methods for analysis of the data.Chapter IV presented an analysis of the data collected. The superintendents indicated a 64.83 percent increase from 1982-1985 in home schoolers and future growth was probable. The respondents indicated all home schoolers should be required to register with the Department of Education with hours of attendance, curriculum, and proof of learning monitored by the state.Chapter V provided a summary of the study, findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The findings support the following conclusions:1. Public school superintendents need to recognize the legitimacy of home schools as a legal alternative to public schooling.2. Courts will not support public school superintendents in Indiana when prosecuting home schooling parents for violation of compulsory attendance statutes unless definitive proof exists that no structured education has been provided.3. Compulsory attendance statutes as stated provide for a wide variation of interpretations and may lead to unnecessary litigation.4. Requiring parents to prove teaching competency and establishing minimum state guidelines for home schools would assist in meeting the legislative intent of the compulsory attendance statute.

The purpose of the study was to identify problems associated with unaccredited private schools and home instruction programs and possible solutions to problems as perceived by State Education Officials in the Great Lakes States. The States were Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.Eleven State Education Officials having responsibility for unaccredited private schools and home instruction programs were interviewed by telephone to collect the data. An interview form was designed to elicit non-directed responses to major problems confronting the states, methods of handling problems, possible solutions to problems, and practices in the next five years.Major problems existed with state regulations regarding equivalent instruction, teacher qualifications, courses of study, and definition of a school. Lack of criteria for interpreting the terms and assuring compliance with requirements were reported. Local school superintendents were confronted with similar problems regarding state regulations. State Education Officials identified problems with lack of certified or qualified teachers in fundamentalist schools and home instruction programs, difficulty obtaining data from pastors and parents, and extent of state authority to regulate private schools. Also, student loss of services, materials, and diplomas was a concern.Solutions to the problems as perceived by State Education Officials included changes in statutes from compulsory school attendance to compulsory education with minimum standards and achievement testing, clarification of terms in state statutes, and separate state regulations for private education. Other recommendations were a separate accrediting agency, a national co-op agency, and communication and cooperation between public and private educators.State Education Officials projected no substantial changes in regulations or practices in the next five years. However, expanding interest and increasing enrollments in private schools were expected.

This study applies a critical discourse analysis framework to an examination of the constitutive effects of three regulatory proceedings, called “The Computer Inquiries,” on contemporary notions about communications infrastructure policy. The Computer Inquiries are a trio of interrelated U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) dockets focused on problems posed by the convergence of regulated telephony with unregulated computing services. The Inquiry docket texts, which date from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s, are a basis for the liberalization of common carrier1 regulation and are the empirical evidence that the dissertation draws upon to trace the incremental evolution of terms used to define the boundaries between these converging services. Datasets include the 23 documents contained in three case studies: Computer Inquiry I (FCC Docket 16979), Computer Inquiry II (FCC Docket 20828), and Computer Inquiry III (FCC Docket 85-229). The first case study traces the incremental construction of a concept called “hybrid” services as the foundation for an FCC policy of “maximum industry separation” between common carriers and data processing companies. The second case study illustrates how the FCC subsequently re-engineered the hybrid concept into regulatory categories of “basic” and “enhanced” services. This definitional shift justified liberalizing the FCC’s maximum separation policy into a “modified” policy based upon a resale structure. The third case study demonstrates how the FCC further relaxed the resale policy by implementing accounting controls to distinguish between regulated common carriers providing the telecommunications infrastructure (conduit) used by unregulated information services (content) companies. Research reveals the malleable and somewhat arbitrary nature of regulatory distinctions between content and conduit as a basis for the FCC’s shifting jurisdictional authority over common carriers. During the course of the Inquiries, the FCC transitioned from a proactive to a reactive regulator with a discursive strategy involving what the dissertation calls “linguistic engineering.” Finally, the study notes the lack of attention to First Amendment and democracy concerns in all three Inquiry dockets. The dissertation concludes by calling for a Fourth Computer Inquiry to reconsider the legacy of the Computer Inquiries through which the principle of nondiscriminatory carriage of information by telecommunications providers has been eroded. / text

Choices pertaining to education, marriage and migration generally have profound impacts on individuals' lives. This dissertation focuses on the role of incentives in decisions involving education, interracial marriage and migration. To this end, Chapter 2 initiates a new line of research that investigates the role of self-employed parents on their children's post-graduation plans and college success. Chapter 2 reveals that self-employed parents affect their offspring's college success even after accounting for possible ability bias and controlling for various individual characteristics. While Chapter 2 focuses on the role of parental occupation on students' incentives to succeed in college, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 investigate intricate relationships among education, interracial marriage, the anti-miscegenation laws, and migration in the U.S. Chapter 3 introduces a study that links previous literatures on the migration of blacks in the U.S. during the Great Migration with anti-miscegenation laws and interracial marriage. Chapter 3 concludes that anti-miscegenation laws in individuals' states of birth affected the sorting of inter- and intraracially married black males into destination states differentially. Chapter 4 contributes to the previous literature on the determinants of black-white marriages by focusing on the impact of geographical variation of the distributions of black and white education and individual education on interracial marriage. / text

No description available.

No description available.

Not available / text