Research Journal Part 5

Link to website:
http://twoplayfulotters.com/students/lwagar.html
twoplayfulotters/lwagar

When I first began this assignment, it seemed incredibly overwhelming. I felt quite confused by the time I reached Step 4 and realized I had not interrpreted a few of the directions properly. I kept having to go back over these instructions and was determined not to give up and just post a question. I knew I had the tools in front of me even if it felt like there were some gaps. I could not find the Filezilla page I needed and realized it had not loaded the first time. My document was saved in my class file and not on my desktop. I did not understand what to do when I had made changes to the html file after I had uploaded the document to Filezilla. It was about this time that I convinced myself that I would never have a need to create a webpage again and all I wanted to do was be done with it.

After working through some of the troubled spots, I was excited to see some success. I realized that, being a tactile individual, actually working on the creation was all the lesson I needed. With practice, I began to experiment and decided to dive into the extra material since it contained some of the information I wanted to do on my webpage. After a few false starts, I was amazed that I was able to add the elements I wanted.

I can honestly say I am interested in doing this activity another time. Not only did I find it valuable, but it helped me feel as though I was the one creating instead of just interacting with webpages. I always wondered how to create a hyperlink and was successful twice. There are a few more things I would like to learn such as adding a picture or graphics and creating a new design rather than simply text.

This, and our other Journal activities were helpful in de-mystifying some of the elements of the internet. I learned to think critically and to not give up even when the task seemed overwhelming. I found that I was able to identify codes I had seen in my husband's programming and in some tools I use for Facebook and MySpace. I am quite grateful for the new knowledge I received this quarter and have found that I am better able to utilize the amazing amount of information we find each day with a simple click to open the Internet.

Research Journal Part 4 SUMMARY

This was an interesting exercise, not without some frustration, but quite revealing when all the search information was placed side by side. In the domain exercise, I found I had to change my original search statement to come up with articles that focused more on my subject. By substituting the more specific phrase "REAL ID", the results were much better. I chose to use ASK.com since I had just discovered this search engine in the last assignment. I decided to see what I could find using the tools they offered. It was easy to use and I found some interesting documents in all four top-level domain areas. Each offered something different to the topic as well as some obvious biases. I believe the best results were in the .edu search, although the .org article I found was so full of information and links that it was a great benefit to researching my topic. Both of these articles were well-documented and produced a gold mine in the area of additional resources. The best part about these two sources was that the information was laid out for me to research and determine my position. I was surprised that my results for .gov yielded more in the way of partisan opinion than the .edu sites.

I chose INFOMINE for my subject directory, but I must have tried nearly all of them using various search statements. I had a hard time drawing up any documents that looked like they pertained to my topic. In time I found some search methods that seemed to work well on INFOMINE and stuck with that directory. Whereas I had to tighten my search statement for the domain exercise, here I had to broaden it considerably. I believe that with a little practice this might be a beneficial tool even if it was somewhat frustrating in the beginning. I would say that I might be less inclined to lean toward subject directories since discovering the ability to concentrate on specific top-level domain searches. That, in my opinion, is a wonderful tool.

Research Journal Part 4 Subject Directories

I put in considerable work in several of the subject directories to try to find a search statement that was broad enough yet would yield some results in the topic of my question. Below is the results of my search.

INFOMINE.
(mandatory and identification and cards)
This search directed me to the Congressional Research Service Reports posted by The Federation of American Scientists.

Tatelman, Todd B. Federation of American Scientists. The REAL ID Act of 2005: Legal, Regulatory, and Implementation Issues. 1 April, 2008. 14 November, 2009. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34430.pdf

Authority This website, called FAS (Federation of American Scientists), was founded by scientists involved in the first atomic bombs. They believe they have a responsibility to inform the public and influence the government regarding issues relating to scientific and technical issues. FAS is a non-partisan organization with 79 Nobel Laureates as board sponsors. In publicizing Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports, it hopes to keep the public informed and the government accountable for decisions made in science and technology. The report on REAL ID Act outlined several of the issues as reported by Todd Tatelman, Legislative Attorney in the American Law Division, to members and committees within Congress. A search for creditials for Tatelman did not yield results other than to locate additional items he has prepared for Congress. Sources: Extensive footnotes are included on each page of the 35 page report. Purpose, Evenness: While there are several controversal areas within the paper, Tatelman appears to report from a legal standpoint rather than by personal preference. Some of the language is technical, since it is written from a legal point of view. The purpose appears to educate Congress regarding issues that pertain to implementation of the REAL ID Act or other similar measures considered by Congress. Much of the report details consequences of action and inaction surrounding the Act; a necessary step before a proposal becomes law. While I found it quite technical at times, I appreciated the legal angle presented alongside some of the complaints and concerns addressed in public documents. There was plenty of information regarding my topic in this document and it appeared to be a more thorough attempt at discussing the various issues involved. Coverage, Timeliness: This publication is over a year old, but contains information still being debated in Congress. Many of the issues raised by Tatelman have not been addressed by Congress or in the subsequent PASS ID Act presented in response to concerns regarding the REAL ID Act, both legal and ethical.

Research Journal Part 4

Search Engine: ASK.com
Search Statement: (U.S. OR "United States") AND law AND national AND "REAL ID"
****.GOV
Cacas, Max. Daniel Kahikina Akaka, U.S. Senator for Hawaii. Federal News Radio: Pass ID better than Real ID? 16 July, 2009. 14 November, 2009. http://akaka.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=newsarticles.home&month=7&year=2009&release_id=2733

Authority, Purpose, Evenness: This article, placed on Sen. Akaka's official website, outlines the difficulties since the passing of the REAL ID Act. Cacas' expertise appears to be in the area of news reporting with no other expertise identified. Sen. Akaka, a key player in the alternative proposed Act called PASS ID, would have a vested interest in the views presented in the article since it presents PASS ID in a positive light. While the article presents several viewpoints, the thrust appears to be to promote PASS ID and to demonstrate the collective opinion that REAL ID is too cumbersome and expensive. Sources: This article uses direct quotes and attributed sources, plus an MP3 download of testimony before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. No bibliography or links are provided other than a list of articles pertaining to this issue at the bottom of the article. Coverage, Timeliness: The information is current, supports other news releases, and pertains to issues, however it is not comprehensive.

Search Engine: ASK.com
Search Statement: (U.S. OR "United States") AND law AND national AND "REAL ID"
****.COM
Hsu, Spencer S. The Washington Post. Administration Plans to Scale Back Real ID Law. 14 June, 2009. 14 November, 2009. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/13/AR2009061302036.html?sid=ST2009072002461

Authority: Mr. Hsu writes many articles for the Washington Post on Immigration Law, Homeland Security, and terrorist issues. His other articles indicates a familiarity with law, policies, and political events surrounding security and issues pertaining to U.S. citizens. Sources: While the article quotes several sources, few links are offered to find this information. There is a feature that allows a reader to click on a name of a Senator to view their voting record. Other information is attributed to particular sources which could be verified by using the information given in the article. Purpose and Evenness: This article informed and educated readers regarding the latest information over the controversial REAL ID cards. Many sides of the issue were presented to inform the general audience. This article was helpful in that it provided more recent information on the status of this government policy. Coverage and Timeliness: This information supports other articles regarding the status of the REAL ID cards and the opposition. It also covers the Obama administration plan for new policy and is relevant and timely for this subject.

Search Engine: ASK.com
Search Statement: (U.S. OR "United States") AND law AND national AND "REAL ID" ****.ORG
Electronic Privacy and Information Center. National ID and the Real ID Act. May 2009. 14 November, 2009. http://epic.org/privacy/id-cards

No author listed.
This site is from EPIC.org, although, curiously, the site can also be accessed through 'privacy.com'. When I clicked on several links to information on the site, privacy.com was often the primary URL citation for accessing information although the same information comes up when EPIC.org is searched.
Authority: Since this is an information site, most of the material available links to other information such as government and news links. On the site are a list of people responsible for the material through this organization and many of the board members would be considered to have high level credentials such as professors, government consultants, and noted authors of books along these subjects. Many credentials indicate a reputation for expertise and knowledge as evidenced by their association with universities, teaching positions, and government associations in the same fields. Sources: There is an abundance of factual information as presented through links to the original material. This includes news articles, pdf's from state government documents, original documents describing laws and intention, and archived history from primary sources outlining specific details and sources. Purpose and Evenness: The obvious purpose is to educate and inform using original documents to demonstrate a particular point of view. The opinion is very obviously against ID cards, most notably REAL ID cards, and the abundance of material presented shows that they have plenty to draw from in presenting their opinion. I could not find many incidents of another point of view that was not countered in some way using links to primary sources in order to refute any other perspective. This organization's stated goals indicate that it is dedicated to civil liberties and operates with "no clients, no customers, and no shareholders." It is aimed at a general audience and is easy to navigate and understand. For the purpose of finding historical documents and a timeline that demonstrates previous law and current proposals, this site was a gold mine. Coverage and Timeliness: Most documents on the page first accessed were dated before May 2008, however, I have found this to be consistent with other documents I have searched. Most of the activity regarding this issue took place before this date and seems to have stagnated until recently due to opposition by state governments and groups opposing the implementation of ID cards. Should one want to delve deeper into the subject, a click on "Press" reveals a myriad of articles written by news organizations and staff members about privacy issues, some as recently as November, 2009. EPIC.org puts out an annual report, the latest being 2007-2008.

Search Engine: ASK.com
Search Statement: (U.S. OR "United States") AND law AND national AND "REAL ID"
****.EDU
Ehret, Christian. Jurist Legal News & Research. Real ID Act reform legislation introduced in Senate. 16 June, 2009. 14 November, 2009. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/06/senator-introduces-real-id-act-reform.php

Authority: The author writes many articles on political subjects. No credentials are given regarding authority. A search only turned up other articles attributed to Ehret. The Jurist, however, is a non-profit legal research service using volunteers in government and legal fields and published through the University of Pittsburgh. They are dedicated to finding primary sources, reporting quickly and objectively, and offering information in a manner that is understandable to the general public as well as legal students, free of ads and commercials. Sources, Purpose, Evenness: Links to many sources are abundant on this site. Rather than in footnotes, they are embedded links right in the document. Information is presented as fact with numerous links for verification. Its purpose is to inform and educate. Since there has been much opposition to the REAL ID Act and some controversy surrounding the new PASS ID Act, the tone of the article relays this tenor. I did not sense any bias in relaying this information. Coverage, Timeliness: This article is very current and reflects the most recent efforts of the Obama administration. While not a comprehensive article, it supports information found in most other news articles and provides enough links to continue a search of the issues.

Unit 7 Search Tools Ask.com

The search tool I chose was Ask.com, a very useful site. Once I clicked on 'advanced,' I discovered several handy tools available to me. This area allows you to use different forms similar to Boolean. I put in the phrases I used for the previous assignment in Unit 6, but found my results were very different from the reliability of the periodicals found on ProQuest. It was clear to see that this sight contained more ads and a necessity to take a close look at contents rather than ranking. Nevertheless, I would probably be inclined to use this search tool because of its many options.

Five useful tools out of a large number available are:

1. The advanced search areas where, besides use of truncation and phrase searches, you can narrow your search statements down to and exact phrase, no phrase or in at least one area. The tool helps you narrow down the information by asking for location on the page, language, and when the page was modified.
2. A dictionary search as easy as one click of the mouse
3. An area where questions can be posed using a combination of ask.com and subscription data to Bloglines called 'Ask Blogs' which connects you to different blogs considered popular and trustworthy. This area has a vast array of information on nearly any subject conceivable.
4. A shopping search area with links to different links for purchasing a number of items based on value, geographical location, price, and reliability.
5. A white pages search for not only people, but schools, doctors, government agencies to name a few

Research Journal Part 3

1. What is the current position of the United States regarding the use of mandatory national ID cards, as initiated in Great Britain, but previously rejected for use in the United States?

(U.S. OR "United States") AND law AND national AND identification
Using ProQuest

2. Magazine
Sundeen, M., and J. Meadows. "The REAL ID Rebellion." State Legislatures 1 Mar. 2008: Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 1 Nov. 2009.

I chose this article because it was one of the most current magazine articles on this matter. This article outlined the history of the use of identification cards in the U.S. and the need for updated standards especially for national security and transportation. It also described concern for privacy issues, costs to the states, and the rebellion that is apparent by state governments to implement the REAL ID Act of 2005; all issues related to how the government will decide current use.

3. Scholarly Journal
Charlotte Twight. "Limited Government: Ave Atque Vale." The Independent Review 10.4 (2006):485-510. Alt-Press Watch (APW), ProQuest. Web. 1 Nov. 2009.

This article was useful because it was written shortly after the time the REAL ID Act of 2005 was passed and introduced to the public. It questions the official purpose of a national ID card despite the assurances of the government. As a scholarly journal article, this report contained references in an extensive bibliography and the author is the Brandt Professor of Free Enterprise Capitalism at Boise State University. A search of the publication's web page described the quarterly journal as peer-reviewed without political affiliation with a goal of research, education, and the study of government policy.

4. Newspaper
Andrea Fuller. "Effort to Replace Federal Driver's License Mandate Gains:[National Desk]." New York Times 16 Jul 2009, Late Edition (East Coast): New York Times, ProQuest. Web. 1 Nov. 2009.

Since the deadlines imposed by the government in the REAL ID Act of 2005 have passed as reported in publications earlier than 2008, it was necessary to find out the current status of the law. This article described the new program called PASS ID, the anticipated reduced costs to the states, and the continued rebellion of state governments to both REAL ID and PASS ID.

5. My initial search statement worked quite well although I found I did not have to use "identification card" to achieve the results I wanted. The second search statement I proposed in our Boolean unit was more detailed and brought up articles more focused on transportation and immigration laws. Since I wanted a broader scope and hoped to find more journal articles, I went back to the original statement and removed the truncation. This proved successful in broadening the number of what was described as scholarly journal articles, although very few had references attached to the article or a mention of the author's credentials. I attempted to add "REAL ID" to the search, but again found a large number of immigration and transportation articles. I also tried several combinations of 'mandat*' and 'regulat*', but this did not yield more articles that applied to the broader issues of privacy, national security, and a current implementation of the law. Since the original search statement also brought up articles referring to the REAL ID Act of 2005 without this phrase in the search statement, I stayed with the search statement as indicated at the beginning of this assignment.

Unit 5 Boolean Search Statement

My question:
* What is the current position of the United States regarding the use of mandatory National ID cards, as initiated in Great Britain, but previously rejected for use in the United States?

("U.S." OR "United States") AND mandat* AND nation* AND "Identification Card*"

("U.S." OR "United States") AND law* AND national AND "identi* card" AND (mandat* OR requir* OR regulat*)

Research Journal Part 2

The following information was located in the Cannell Library Book Catalog.
Search Term: Privacy Act
Citation: Jasper, Margaret C. Privacy and the Internet: your expectations and rights under the law. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 2003.
Subject Headings:
Data protection -- Law and legislation -- United States-- Popular works.
Internet -- Law and legislation -- United States-- Popular works.
Privacy, Right of -- United States -- Popular works.
Is this a Circulating Book or and E-Book?: Circulating Book
Location and Call Number for the Book:
Location: Second Floor
Call Number: KF1263.C65 J38 2003
ASAP criteria:
Age of the book is within 6 years and after the turn of the century
Sources: legal almanac series with bibliographical references
Author: Jasper has written numerous articles regarding law and how it affects different aspects our lives such as small businesses, children, copyright, healthcare, and identity theft. These offerings are entirely published through Oceana Publications, a company dedicated to international law.
Publisher: Oceana Publications is a company devoted to exploring internation law using legal, scholarly, and research tools.

The following information was located in the Summit Catalog
Search Terms: Privacy Act
Citation
Author: United States. Dept. of Justice.; United States. General Services Administration.;
Office of Citizen Services and Communications.
Title: Your right to federal records: questions and answers on the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act.
Publisher: Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Justice: GSA Office of Citizen Services and Communications, Federal Citizen Information Center
Publication Date: 2006
Subject Headings:
Public records - Law and legislation- United States
Privacy, Right of - United States
Freedom of information - United States
United States. - Freedom of Information Act
United States. -Privacy Act of 1974
Location and Call Number: No location or call number given, however there is an OCLC Number: 135299083.
Book Credibility: Since this book came from a sourch which needs to be extremely reliable, I felt the credibility was high. This is a national government publication and the source of information to citizens who need answers regarding current laws. The e-book was quite current since it was published in 2006. The sources seemed thorough and accurate with the backing of government information.
This search differed from Library Book Catalog:
This search seemed more centered on government documents that might assist citizens in exploring a subject. There were no specific author names, only government agencies. In fact, it seemed quite odd to list an author as "United States." Some also listed several different departments as authors. There were a number of ways to get a document copy including the ability to download the documents, view them digitally, or order them from Summit. I appreciated how all the information on the Library Book Catalog was set up in one shorter area, rather than have to scroll down the page in order to get all the information in one viewing. No location or Call Numbers were listed on the page.

Books 24x7- IT Pro Collection
I did not find using this tool very difficult. Once you enter a work in the search box, you have several choices in the field boxes. This seemed to narrow the choices down considerably. Under "SEARCH", you can choose from Content: Full Text or Code Listings ; General types of searches under the subcategories of title, ISBNs authors and speakers, publishers, and an all inclusive category. The Using field seemed similar to other database search engines by asking if you want
the Exact Phrase, Any words, Words in proximity, All Words, or Boolean.

Under "additional fields" your choices were to include "all or any" of the criteria entered. Beside a Content box with the same information choices as above regarding specific areas to search within, it also asks if you want these choices to contain any of the extra words that can be entered into the field beyond it. A person also has a choice whether to have the copyright year set at "like, before, after;" folder choices such as whether or not to put them all a folder or send them to a default location. This program seemed particularly detailed and and easy to use. It will be good for advanced searches and times when many options are needed.

Having never used this tool before, I found it to be a easy process but it did not yield many resources for my subject. I do others may find it valuable in research.

Google Books:
Search Term: Privacy Act of 1974
Citation Information: Rule, James B. Privacy in Peril. New York: Oxford University Press. 2007
Credibility: There were several reviews for Rule's book, and authority was given to him by several people because of what they considered insightful information. I could find no clues on the limited view of the book or in the Preface. It wasn't until I went into the Oxford University Press website that I found Rule's creditials. He is considered a Distinguished Affiliated Scholar at the Center for the Study of Law and Society at the University of California, Berkley. He was a part of the Advanced Study program in Behavioral Sciences at Standford University and has wond awards and recognition for his work. He seemed to carry the creditials needed to be able to speak on this subject with credibility. This book is also written in 2007; recently enough that it can speak with some authority regarding the current privacy issues before our nation.

Summary:
Since I have used Summit, Google Books, and the Library Catalog in the past, I was familiar with these tools. I appreciate the ease of the Catalog and the immediate results I get when I use both the Catalog and Google Books. Before today, I have not found Summit to deliver the kind of reports I have looked for in the past. For this subject, however, I appreciated the technical information from direct government sources which could shed light on my questions regarding privacy. In this way, Summit delivered better technical resources than the other three applications, while both Google Books and the Library Catalog seemed to provide sources more suited to a layperson. I am very unfamiliar with IT Pro and it took some time to make sure all the fields were filled in in order to have a thorough search. At this time, I probably would not lean toward using this tool, but it may be because of my unfamiliarity with it and the fact that I did not produce any results that I thought were useful for my topic when I experimented with different combinations of words. Since IT Pro seemed to have the most search options, I do see its value in that, if it is used properly, a person could yield a number of different and specific results that might be beneficial to a research project.

If the interfaces changed tomorrow, I believe I have enough experience using these tools that I could adapt to them. Most of my research was done by trial and error in the beginning of my college career, and I found I could make use of any kind of tool that was provided and still yield results. I do believe that these interfaces will probably change over time as our understanding of how to sort, store, and retrieve information increases.

Is it Information or Data?

Thoughts from my class blog#2:

Defining "information" and "data" raises some interesting questions, however..

The bigger question seems to be not in defining these terms, but in how to teach people to think critically as they process rapidly. If we don't learn to do that, we could become ignorant, apathetic vessels being poured into each moment without the ability to reason and discern for ourselves.

Matching Sources Assignment

Search Questions:
1. What is the current position of the United States regarding the use of mandatory national ID cards, as initiated in Great Britain, but previously rejected for use in the United States?
2. Since the Privacy Act of 1974 was created before the explosion of technology in the late twentieth century, what are its stated legal provisions for citizens, organizations, and commerce, and is there any effort to update this Act to better address the issues of the twenty-first century?
3. Which state and federal laws currently govern the decisions to use intrusion, confiscation of records, and subversive actions against a citizen's privacy in the name of national security, health issues, and confiscation of funds such as is used by the IRS?

For question #1, scholarly/academic books containing historical issues pertaining to government in the U.S. and Great Britain could provide background regarding the escalation of this issue into the public forum. In addition, information gathered from a government websites could provide the history of debate and voting with regard to this issue as well as laws and proposals being prepared for future consideration. In addition, scholarly journals, news sources, and periodic news magazines may report on the background, opinion, current position, and provide a peek into the future as indicated by current laws or proposed legislation.

For question #2, scholarly/academic books containing history of the U.S. may give us a foundation for understanding the original law. Primary source information would give a view of the original debate, decisions, and primary intention. In addition, this information might be found in government websites and scholarly journals, which may also address any current stand on this law, any amendments that have been made, and any attempts at updating this law by federal or state legislation.

For question #3, it would be very important to go right to the source for current laws on the books and their original intentions to determine which laws are used to carry out these purposes. Primary source material, subject encyclopedias, scholarly journals, reference books, and government websites could reveal the history of the laws and which ones are still used today. In addition, these resources plus news sources, and periodic news magazines may provide documentation of Supreme Court rulings which indicate which laws are considered enforceable and applicable to these areas.

Research Journal Pt 1- Summary

Summary:
Since I have spent many hours searching Cannell's Library databases, I felt sure that I would know most of the material presented on IRIS. I realized that there was still much to learn and found the tutorials helpful for this project. I was pleased to discover ways to save search results using GoogleDocs and MySchooling. Even though I have used the Deep Web, I did not know that was what it was called or what the difference was between this type of search and regular search engines. I appreciated the refresher course for finding information using Call Letters and the Dewey Decimal.

While searching the articles on "Privacy," I found a wealth of information in numerous areas affecting all our lives. The relevance of the term "privacy" in the 474 articles retrieved in the Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) ranged from 100% to 1%, therefore I decided to use the first and last article available to compare how the two authors dealt with the issue. The results were interesting. Jeroen Van Den Hoven's article, assessed at 100%, outlined the differences between the right of an individual to control anything that surrounds their personal and private lives as well as the need for the public to be informed of dangers that may be concealed from them due to the privacy rights of those who may be dangerous (1490). In addition, Van Den Hoven outlined the ethical safeguards that are necessary to protect our personal information (1491). In an interesting comparison, the article that generated only 1% relevance to the subject of privacy was concerned with some of the same issues. This article illuminated the point that, by using national ID cards proposed and promoted by Great Britain, we would have some protection against the terrors that fill our world ("National" 423). The cost of handing our personal lives to a computer program and unseen individuals may be high, however, and may introduce a new kind of terror into our society.

The Wikipedia article gave an overview of several privacy issues, sometimes overlapping concepts by using similar terms, but without linking the thoughts together. I found the discussion area for those who wish to edit the content more on the defensive side. Not only did it shed light on some of the areas that needed clarification within the article, but also demonstrated the difficulties of presenting accurate information in a Wiki. There is a multitude of opinions and anyone who takes the time to invest in bringing their information to a forum such as a Wiki is bound to fight hard to defend their information as appropriately presented. Nevertheless, I found the article informative and interesting as it gave a broad view of the subject and spurred new thoughts regarding the scope of the topic.

Unfortunately, none of the articles I chose in GVRL and Wiki dealt with specific details regarding the laws and policies currently in use. In addition, they did not reveal whether specific regulations have been proposed today to address some of the serious issues facing our world in the area of privacy. This led to my questions regarding current laws, attitudes, and plans for future in the area of privacy.

Research Journal Pt 1- Search Questions

Search Questions:

1. What is the current position of the United States regarding the use of mandatory national ID cards, as initiated in Great Britain, but previously rejected for use in the United States?


2. Since the Privacy Act of 1974 was created before the explosion of technology in the late twentieth century, what are its stated legal provisions for citizens, organizations, and commerce, and is there any effort to update this Act to better address the issues of the twenty-first century?


3. Which state and federal laws currently govern the decisions to use intrusion, confiscation of records, and subversive actions against a citizen's privacy in the name of national security, health issues, and confiscation of funds such as used by the IRS?

Research Journal Pt 1- "Privacy" Wiki

Looking at the Wikipedia article on Privacy was interesting. The first thing it did was give the root of the word and the definition. According to this publication it is Latin for "separated from the rest."

Some of the terms used in this article were:
seclude, selectively, anonymity, security, public disclosure, identity theft, discrimination, insurance coverage, technological advances, natural rights, fundamental human rights, accountability, Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, First Amendment rights

Some of the concepts presented were:

• the right against unsanctioned privacy
• freedom of speech laws
• cultural differences
• data privacy and the public sharing of information
• privacy concerns regarding religion, health, sexual orientation, political issues
• large scale information systems present in our world today
• communitarian approach to privacy
• reduced market efficiency with privacy laws
• differences in international interpretation regarding the right to privacy

Works Cited

"Privacy." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 1 Oct 2009, 11:01 UTC. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. 2 Oct 2009 13:15.

*Note: There are no authors that can be named for this article as there are many contributors. In addition, no page number are listed and no city of publication. Since Wikipedia is a product of Wikipedia Foundation, Inc., it appeared to be part of the publisher title necessary for a proper citation.

Research Journal Pt 1- "Privacy"- GVRL

I find it interesting that I am doing a research project on the term 'privacy' and reporting the results on a public blog tool. I am processing this concept as I wade through my own thoughts regarding the many facets of this topic and how it affects me and my circle of significant people.

There is much debate in the public and professional sectors regarding the definition, need, and right of privacy. Using the Gale Virtual Reference Library, I found many articles that revealed connected issues in areas such as social science, medicine, technology, the legal system, gender and sexuality, religion, national security, and the Constitution.

Here are some of the terms that were referenced in the articles.
policies, law, justification, autonomy, ethics, constitutional law, human rights, health records, mandatory national ID cards, legal boundaries

Some of the concepts that were addressed in the articles were:

• "the nonabsolute moral right of persons to have direct or indirect control over access to... information about oneself" (Van Den Hoven 1490)
• who can access the information and for what purposes can it be used
• "constitutional or decisional privacy" compared to "tort or informational privacy" (Van Den Hoven 1490).
• prejudicial issues that surround gender, sexuality, and health care concerns
• free flow of information with few safeguards or assurances
• our inability to control who might have access to sensitive documents.
• the concern that our data could be used for profit in a society that is is often driven more by greed rather than integrity.
• the right of commerce versus the right to control the use of our own information

Works Cited

"National Identity Card." Human and Civil Rights: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and K. Lee Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 431-433. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. Clark College, Cannell Library. 2 Oct. 2009 .

Van Den Hoven, Jeroen. "Privacy." Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Ed. Carl Mitcham. Vol. 3. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 1490-1492. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. Clark College, Cannell Library. 2 Oct. 2009

**Note: This blog format would not allow me to add webpage notations in the Reference Section and I had difficulty using the usual double space and indentation format recommended in a Works Cited list.

**Note: (added Oct 5) No author was named for the first citation (National Identity Card).

The beginning of class

Even though I have blogged for a little while, I am looking forward to learning more about how to be more creative and inventive. This class will be a departure from the other classes I have taken as it puts me directly into learning about computer technology rather than just trying to figure it out on my own. There is so much I don't know. This should be a good quarter!