Transmitting, Editing, and Communicating: Determining What “The Freedom of Speech” Encompasses

How much can one say with confidence about what constitutes the freedom of speech that Congress shall not abridge? In this Article, I address that question in the context of the transmission of speech specifically, the regulation of Internet access known as net neutrality. This question has implications both for the future of economic regulation, as more and more activity involves the transmission of bits, and for First Amendment interpretation. As for the latter, the question is what a lawyer or judge can conclude without having to choose among competing conceptions of speech. How far can a basic legal toolkit go? Using that toolkit, I find that bare transmission is not speech under the First Amendment, and that most forms of manipulation of bits also would not qualify as speech. Adopting any of the leading conceptions of the First Amendment would narrow the range of activities covered by the First Amendment. But even without choosing among those conceptions we can reach some meaningful conclusions about the limited application of the First Amendment to Internet access providers

Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage Program

The Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage (STES) Program designed to demonstrate the storage and retrieval of energy on a seasonal basis using heat or cold available from waste or other sources during a surplus period is described. Factors considered include reduction of peak period demand and electric utility load problems and establishment of favorable economics for district heating and cooling systems for commercialization of the technology. The initial thrust of the STES Program toward utilization of ground water systems (aquifers) for thermal energy storage is emphasized

Selecting the Best? Spillover and Shadows in Elimination Tournaments

We consider how past, current, and future competition within an elimination tournament affect the probability that the stronger player wins. We present a two-stage model that yields the following main results: (1) a shadow effect—the stronger the expected future competitor, the lower the probability that the stronger player wins in the current stage and (2) an effort spillover effect—previous effort reduces the probability that the stronger player wins in the current stage. We test our theory predictions using data from high-stakes tournaments. Empirical results suggest that shadow and spillover effects influence match outcomes and have been already been priced into betting markets.