Computer Transactions: Potential Liability of Computer Users and Vendors

This Article will review the social milieu in which computer liability issues arise. It will explore the alternative legal theories upon which liability of the computer manufacturer and user might be based, from the negligent use of computer information to the implied or express warranties of computer vendors. Finally, it will suggest various methods by which users and dealers might avoid or reduce their liability exposure. Professor Chandler considers the legal theories on which computer liability may be based. Although computer users may be liable in tort for negligence, a complaining party faces two difficult problems: First, the standard of “reasonable care under the circumstances” is not clearly established for computer use, and it is therefore difficult to determine negligent conduct in a particular case. In addition, unless courts recognize that a computer is usually reliable and apply the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur, a complaining party will probably be unable to prove causation of the injury by human negligence rather than unavoidable machine error. A computer user or vendor may be liable in contract if he has not clearly allocated the risks of development and performance in. the contract. He may also be strictly liable in tort or liable under an implied or express warranty theory, unless he has specifically limited his liability in the contract. Finally, Professor Chandler calls upon lawyers dealing with computer liability issues to consider what role the computer should play in our society and who should ultimately bear the risks for its development and injuries caused by it

Proprietary Protection of Computer Software

Due to the rapid development and technological complexity of computer software, courts and legislatures have experienced great difficulty in adapting the law so as to provide adequate proprietary protection for such products. In this article, the author discusses the physical and legal safeguards available to software manufacturers and the remedies they may obtain when these safeguards fail

First Preliminary Report of the GABEX-1 Cruises: Station Logs, Standard Sections and Maps and Time Series Transects

Research progress is reported in studies of the oceanography of the South Atlantic Bight during the spring transition period. Volume II contains the preliminary cruise report

Inference of Soil Hydrologic Parameters from Electronic Soil Moisture Records

Soil moisture is an important control on hydrologic function, as it governs vertical fluxes from and to the atmosphere, groundwater recharge, and lateral fluxes through the soil. Historically, the traditional model parameters of saturation, field capacity, and permanent wilting point have been determined by laboratory methods. This approach is challenged by issues of scale, boundary conditions, and soil disturbance. We develop and compare four methods to determine values of field saturation, field capacity, plant extraction limit (PEL), and initiation of plant water stress from long term in-situ monitoring records of TDR-measured volumetric water content (Θ). The monitoring sites represent a range of soil textures, soil depths, effective precipitation and plant cover types in a semi-arid climate. The Θ records exhibit attractors (high frequency values) that correspond to field capacity and the PEL at both annual and longer time scales, but the field saturation values vary by year depending on seasonal wetness in the semi-arid setting. The analysis for five sites in two watersheds is supported by comparison to values determined by a common pedotransfer function and measured soil characteristic curves. Frozen soil is identified as a complicating factor for the analysis and users are cautioned to filter data by temperature, especially for near surface soils

Correction of Electronic Record for Weighing Bucket Precipitation Gauge Measurements

Electronic sensors generate valuable streams of forcing and validation data for hydrologic models but are often subject to noise which must be removed as part of model input and testing database development. We developed an automated precipitation correction program (APCP) for weighing bucket precipitation gauge records, which are subject to several types of mechanical and electronic noise and discontinuities, including gauge maintenance, missing data, wind vibration, and sensor drift. Corrected cumulative water year precipitation from APCP did not exhibit an error bias and matched measured water year total precipitation within 2.1% for 58 station years tested. Removal of low-amplitude periodic noise was especially important for developing accurate instantaneous precipitation records at subdaily time steps. Model flexibility for use with other data types is demonstrated through application to time domain reflectometry soil moisture content data, which are also frequently subject to substantial noise