Political E-Mail: Protected Speech or Unwelcome Spam?

Candidates for political office are using unsolicited bulk e-mails to reach the electorate. Commonly known as political spam, this campaign tactic is an inexpensive supplement to television, radio, and print ads. Advocates claim that campaigning via the internet reduces candidates\u27 dependence on fundraising, but critics detest political spam as the latest nuisance. This iBrief examines the legal basis for political spam, distinguishes political spam from analogous regulated speech, and argues that political spam serves an interest worth protecting

Can the Internet Kill? Holding Web Investigators Liable for Their Criminal Customers

As the wealth of online information grows, private investigation websites are becoming more powerful and popular. Their client lists include attorneys, insurance agencies, banks, neighbors, employers, and, oh yes, stalkers and identity thieves. When a stalker used information from a web investigator to track down and kill his victim, the New Hampshire Supreme Court held the investigator liable for its customer\u27s criminal acts. This iBrief considers how far liability should extend for a web investigator, distinguishes web investigators from handgun and bullet retailers, and explains how this decision realizes a policy against privacy invasions

Policing Online Pharmacies: Bioterrorism Meets the War on Drugs

In light of the recent terrorists attacks and the increasing threat of bioterrorism, many U.S. citizens have turned to the Internet in an attempt to gather the supplies needed to protect them and their loved ones. Central to the effort is the increased purchasing of prescription drugs over the Internet. This iBrief explores the benefits and risks to consumers from buying drugs online, and examines recent initiatives to police the online pharmacy industry

Eurycea tridentifera

Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Comparison of module usage of project management information system and success rate of construction projects: case study

If construction is about delivering a built asset that is of high quality and efficiency, wouldn t most companies use all the tools and processes available at the highest organizational level possible? A major assumption is made that Prolog Manager is an effective Project Management Information System. Saying Company X will benefit from more module use with Prolog Manager system is not the same as saying they will suffer from lack of module usage. If a company has already attained success using manual systems it successes may continue. To be as successful as possible, maximum utilization of all modules of Prolog Manager at the unique project type organizational level is necessary, and correlations can be made between higher module usage and greater project successes with this type of company size and structure.M.S.Committee Chair: Dr. Linda Thomas-Mobley; Committee Member: Dr. Daniel Castro; Committee Member: Prof. Kathy Roper; Committee Member: Ron L. Smit

View Direction, Surface Orientation and Texture Orientation for Perception of Surface Shape

Textures are commonly used to enhance the representation of shape in non-photorealistic rendering applications such as medical drawings. Textures that have elongated linear elements appear to be superior to random textures in that they can, by the way they conform to the surface, reveal the surface shape. We observe that shape following hache marks commonly used in cartography and copper-plate illustration are locally similar to the effect of the lines that can be generated by the intersection of a set of parallel planes with a surface. We use this as a basis for investigating the relationships between view direction, texture orientation and surface orientation in affording surface shape perception. We report two experiments using parallel plane textures. The results show that textures constructed from planes more nearly orthogonal to the line of sight tend to be better at revealing surface shape. Also, viewing surfaces from an oblique view is much better for revealing surface shape than viewing them from directly above