Helping young piano students to find the confidence to be creative on the keys can be a difficult task. Without years of experience under their belts, they can feel a little shy when it comes to freely exploring the piano. However, instilling this confidence and giving young, beginning students the tools to be creative has many positive benefits.
And this is why I like to spice things up with a little introductory improv.
Introductory improvisation helps your new piano students play beautiful music right away, develops their sense of rhythmic pulse, and teaches them to listen as they play… all very good things!
Paint Chip Improv For Early Elementary Students
Prepping for Paint Chip Improv is about as easy as it gets: head to your local hardware store and grab a few 4-color paint chip strips.
Why a paint chip?
First off, kids just love them.=! Ask a child to choose from a stack of paint chips and they’ll be immediately excited about picking a favorite color. Next, paint chip colors have wonderfully creative names. This is essential for paint chip improv for two reasons: 1) the creative names spark your students’ imaginations, and 2) the paint chip names provide the necessary rhythm to make this activity work.
How To Make Paint Chip Improv Magic Happen
1. Have your student choose a paint chip. Read the names of each of the four paint colors and determine their corresponding rhythms (by clapping… of course). For example, one of my paint chip colors is called “Tangerine Dream”. This becomes two eighths, a quarter and a half note. It’s easiest if you work within 4/4 time when deciding on the matching rhythm.
2. Write each rhythm you come up with directly in each of the four squares on the paint chip. Don’t worry if some of the rhythms have eighth notes (these can often be taught by rote if your students’ method book hasn’t yet introduced this rhythm).
3. Clap through each of the four rhythms with your student either saying the counting or saying the paint chip name. Then, practice playing each of the four rhythms on any group of three black keys.
Now it’s time for the Paint Chip Improv
1. Begin improvising in the left hand using the chords of Gb Major and a Db Major (I switch back and forth between the two chords in a progression that “works” with what I hear happening with the choices my student is making). Make it smooth and flowing and use the pedal. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy at all.
2. When your student is ready, she can play the first Paint Chip Rhythm on any group of three black keys while you improv the accompaniment. All that matters is that she nails the rhythm; which black keys she plays and in what order is irrelevant… it will sound “right”!
3. If your student is comfortable and catching on quickly, she can simply move through each of the four Paint Chip Rhythms (staying on the same group of three black keys). If not, she can repeat just one or two of the rhythms.
You’ll be surprised at the beautiful collaborations you come up with! Choose a new paint chip each time and keep them in a special place in your student’s piano binder where you can then grab one and jam away instantly!
If Your Kids Like Improv They’ll LOVE Composing
If you’re looking for a great step-by-step composing method that is fun and easy to teach (not to mention… hilarious) then you’re definitely going to want to check out our resource, The Curious Case of Muttzart and Ratmaninoff. These 12 composing lessons will give your students the tools to begin composing from day one!


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The Horse, the Wheel, and Language
How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World271
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Roughly half the world's population speaks languages derived from a shared linguistic source known as Proto-Indo-European. But who were the early speakers of this ancient mother tongue, and how did they manage to spread it around the globe? Until now their identity has remained a tantalizing mystery to linguists, archaeologists, and even Nazis seeking the roots of the Aryan race. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language lifts the veil that has long shrouded these original Indo-European speakers, and reveals how their domestication of horses and use of the wheel spread language and transformed civilization. Linking prehistoric archaeological remains with the development of language, David Anthony identifies the prehistoric peoples of central Eurasia's steppe grasslands as the original speakers of Proto-Indo-European, and shows how their innovative use of the ox wagon, horseback riding, and the warrior's chariot turned the Eurasian steppes into a thriving transcontinental corridor of communication, commerce, and cultural exchange. He explains how they spread their traditions and gave rise to important advances in copper mining, warfare, and patron-client political institutions, thereby ushering in an era of vibrant social change. Anthony also describes his fascinating discovery of how the wear from bits on ancient horse teeth reveals the origins of horseback riding. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language solves a puzzle that has vexed scholars for two centuries--the source of the Indo-European languages and English--and recovers a magnificent and influential civilization from the past.
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Winner of the 2010 Book Award, Society for American Archaeology "David W. Anthony argues that we speak English not just because our parents taught it to us but because wild horses used to roam the steppes of central Eurasia, because steppedwellers invented the spoked wheel and because poetry once had real power... Anthony is not the first scholar to make the case that Proto-Indo-European came from this region [Ukraine/Russia], but given the immense array of evidence he presents, he may be the last one who has to... The Horse, the Wheel, and Language brings together the work of historical linguists and archaeologists, researchers who have traditionally been suspicious of each other's methods. [The book] lays out in intricate detail the complicated genealogy of history's most successful language."--Christine Kenneally, The New York Times Book Review "[A]uthoritative ... "--John Noble Wilford, New York Times "A thorough look at the cutting edge of anthropology, Anthony's book is a fascinating look into the origins of modern man."--Publishers Weekly (Online Reviews Annex) "In the age of Borat it may come as a surprise to learn that the grasslands between Ukraine and Kazakhstan were once regarded as an early crucible of civilisation. This idea is revisited in a major new study by David Anthony."--Times Higher Education "Starting with a history of research on Proto-Indo-Europeans and exploring how this field for obvious reasons assumed an ethno-political dimension early on, leading PIE scholar Anthony moves on to established facts ... then shifts his focus to the interrelation of the three essential elements of horse, chariot, and language and how the first and second provided the means for the spread of Indo-European languages from India to Ireland. The bulk of the book contains the factual evidence, mainly archaeological, to support this argument. But a strength of the book is its rich historical linguistic approach. The combination of the two provides a remarkable work that should appeal to everyone with an interest not just in Indo-Europeans, but in the history of humanity in general."--K. Abdi, Dartmouth College, for CHOICE "David Anthony's book is a masterpiece. A professor of anthropology, Anthony brings together archaeology, linguistics, and rare knowledge of Russian scholarship and the history of climate change to recast our understanding of the formation of early human society."--Martin Walker, Wilson Quarterly "The Horse, the Wheel, and Language brings together the work of historical linguists and archaeologists, researchers who have traditionally been suspicious of each other's methods. Though parts of the book will be penetrable only by scholars, it lays out in intricate detail the complicated genealogy of history's most successful language."--Christine Kenneally, International Herald Tribune "The Horse, the Wheel and Language maps the early geography of the Russian steppes to re-create the lost world of Indo-European culture that is as fascinating as any mystery novel."--Arthur Krim, Geographical Reviews "In its integration of language and archaeology, this book represents an outstanding synthesis of what today can be known with some certainty about the origin and early history of the Indo-European languages. In my view, it supersedes all previous attempts on the subject."--Kristian Kristiansen, Antiquity "A key book."--David Keys, Independent
David W. Anthony is professor of anthropology at Hartwick College. He is the editor of "The Lost World of Old Europe" (Princeton). He has conducted extensive archaeological fieldwork in Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan.
Acknowledgments xi PART ONE: Language and Archaeology 1 Chapter One: The Promise and Politics of the Mother Tongue 3 Ancestors 3 Linguists and Chauvinists 6 The Lure of the Mother Tongue 11 A New Solution for an Old Problem 15 Language Extinction and Thought 19 Chapter Two: How to Reconstruct a Dead Language 21 Language Change and Time 22 Phonology: How to Reconstruct a Dead Sound 24 The Lexicon: How to Reconstruct Dead Meanings 32 Syntax and Morphology: The Shape of a Dead Language 36 Conclusion: Raising a Language from the Dead 38 Chapter Three: Language and Time 1: The Last Speakers of Proto-Indo-European 39 The Size of the Chronological Window: How Long Do Languages Last? 39 The Terminal Date for Proto-Indo-European: The Mother Becomes Her Daughters 42 The Oldest and Strangest Daughter (or Cousin?): Anatolian 43 The Next Oldest Inscriptions: Greek and Old Indic 48 Counting the Relatives: How Many in 1500 BCE? 50 Chapter Four: Language and Time 2: Wool, Wheels, and Proto-Indo-European 59 The Wool Vocabulary 59 The Wheel Vocabulary 63 When Was the Wheel Invented 65 The Signifi cance of the Wheel 72 Wagons and the Anatolian Homeland Hypothesis 75 The Birth and Death of Proto-Indo-European 81 Chapter Five: Language and Place: The Location of the Proto-Indo-Europe an Homeland 83 Problems with the Concept of "the Homeland" 83 Finding the Homeland: Ecology and Environment 89 Finding the Homeland: The Economic and Social Setting 91 Finding the Homeland: Uralic and Caucasian Connections 93 The Location of the Proto-Indo-European Homeland 98 Chapter Six: The Archaeology of Language 102 Persistent Frontiers 104 Migration as a Cause of Persistent Material-Culture Frontiers 108 Ecological Frontiers: Different Ways of Making a Living 114 Small-scale Migrations, Elite Recruitment, and Language Shift 117 PART TWO: The Opening of the Eurasian Steppes 121 Chapter Seven: How to Reconstruct a Dead Culture 123 The Three Ages in the Pontic-Caspian Steppes 125 Dating and the Radiocarbon Revolution 126 What Did They Eat? 128 Archaeological Cultures and Living Cultures 130 The Big Questions Ahead 132 Chapter Eight: First Farmers and Herders: The Pontic-Caspian Neolithic 134 Domesticated Animals and Pontic-Caspian Ecol ogy 135 The First Farmer-Forager Frontier in the Pontic- Caspian Region 138 Farmer Meets Forager: The Bug-Dniester Culture 147 Beyond the Frontier: Pontic-Caspian Foragers before Cattle Arrived 154 The Gods Give Cattle 158 Chapter Nine: Cows, Copper, and Chiefs 160 The Early Copper Age in Old Europe 162 The Cucuteni-Tripolye Culture 164 The Dnieper-Donets II Culture 174 The Khvalynsk Culture on the Volga 182 Nalchik and North Caucasian Cultures 186 The Lower Don and North Caspian Steppes 188 The Forest Frontier: The Samara Culture 189 Cows, Social Power, and the Emergence of Tribes 190 Chapter Ten: The Domestication of the Horse and the Origins of Riding: The Tale of the Teeth 193 Where Were Horses First Domesticated? 196 Why Were Horses Domesticated? 200 What Is a Domesticated Horse? 201 Bit Wear and Horse back Riding 206 Indo-European Migrations and Bit Wear at Dereivka 213 Botai and Eneolithic Horseback Riding 216 The Origin of Horse back Riding 221 The Economic and Military Effects of Horseback Riding 222 Chapter Eleven: The End of Old Europe and the Rise of the Steppe 225 Warfare and Alliance: The Cucuteni-Tripolye Culture and the Steppes 230 The Sredni Stog Culture: Horses and Rituals from the East 239 Migrations into the Danube Valley: The Suvorovo-Novodanilovka Complex 249 Warfare, Climate Change, and Language Shift in the Lower Danube Valley 258 After the Collapse 260 Chapter Twelve: Seeds of Change on the Steppe Borders: Maikop Chiefs and Tripolye Towns 263 The Five Cultures of the Final Eneolithic in the Steppes 265 Crisis and Change on the Tripolye Frontier: Towns Bigger Than Cities


The increased risk of hyperglycemia associated with prenatal exposure to famine is also passed down to the next generation, according to a new study of hundreds of families affected by widespread starvation in mid-20th Century China.
Among 983 people gestated during the famine years, 31.2 percent had hyperglycemia and 11.2 percent had type 2 diabetes. By comparison, among 1,085 people gestated just after the famine ended, the prevalence of hyperglycemia was 16.9 percent, and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes as 5.6 percent. Controlling for factors such as gender, smoking, physical activity, calorie consumption and body-mass index, the researchers calculated that in utero famine exposure was associated with 1.93-times higher odds of hyperglycemia and a 1.75 times greater chance of type 2 diabetes.
The next generation sustained the significant risk of hyperglycemia when both parents had been famine-exposed. Overall in the second generation, hyperglycemia prevalence were 5.7 percent for 332 people with no famine-exposed parents, 10.0 percent for 251 people with famine-exposed fathers, 10.6 percent for 263 people with famine-exposed mothers, and 11.3 percent for the 337 people for whom both parents had famine exposure. Adjusting for all the same lifestyle factors, the offspring of two famine-exposed parents had 2.02 times the odds of hyperglycemia of people with no famine-exposed parents. The odds of hyperglycemia from one-parent exposure were also substantially elevated but not quite statistically significant.
A prior team’s study in mice showed a multigenerational effect on metabolism, and other studies of famine exposure in people have produced evidence of changes in the endocrine systems and in prenatal gene expression in reproductive systems. Paper. (paywall) – J. Li, S. Liu, S. Li, R. Feng, L. Na, X. Chu, X. Wu, Y. Niu, Z. Sun, T. Han, H. Deng, X. Meng, H. Xu, Z. Zhang, Q. Qu, Q. Zhang, Y. Li, C. Sun. Prenatal exposure to famine and the development of hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes in adulthood across consecutive generations: a population-based cohort study of families in Suihua, China. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2016; DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.116.138792 More.
The famine in question was the government-imposed Great Leap Forward, estimated to have killed up to 45 million people.
A decade after the Communist party took power in 1949, promising to serve the people, the greatest manmade disaster in history stalks an already impoverished land. In an unremarkable city in central Henan province, more than a million people – one in eight – are wiped out by starvation and brutality over three short years. In one area, officials commandeer more grain than the farmers have actually grown. In barely nine months, more than 12,000 people – a third of the inhabitants – die in a single commune; a tenth of its households are wiped out. Thirteen children beg officials for food and are dragged deep into the mountains, where they die from exposure and starvation. A teenage orphan kills and eats her four-year-old brother. Forty-four of a village’s 45 inhabitants die; the last remaining resident, a woman in her 60s, goes insane. Others are tortured, beaten or buried alive for declaring realistic harvests, refusing to hand over what little food they have, stealing scraps or simply angering officials.
When the head of a production brigade dares to state the obvious – that there is no food – a leader warns him: “That’s right-deviationist thinking. You’re viewing the problem in an overly simplistic matter.”
At least one can talk about it, outside of China, now.
See also: Epigenetic change: Lamarck, wake up, you’re wanted in the conference room!
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Documentary History of the Bill of Rights Constitutionally recognized rights traced from historical precedents and proposals to final adoption History Top Documentary Films Browse, watch and discuss documentaries filed under History. HOME History of Kindergarten documentary Documentary film series on the history of Kindergarten from Froebel to today Documentary A History of the Non Now brought completely up to date, the new edition of this classic work on documentary films and filmmaking surveys the history of the genre from to the present day. A New History of Documentary Not since Eric Barnouw s landmark survey, Documentary, a History of the Non Fiction Film in has there been a better, complete and up to date history of Is Genesis History The Documentary Film with Features over a dozen scientists and scholars explaining how the world intersects with the history recorded in Genesis From rock layers to fossils, from lions to Documentary film Wikipedia A documentary film is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education, or maintaining Amelia Earhart Documentary Pulled From History Roughly two weeks after the History Channel announced it would debut a TV special featuring a newly discovered photo showing pilot Amelia Earhart just SnagFilms Narrated by Peter Gallagher, this documentary brings the history of oil prices and future of alternative fuels into focus in this Top Documentary Films Watch Free The world s greatest free documentary library a place where documentaries are regarded as the supreme form of expression....
|Title||:||The Documentary History Of The Destruction Of The Gaspee|
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To continue our unit on what exactly a Model Society may look like, it is necessary to discuss politics and economics, and of course review a little bit of the classic literature on the subject! Last year, we looked briefly at Plato´s The Republic, which at the time (approx. 300 BC), was meant to act as a working guide for Society, from the government official right down to the peasant farmer.
This year we have shifted forward to 1775, when Scottish political scientist and philosopher Adam Smith, who is thought by many modern-day scholars to be regarded as ¨The Father of Capitalism,¨ wrote the first edition of An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
This book would prove to be one of the most influential works in 19th and 20th century economic policies, inspiring the likes of Karl Marx, Margaret Thatcher and Milton Friedman. As is with The Republic, the book is far too long and complicated to read in our Debate and Critical Thinking class, but we will read parts of it, and more importantly, we will seriously consider Smith´s recommendations for a wealthy and thriving nation. Key concepts to analyze and discuss (Compare and Contrast, Argue) are the following:
- The role of the State
- The role of Business (private enterprise)
- The well-being of citizens (the public sector)
- Sovereignty and the Commonwealth
- Defense and Civil Justice
- Divisions of Labor and Wages
LINK TO FULL TEXT PDF (Read: Intro pp. 4-6, p. 300, p. 545, p. 558, p. 568)
Amongst scholars there has been considerable debate on Smith´s opinion of an ideal society, an especially debatable topic is the concept that Smith calls the ¨invisible hand.¨
There is disagreement between classical and neoclassical economists about the central message of Smith’s most influential work: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). Neoclassical economists emphasise Smith’s invisible hand, a concept mentioned in the middle of his work – Book IV, Chapter II – and classical economists believe that Smith stated his programme for promoting the “wealth of nations” in the first sentences, which attributes the growth of wealth and prosperity to the division of labour.
… This last statement about “an invisible hand” has been interpreted in numerous ways.
As every individual, therefore, endeavours as much as he can both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. It is an affectation, indeed, not very common among merchants, and very few words need be employed in dissuading them from it.9 (Wikipedia)
6.00-8.00 (excellent analysis of shift from liberal to neoliberal) 9.00-10.00 (trump) 13.00- (fall of globalism) 16.00 (lies of business school) 17.00-18.00 (unsustainable debt vs cancelled debt civil justice) 22.30 (controling language) 24.30 (writers in prison)
AFP Debate, Chile
AFTER VIEWING OUR SOCIETY THROUGH AN ACADEMIC LENS, WE WILL NOW ANALYZE IT THROUGH POPULAR CULTURE:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“Changes” is a hip hop song by Tupac Shakur featuring Talent. The song makes references to the war on drugs, the treatment ofblack people by the police, the perpetuation of poverty and its accompanying vicious-cycle value system in urban African American culture, and the difficulties of life in the ghetto. “Changes” remains one of Tupac’s most notable and popular songs…
… Released posthumously on his album Greatest Hits, the song talks about all of the different issues that were related to Tupac’s era of influence – notably racism, police brutality,drugs and gang violence. The “Huey” that 2Pac mentions in the song (“two shots in the dark, now Huey’s dead”) is Huey P. Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party. The song refers to the possibility of a black President of the United States, claiming “we ain’t ready”. Further, the last verse of the song refers to Tupac’s anxiety about being shot to death, mimicking the sound of a gun with the phrase “rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat”.
AND HERE IS AN ARTICLE ON ISIS THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS TOPIC, BUT VERY INFORMATIVE.


The Tour de France doesn’t have a reputation for being the cleanest sporting event; more than half of its winners in the modern era have tested positive for doping or using performance enhancing drugs during the Tour or at other cycling events.
While drug use at the Tour has decreased in recent years, either because of increased scrutiny or because the drugs have become so sophisticated they're undetectable, Tour officials will be on the lookout for a new form of cheating: mechanical doping.
When the race beings on July 2, officials will monitor cyclists using small thermal imaging systems developed by the French Atomic Energy Commission, reports Ben Rosen at The Christian Science Monitor. The aim is to sniff out tiny motors that fit in the frames of the bicycles that can give riders a boost of around 60 watts—a Tour de France pro generates an average of 405-450 watts at their threshold, or the highest power they can maintain for an hour.
“Some people may claim that these electronic assists are too small to matter but if you're getting a 1 or 2 percent boost going up a hill, in a race at that level, it's the difference between winning and losing,” cycling technology expert Wes Cheney tells another CSM reporter, Lisa Suhay.
Even five years ago, the technology was not available to create these mini motors, reports Dave Skretta at The Associated Press. But batteries have become so small that the devices easily fit in the tube that runs between a cyclists seat and the pedals. For years there were rumors that some cyclists were using the motors, but it wasn’t until late last year when Belgian cyclocross star Femke Van den Driesshe was busted with a motor in her bike at the world championships that officials took notice. She was slapped with a $20,000 fine and a six-year ban.
According to Union Cycliste Internationale, the sport's governing body, mechanical doping testing began in January. Race officials took 500 scans at the Tour de Suisse and over 2,000 at the Giro d’Italia, a major 21-stage race. At the Tour de France they will have the resources to test the bikes 3,000 to 4,000 times during the 23-day event.
“Since the beginning of the year, we are sending a clear message which is that there is literally nowhere to hide for anyone foolish enough to attempt to cheat in this way,” says UCI president Brian Cookson. “A modified bike is extremely easy to detect with our scanners and we will continue to deploy them extensively throughout the Tour and the rest of the season.”
French officials say they tested the new technology at the recent French National Championships last weekend, but they will not reveal where or when the new scanners will be used during the Tour de France.


Santa Clara University
* The views expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily of the Federal Trade Commission or any Commissioner.
The Internet has transformed from a communications link among defense researchers to a network providing millions of users easy access to a wealth of information, goods, and services. Currently, it is estimated that more than 120 million Americans have access to the Internet, and that foreign users recently surpassed U.S. ones in numbers.(1) In part, the exponential growth in the online consumer market has propelled the Internet's extraordinary growth. As the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) noted in its July 1999 report to Congress, online commerce tripled from approximately $3 billion in sales in 1997 to approximately $9 billion in 1998.(2) Annual consumer sales are projected to skyrocket from $15 billion in 1999 to $184 billion in 2004.(3)
The Net is transforming not just our economy but also our society and our notions of privacy. While the Internet provides a goldmine of information, products, and services to consumers, the Internet also is a rich source of information about consumers. Internet sites collect substantial amounts of personal information, both directly through registration pages, survey forms, order forms, and online contests, and indirectly through software products such as "cookies" and other types of tracking software.(4) By following consumers' online activities, Internet site owners and other data collectors gather significant information about visitors' personal interests and preferences. Such consumer data have proven to be extremely valuable to online companies -- they enable online marketers to target products and services tailored specifically to the interests of individual consumers and permit companies to boost their revenues by selling the data or selling advertising space on their Internet sites.(5) An entire industry has emerged to market a variety of software products designed to assist Internet sites in collecting and analyzing visitor data and in serving targeted advertising.(6)
Ultimately, the prevalence, ease, and relatively low cost of collecting, maintaining, and disseminating personal consumer information has a Janus-faced aspect. On the one hand, the ability to gather, process, and disseminate information on the Internet provides consumers with a wealth of benefits (e.g., Web sites can "remember" where a consumer has been and what type of products the consumer likes so that when the consumer returns to the site, s/he can be directed to additional products that are likely to interest him/her). On the other hand, darker voices are legitimately concerned that the manipulative use of information available on the Net may adversely affect privacy or citizenship.(7) Some uses of personal data can be intrusive, as when private information is widely circulated; or reckless, as when inaccurate information is widely shared with other people and companies; or predatory, as when the information is used to target victims for a scam or crime.
For over five years, the Federal Trade Commission has actively monitored developments in e-commerce, particularly those affecting consumer privacy. The FTC has supported industry self-regulation and taken enforcement actions as needed. The FTC also has endorsed certain legislative initiatives (e.g., the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) to address specific online privacy concerns. As I will explain below, there is no simple choice between self-regulation or legislation as the anointed vehicle for protecting consumers' privacy. We already have both and will continue to need both in the future.
II. PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET -- THE EVOLVING LEGAL LANDSCAPE
In the United States, individual privacy, including online privacy, is protected through a combination of constitutional guarantees, federal and state statutes, regulations, and voluntary codes of conduct, all of which apply to the public and private sectors in different ways. Although the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly mention a right to privacy, the Supreme Court decades ago recognized a fundamental right to privacy or the right to be left alone.(8) It subsequently interpreted the Bill of Rights as creating, through a penumbra of various rights, "a right of personal privacy or a guarantee [that] certain zones of privacy [do] exist under the Constitution."(9) Viewed in hindsight, the federal courts have effectively acknowledged a right to privacy with respect to marital relations, procreation, contraception, family relationships, and child rearing and education.(10) In addition, a number of state constitutions specifically enumerate the right of citizens to be protected from privacy invasions.(11)
Aside from constitutional guarantees, the U.S. legislative approach to privacy has been traditionally sectoral, that is, privacy law has developed to address particular data types and users.(12) Historically, fear of the government's use of personal data was the primary concern. Certain statutes thus limit the use of personally identifiable data that the government maintains.(13) Other statutes limit the government's use of personal data maintained by industry.(14) And some statutes limit firms' use of personal data.(15) While no single law or regulation specifically recognizes a U.S. citizen's general right to informational privacy, certain laws as applied do afford a fair amount of such privacy to consumers.
Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act(16) in particular can protect consumers' informational privacy whenever a company collects or disseminates personal data in an unfair or deceptive manner. For example, in August 1998, the Commission brought its first online privacy case against GeoCities.(17) In that case, the Commission was concerned that GeoCities, one of the Web's most frequently visited sites,(18) collected personal identifying information from its members, both adults and children, and misled them as to its use of that information. When visitors become members, they must fill out an online application that requires disclosure of certain personal identifying information and requests optional information regarding education level, income, marital status, occupation, and interests. Through the registration process, GeoCities created a database rich with target markets for advertisers. The Commission alleged in its complaint that GeoCities falsely represented that the mandatory information that members provided would not be released to third parties without permission. In addition, GeoCities collected personal identifying information from children, for whom it promotes a GeoKidz Club(19) that offers activities, contests, and games. The FTC charged that GeoCities misrepresented that it alone maintained this identifying information from children, when in fact a third party collected and maintained it.
Ultimately, GeoCities settled the case by agreeing to disclose prominently on its Web site just what information it is collecting, for what purpose, to whom it will be disclosed, and how consumers can inspect and, if desired, remove their personal information from the databases of third parties. The consent order also prohibits GeoCities from misrepresenting who is sponsoring the various activities offered on its Web site and who actually is collecting and maintaining personal information. Finally, to protect children, the order requires GeoCities to obtain parental consent before collecting information from those age 12 or younger, and to delete any such information already collected, unless GeoCities obtains affirmative parental consent to retain it.
The comprehensive GeoCities consent agreement helped establish some of the key elements of fair information practices that protect consumers' online privacy. Those elements include: 1) notice of the site's privacy practices; 2) consumer choice regarding the use of information collected; 3) consumer access to correct or remove personal information;
4) safeguarding the security of information; 5) parental control over the collection and use of information gathered from children and 6) an enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance.(20) These are precisely the types of protections that the Commission has been urging Web site operators to provide voluntarily through self-regulation.(21) These same principles also served as the foundation for the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that was enacted in 1998 (see infra).(22)
Another recent case illustrating Section 5's ability to protect informational privacy is the Commission's action against ReverseAuction.com.(23) ReverseAuction is an online site that features "Declining Price" Auctions (that is, the initial, opening price of an item drops the longer the item remains up for auction) and "Wanted" Auctions (that is, buyers who are looking for a particular item or service indicate how much they are willing to pay for the item or service, and sellers then try to outbid each other by offering lower prices). The Commission charged that the firm violated consumers' privacy by harvesting consumers' personal information from a competitor's site and then sending deceptive spam to those consumers, soliciting their business.
This case illustrates both Section 5's broad authority and the Commission's commitment to protecting consumers' privacy online whenever that privacy is threatened. Here, the FTC was able to ensure that the privacy protections assured to eBay's users were not compromised when the deceptive tactics of a competitor auction site thwarted eBay's self-regulatory efforts to protect consumers' privacy. Without actions such as this one, consumers will lose confidence about whether their privacy choices will be honored. And, with consumer confidence one of the biggest threats to e-commerce in general, cases such as this one are essential for fostering the continuing growth of e-trade.
In addition to the Federal Trade Commission Act, a few other federal statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)(24) and Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act,(25) provide a certain amount of informational privacy protection. While these statutes, particularly the FCRA, may have been conceived for an off-line world, they function to protect the privacy of both on- and off-line consumers. Indeed, it is becoming increasingly difficult to meaningfully protect privacy without addressing concerns in both the real and virtual worlds. This will become even more true as companies begin to merge online and offline consumer data and profiles.
First enacted in the 1970s, the FCRA regulates consumer reporting agencies, also known as credit bureaus, and establishes important protections for consumers with respect to the privacy of their sensitive financial information that credit bureaus hold. The FCRA allows credit bureaus to disclose consumer credit reports only to entities with specified "permissible purposes" (such as evaluating individuals for credit, insurance, employment, or other, similar purposes). Moreover, these disclosures can only occur under specified conditions (such as certification of need from a prospective employer or insurer). In these ways, the FCRA generally limits the disclosure of consumer reports primarily to instances where a consumer initiates a transaction, such as a loan or employment application. Of course, these processes can now occur completely online.
There are certain caveats associated with the FCRA. First, in contrast to credit bureaus with their rich, accurate and up-to-date data collections, individual merchants, both on- and off-line, are free to distribute any information that they collect as part of their discrete transactions or experiences with consumers.(26) Second, the 1996 amendments to the FCRA include a provision that permits "affiliated" companies to share consumer reports, so long as consumers are notified and given the opportunity to prevent such sharing.(27) Sharing credit(?) information among affiliated companies may well raise special concerns in the electronic banking or electronic payments context, where detailed and sometimes sensitive information about consumers is gathered.
Congress recently enacted financial privacy provisions in Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which add to the legal protections available for consumers' financial information. Under Title V, banking institutions may share personal confidential financial information with their affiliates, but not with third parties such as online marketers, unless consumers are first notified and given the option to require the banking institution to keep all information private.(28) Even with respect to affiliated entities, Title V requires financial institutions to disclose their privacy policies to their customers, including any intent to share nonpublic personal information.
Finally in the extremely sensitive area of medical records, the Department of Health and Human Services recently issued proposed regulations establishing the first-ever national standards to protect health information that is transmitted or maintained electronically.(29) Among other things, the proposal would require an individual's written consent to release medical information for purposes unrelated to treatment and payment. A notable loophole in the proposed rules is that the rules would not protect health information if it is transmitted or maintained solely via traditional, paper records.
Specific, federal protections for consumer privacy on the Internet are fairly limited.(30) Most notably, last year's Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires that operators of Web sites directed to children under 13 or who knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 must: 1) provide parents notice of their information practices; 2) obtain prior, verifiable parental consent for the collection, use, and/or disclosure of personal information from children (with certain limited exceptions); 3) upon request, provide a parent with the ability to review the personal information collected from his/her child; 4) upon request, provide a parent with the opportunity to prevent the further use of personal information that has already been collected, or the future collection of personal information from that child;
5) limit collection of personal information for a child's online participation in a game, prize offer, or other activity to information that is reasonably necessary for the activity; and 6) establish and maintain reasonable procedures to protect the confidentiality, security, and integrity of the personal information collected.(31)
The Act directs the Commission to adopt regulations implementing these requirements and on November 3, 1999, the Commission published its final rule incorporating and explaining COPPA's privacy protections.(32) The Rule also provides a safe harbor for operators who follow Commission-approved self-regulatory guidelines. Moreover, the Commission retains its authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act to investigate and enforce against any child-related information practices that are deceptive or unfair.(33)
COPPA is a classic example of federal legislation aimed at protecting a particular privacy problem -- children's information privacy on the Internet. The lack of much additional federal legislation protecting Internet privacy stems from several sources. First, there is no consensus that one general approach solves all privacy problems. Some believe that firms should always seek consumers' consent before sharing their personal data (the opt-in advocates). Others believe that it is more efficient and beneficial for all involved if firms are allowed to share consumers' personal data so long as they notify consumers and enable them to prevent such sharing before it occurs (the opt-out advocates). Alternatively, it may prove most desirable to have opt-in (affirmative consent) rules for certain types of sensitive data sharing (e.g., medical information) and opt-out rules when less sensitive data is being shared or when there is a broad consensus that such sharing is useful for both consumers and firms.
Second, there is a general reluctance to create a plethora of national or state laws for an inherently global technological environment. There is a legitimate concern that an explosion of various sovereigns' laws regulating the Net would only create conflicts of laws rather than resolve issues of privacy invasion. In addition, there has been at least a tentative conclusion that existing laws such as Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, combined with self-regulation, may be adequate to protect personal informational privacy on the Net. But that tentative consensus may be falling apart, as businesses and consumers recognize the serious harm that hackers, fraud artists and sheer mistakes can wreak with personal financial and identifying information. Moreover, businesses are beginning to worry about the specter of fifty different state law standards as legislators attempt to respond to citizens' concerns about identity theft and privacy invasions.(34)
III. CURRENT FEDERAL POLICY ON INTERNET PRIVACY
The choice of either legislating privacy on the Net or fostering self-regulation is a false one. In fact, we already have both. However, there are legitimate reasons why federal policy regarding privacy on the Internet thus far has favored a self-regulating cyberspace marketplace.
Given the rapidly evolving nature of the Internet and computer technology, self-regulation is certainly the least intrusive and may be the most efficient means to ensure fair information practices.(35) Voluntary codes are by definition developed and adopted by those with the greatest expertise about and sensitivity to industry practices and conditions. And self-regulatory codes can be revised when necessary, more promptly than legislative codes. This allows firms to respond quickly to the rapid evolution of the Internet and computer technology and to employ emerging technologies to protect consumers' privacy. Moreover, when regulation is voluntarily-adopted, compliance tends to be broader, and enforcement more prompt than when a legislature or agency imposes its mandate. And self-regulation wholly avoids many of the First Amendment issues associated with governmental regulation. Finally, where an industry can regulate itself, the government need not devote as many of its limited resources to the task.
Self-regulatory efforts, of course, may fail -- they may not be rigorously implemented or enforced, or they may lapse into a vehicle for exclusionary or collusive conduct among rivals. Businesses may be reluctant to disclose to consumers what they do with personal data, simply to avoid having to compete for customers based on how firms protect personal data. Government vigilance is therefore appropriate and necessary, especially where business rivals, who have an incentive to restrain competition, are involved in the process.
The Commission's numerous activities to monitor industry efforts to protect consumers' privacy include public workshops, Commission Task Forces, creation of an Advisory Group, and surveys of web sites' privacy practices. The Commission's most recent workshop, jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, focused on online profiling.(36) This workshop, examined the use of "cookies" and other types of tracking software -- and even methods of combining this information with personal information collected directly from consumers or contained in other databases -- to create targeted, user-profile based advertising campaigns. Some maintain that no personally identifiable information is collected by this profiling -- at most the profile is of a browser with no knowable street or e-mail address or name. But consumer groups and privacy advocates have raised concerns about these practices, primarily because many consumers are unaware that software is used to create online profiles about them. Privacy advocates believe that consumers should at least be given notice that such profiling is occurring and given the choice of whether an online profile can be created, maintained, and used. I confess to having some sympathy with that position.
The Commission has also used Task Forces to grapple with various Internet privacy issues such as understanding the costs and benefits of implementing fair information practices online. The costs and benefits of granting consumer access to their online information and guaranteeing the security of personal information have been particularly contentious. Indeed, the benefits and costs are interrelated insofar as increased access to information, at least with today's technology, tends to undermine the security and integrity of the data.
To better address this dilemma, the Commission recently announced the establishment of the Advisory Committee on Online Access and Security.(37) The Advisory Committee is to examine what constitutes reasonable access to personal information, including whether the extent of access provided by Web sites should vary, depending upon the sensitivity of the personal information collected and/or the purpose for which such information is collected. It will consider whether consumers should be provided access to enhancements to personal information (e.g., inferences about their preferences or purchasing habits). Other issues are whether appropriate and feasible methods exist for verifying the identity of individuals seeking access and whether the difficulty and costs of retrieving consumers' data should be considered. Finally, should a reasonable fee be assessed for access and should limits be placed on the frequency of requests for access?
On the security side, the Committee will consider how to define appropriate standards for evaluating the measures taken by Web sites to protect the security of personal information. That is, what constitute reasonable steps to assure the integrity of this information and what measures should be undertaken to protect against its unauthorized use or disclosure? By May 2000, the Advisory Committee will prepare a written report presenting options for implementing these fair information practices along with the costs and benefits of each option.
If self-regulation is to succeed, another critical issue is how to create incentives to encourage the development of privacy-enhancing technologies that will give consumers more control over how and when their personal data is collected and used. One such technology is the Web's Consortium's Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P).(43) The P3P platform would enable web sites to present their privacy policies in such a way that consumers' computers could automatically "read" the policies and automatically "release" information to sites that conform to consumers' pre-programmed choices on acceptable privacy policies. The P3P protocol, however, is still in the drafting stage.
IV. THE U.S. APPROACH TO PRIVACY VERSUS THE E.U. APPROACH
The U.S. approach to protecting consumer privacy online -- relying significantly on industry self-regulation with a minimum of legislative and administrative mandates -- differs from that of the European Union (E.U.), which relies more on legislative protections. In particular, the E.U. passed a Directive in 1995 that extensively regulates the buying and selling of personal data.(44) This Directive, which took effect on October 25, 1998, specifies common rules that firms must observe when collecting, holding, or transmitting personal data in their business or administrative activities. Most fundamental for firms is an obligation to collect data only for specified, legitimate purposes and to hold only data that are relevant, accurate, and up-to-date. European citizens, in turn, are guaranteed a bundle of rights -- a right of access to their personal data; a right to correct any data that are inaccurate; the right to refuse use of their data for activities such as direct marketing; and a right of recourse if unlawful processing occurs.
Significant for the U.S. is that the Directive prohibits the transfer of personal data to any country that does not provide "adequate" (meaning "comparable") protection. Each E.U. member country has been enacting its own laws to implement the Directive. It is still too early to know how stringent the various E.U. member states' laws and policies will be; how strictly they will be enforced; or how flexible their contemplated system of exemptions and special conditions for individual companies will be. Nevertheless, the Directive may impose substantial restrictions on U.S. subsidiaries who buy and sell personal data in the E.U., or on firms that acquire and transmit personal data to the United States.
The U.S. and the E.U. are currently in negotiations to determine how best to harmonize the different approaches taken to protect personal data. They have been working on developing "safe harbors" that establish a set of criteria which, if met, would allow U.S. companies to do business with European citizens or firms.(45) These "safe harbors" would require U.S. firms to provide: notice of their information practices; choice as to whether and how personal information may be disclosed to third parties; onward transfer of personal data to third parties, consistent with the notice and choice provided; security for personal data, whether at its creation, maintenance, use, or transmission; access by individuals to the information that a firm holds about them and the ability to correct, amend, or delete inaccurate information; and enforcement mechanisms to assure compliance with the foregoing principles and recourse for injured persons. Most recently, U.S. and E.U. delegates met in December to try and complete the negotiations on the safe harbors, but the December meeting ended without any definitive conclusions.
Like the ever-evolving Internet, the legal landscape that applies to the Internet is in motion and will be for years to come. One way to cope with such an ever-changing scene is to allow self-regulation to develop and change along with it. But industry self-regulation may only gradually develop effective enforcement mechanisms and may ultimately provide inadequate protection against highly motivated hackers or fraud artists. Another way is to empower citizens with technology that helps protect their privacy and permits them to assert control over how their personal data are used. But self-help requires considerable consumer education and sophistication and may well fail to protect consumers against surreptitious privacy invasions or identity theft. Finally, legislation may establish protection against specific fraudulent abuses, or for specific groups, such as children, or may even create useful minimum criteria. But the legislative process can be slow and cumbersome and may lag behind or interfere with technological developments. Thus, neither pure self-regulation, nor consumer education and technological empowerment, nor legislation alone can be the answer. All are needed to ensure meaningful privacy protection on the evolving Net.
1. Cass R. Sunstein, Code Comfort, The New Republic, Jan. 10, 2000, at 37; Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings, Inc., The Nielsen/Netratings Reporter (Jan. 13, 1999) (reported at http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/press_releases/pr_000113.html ).
2. FTC, Self-Regulation and Privacy Online: A Report to Congress 1 (July, 1999) [hereinafter FTC's July, 1999 Privacy Report]; FTC, The FTC's First Five Years: Protecting Consumers Online 3 (Dec. 1999) [hereinafter The FTC's First Five Years].
3. Actual sales for 1999 are not yet available, but the projected figures of $12 to $18 billion are probably fairly accurate, given estimated holiday sales of $7 billion. Online Holiday Sales Hit $7 Billion, Consumer Satisfaction Rising (Jan. 18, 2000). <http://jup.com/company/pressrelease.jsp?doc=pr000113>. See also Forrester Research, Inc., Online Retail to Reach $184 Billion by 2004 as Post-Web Retail Era Enfolds (Sept. 28, 1999) (reported at http://www.forrester.com/ER/Press/Release/0,1769,164FF.html).
4. John Markoff, Bitter Debate Divides Two Experts, (Dec. 30, 1999) <http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/12/biztech/articles/30privacy.html >. Cookies technology allows a web site server to place information about a consumer's visits to the site on the consumer's computer in a text file readable only to that web site server. The cookie assigns each consumer's computer a unique identifier so that the consumer can be recognized in later visits to the site. Advertisers are now able to assign a cookie to the computers of users who visit sites in advertising networks and to follow those users from site to site by reading information stored in that cookie at each site.
5. FTC's July, 1999 Privacy Report at 2.
6. Id.; see also note 4, supra.
7. Glenn R. Simpson, E-Commerce Firms Start to Rethink Opposition to Privacy Regulation as Abuses, Anger Rise, Wall St. J., Jan. 6, 2000, at A-24; Cass R. Sunstein, Code Comfort, The New Republic, Jan. 10, 2000, at 37.
8. See Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 483-86 (1965).
9. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 152 (1973).
10. See, e.g., Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, 12 (1967); Skinner v. Oklahoma, 316 U.S. 535 (1942); Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438, 453-54 (1972); Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 156, 166 (1944); Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925).
11. See, e.g., Cal. Const., art. I, § 1; Ariz Const., art. II, § 8; Ill. Const., art. I, § 6.
12. See, e.g., The Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2721-2725 (1994 ed. and Supp. III). The DPPA regulates the disclosure and resale of personal information contained in records that state Departments of Motor Vehicles maintain. Recently, the state of South Carolina challenged the statute's constitutionality, arguing that it violated fundamental principles of federalism. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the statute. Reno v. Condon, ---- U.S. ---- (2000), 2000 U.S. LEXIS 503 (Jan. 12, 2000).
13. For example, the Tax Reform Act of 1976, 26 U.S.C. § 6103 (1989 & Supp. 1996), protects the confidentiality of tax returns and return-related information and limits the dissemination of individual tax return data to other federal agencies. Another example is the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a (1994), which regulates the government's creation, collection, use, and dissemination of records which can identify an individual by name or other personal information.
14. See, e.g., the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2522, § 2701 (1994), as amended, which limits the circumstances under which the federal and state governments may access oral, wire, and electronic communications.
15. Privacy statutes that regulate private industry include the Right to Financial Privacy Act, 12 U.S.C. §§ 3401-3422 (1994) (bank records); the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1681t (1994) (credit reports and credit bureaus); the Video Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2710-2711 (1994) (barring video stores from disclosing customers' video choices); the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g (1994) (educational institutions' informational records); the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 2001-2009 (West Supp. 1999) (limits employers' ability to use polygraphs); the Telemarketing Protections Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (1994) (limits on use of automatic dialing machines in telemarketing); and the Cable Communications Policy Act, 47 U.S.C. § 551(a) (1994) (cable television).
16. The Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a) (1994 ed.).
17. GeoCities, Inc., Docket No. C-3849, 1999 FTC LEXIS 17 (FTC Feb. 5, 1999). Since the time of the settlement, GeoCities has become part of Yahoo.
18. GeoCities offers its members free and fee-based personal home pages, and links its members' home pages into a virtual community of themed neighborhoods.
19. The GeoKidz Club has been replaced by a kids' club called the Enchanted Forest.
20. These core information privacy principles have developed from studies, task forces, directives, and reports, including: U.S. Dep't of Health, Education, and Welfare, Records, Computers, and the Rights of Citizens (1973); The U.S. Privacy Protection Study Commission, Personal Privacy in an Information Society (1977); Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data (1980); U.S. Information Infrastructure Task Force, Information Policy Committee, Privacy Working Group, Privacy and the National Information Infrastructure: Principles for Providing and Using Personal Information (1995); U.S. Dep't of Commerce, Privacy and the NII: Safeguarding Telecommunications-Related Personal Information (1995); The European Union Directive on the Protection of Personal Data (1995); and the Canadian Standards Association, Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information: A National Standard of Canada (1996).
21. The FTC now recognizes five widely accepted principles essential for effective self-regulatory (or legislative programs) to protect privacy. These five principles are: Notice/Awareness is the most basic principle. All web sites should disclose to consumers the site's information use and privacy protection policies such as: 1) what information is being collected; 2) who is collecting it; 3) how it will be used; 4) who might have, or will be given access to the data; 5) what passive or non-obvious, data collection methods are used by the site; 6) whether providing the requested information is mandatory or voluntary; and 7) how the data will be protected. Choice/Consent embodies the principle that web sites should seek consumers' consent regarding any uses of the information beyond those necessary to achieve the basic purpose of the data request. Access/Participation establishes the principle that consumers should be able to access data about themselves and to challenge the data's accuracy or completeness. Timely and inexpensive access, a means for consumers to verify the information recorded in the site's database, and a method to correct information or add objections to the file, are essential for meaningful access. Integrity/Security reflects the principle that data collectors should ensure that the information they collect is secure and accurate. For example, the collector should use only reputable sources of data, should cross-check data where possible, and take steps to secure the data against loss or unauthorized access. Enforcement/Redress recognizes the principle that an enforcement mechanism is vital to ensure compliance with all the other fair information practices and to provide recourse for injured parties. A self-regulatory program that seeks to assure enforcement and redress might incorporate such features as periodic compliance audits, neutral investigation of consumer complaints, a dispute resolution mechanism, and correction of misinformation or compensation for injured parties.
22. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, Pub. L. No. 105-277, Title XIII, 112 Stat. 2681, 2681-728 to 2681-735 (1998) (codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6506).
24. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.
25. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Pub. L. No. 106-102, Title V, Privacy, 113 Stat. 1338, 1436-1450 (1999) (to be codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 6801-6809).
26. FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(d) ("The term "consumer report" . . . does not include (A) any report containing information solely as to transactions or experiences between the consumer and the person making the report.").
27. 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(d)(2)(A)(iii). Note, moreover, that affiliates may freely share among themselves their individual transaction and experience data without providing any notice or opportunity to object to consumers. 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(d)(2)(A)(ii).
28. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Pub. L. No. 106-102, 113 Stat. at 1437.
29. Dep't of Health & Human Servs., Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, 64 Fed. Reg. 59,918 (Nov. 3, 1999) (proposed rule).
30. This situation may change during this Congressional session. The CQ Monitor News reported that "'the privacy dam may burst,'" because the argument that self-regulation is working to protect privacy just will not "'hold water anymore.'" Adam S. Marlin, Business Advocates Playing Catch-Up On Privacy Issues, CQ Monitor News, <http://onCongress1.cq.com/PSUser/psrecor...tternfiles/newsanalysis&NS_initial_frm=1 > (quoting Mark Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center). Currently, there are two, nearly identical proposals to amend Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. They would require that customers opt-in (that is, give explicit permission beforehand) to the release of any of their confidential financial information. See H.R. 3320, 106th Cong. (1999) (sponsored by Rep. Markey); S. 1903, 106th Cong. (1999) (sponsored by Sen. Shelby). In addition, the White House states that it will push Congress this session to pass legislation to protect medical records. Two Virginia Congressmen (Boucher and Goodlatte) have offered legislation (H.R. 1685) that would require Internet sites to post how they use any information that they gather. A bill (S.809) sponsored by Senators Burns and Wyden would require all Web sites to post privacy information and give consumers the chance to limit disclosure of their personal information. The Burns-Wyden bill is closely modeled on the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act but would apply to adults.
31. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6506.
32. Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, 64 Fed. Reg. 59,888 (Nov. 3, 1999) (to be codified at 16 C.F.R. Part 312). Notably, COPPA provides that "[a] violation of a regulation prescribed under subsection (a) [the FTC-promulgated rules] shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. § 57(a)(1)(B))." 15 U.S.C § 6502. By treating a COPPA rule violation as if it were a violation of a rule promulgated under section 18(a)(1)(B), the Commission can seek civil penalties immediately.
33. The FTC has done precisely this in Liberty Financial Cos., Docket No. C-3891 (Final Order Aug. 12, 1999), where it alleged, among other things, that the Young Investor web site falsely represented that personal information collected from children in a survey would be maintained anonymously when in fact it was not.
34. See Glenn R. Simpson, E-Commerce Firms Start to Rethink Opposition to Privacy Regulation as Abuses, Anger Rise, Wall St. J., Jan. 6, 2000, at A24.
37. Establishment of the Federal Trade Commission Advisory Committee on Online Access & Security and Request for Nominations, 64 Fed. Reg. 71,457 (Dec. 21, 1999).
38. See FTC's July, 1999 Privacy Report, at 8.
faculty/culnanm/gippshome.html). See also Online Privacy Alliance, Privacy and the Top 100 Sites: A Report to the Federal Trade Commission (1999) (available at http://www.msb.edu/faculty/culnanm/gippshome.html ).
40. See FTC's July, 1999 Privacy Report, at 7-8.
41. See note 21 supra.
42. The survey will cover two data sets: 1) a random sample of 500 domains drawn from a list of the busiest U.S. ".com" sites having an audience of 39,000 unique visitors or more as compiled by Nielsen's Netratings from the month of January 2000; and 2) a review of the busiest 100 domains on the same Nielsen Netratings list.
43. The Consortium was created to develop common protocols that promote Web evolution and interoperability. It is an international group, jointly run by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Sciences (LCS) in the U.S., the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control in France, and Keio University in Japan. Currently, there are more than 260 members in the Consortium. W3C Publishes First Public Working Draft of P3P 1.0: Collaborative Efforts by Key Industry Players and Privacy Experts Promote Web Privacy and Commerce, < http://www.w3.org/Press/1998/P3P >.
44. Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (available at http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/datacncl/eudirect.html).See also Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data (available athttp://www.oecd.org//dsti/sti/it/secur/prod/PRIV-EN.html).
45. U.S. Dep't of Commerce, Draft, International Safe Harbor Privacy Principles (Nov. 15, 1999) (available athttp://www.ita.doc.gov/td/ecom/Principles1199.html).


Bird Feathers Inspire ‘Structural’ Colors
By Sunny Lewis
SAN DIEGO, California, April 18, 2016 (Maximpact.com News) – Imagine a colorful T-shirt that never fades with washing, or a car that never needs a new coat of paint. Biomimicry already translated into nanomaterials in the lab could bring such marvels to market in the future.
Inspired by iridescent bird feathers that play with light, scientists at two American universities have created thin films of nanomaterials in a wide range of pure colors determined by physical structure rather than pigments or dyes.
Color determined by structure would never diminish in hue and could potentially be altered to satisfy anyone’s preference.
This research is among the first steps into the fledgling field of biomimicry, where scientists look for ways to improve human life by imitating the success of natural designs, processes and methods.
Here, researchers from the University of California, San Diego and the University of Akron in Ohio sought to recreate structural color patterns found in bird feathers to generate color without the use of pigments and dyes.
They identified melanosomes, tiny packets of melanin in the feathers, skin and fur of many animals, that can produce structural color when packed into solid layers, as they are in the feathers of some birds.
Melanin is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms. In humans, melanin is the primary determinant of skin color. It is also found in hair and the pigmented tissue underlying the iris of the eye.
Melanins have diverse roles and functions in various organisms. The black feathers of birds owe their color to melanin; they are less readily degraded by bacteria than white feathers, or those containing other pigments.
A form of melanin makes up the ink used by many cephalopods, such as the ink that squids expel as a defense against predators.
Melanins also protect microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, against stresses that involve cell damage such as UV radiation from the sun.
Melanin protects against damage from high temperatures, chemical stresses, such as heavy metals and oxidizing agents, and biochemical threats, such as host defenses against invading microbes.
Structural color occurs through the interaction of light with materials that have patterns on a tiny scale reflecting light to make some wavelengths brighter and others darker.
In their laboratories these researchers get tiny packets of synthetic melanin to produce structural color, as in a bird’s feather, when they are packed into layers.
“We synthesized and assembled nanoparticles of a synthetic version of melanin to mimic the natural structures found in bird feathers,” said Nathan Gianneschi, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego.
Gianneschi’s work focuses on nanoparticles that can sense and respond to the environment.
“We want to understand how nature uses materials like this, then to develop function that goes beyond what is possible in nature,” he said.
Gianneschi proposed the research project after hearing Dr. Matthew Shawkey, a biology professor at the University of Akron, describe his work on the structural color in bird feathers at a conference.
Shawkey details the benefits of structural color, saying, “Pigments are both financially and environmentally costly, and can only change color by fading. Structural colors can, in theory, be produced from more common, environmentally friendly materials and could potentially be changed depending on the environment or your whims.”
As for practical uses of this biomimetic discovery, the scientists are thinking about applications of these nanomaterials as sensors, photo-protectors, and the creation of a wide range of colors without using pigments.
Featured Image: The iridescent black feathers of birds such as this African starling are leading scientists to make nanomaterials of structural colors. (Photo by Steve Slater) Creative commons license via Flickr
Main image: The iridescent colors of peacock feathers hold clues to the creation of structural colors. (Photo by Mike Leary) Creative commons license via Flickr
Image 01: Male wood duck with iridescent feathers of many colors. (Photo by Cliffords Photography) Creative commons license via Flickr


“Student life is hard,” they say. “Being broke is part of being a student“, they chant. “They”: the naysayers, the ones who accept the status quo and fail to think of a way out. Don’t listen to them. There is a way out.
While these 40 money-saving tips may not transform your life at the get go, they will save you money and teach you to think of innovative life skills. They may even change your perception of money matters and budgeting, making you confront your inner beliefs and ideologies.
Save Money Now!
- Don’t make impulse purchases – including those luring online “75% OFF if you purchase in the next 20 minutes” discounts from popular discounted imported goods websites.
- Eat and drink before you go grocery shopping.
- Going grocery shopping without budgeting and a shopping list is a big no-no.
- Drink water instead of costly and unhealthy beverages.
- Just by paying your bills on time, you avoid late fees and a negative credit record.
- Walk, cycle, carpool or share a car when safe to do so.
- Go to the library to get your textbooks, especially the ones you will use for short periods.
- If you must buy textbooks, opt for second-hand ones or rent them.
- Sell your unused textbooks.
- Open a student savings account that earns interest.
- Avoid bad credit, such as taking a loan to buy branded clothing, expensive hairstyles, and so forth.
- Step out of coffee shops and make your own damn coffee.
- Exchange that expensive spring break, pens down party or spring bash for other alternatives like visiting family, volunteering, or doing an internship.
- Seriously now, how many blue pens do you need? Why buy writing pads when you can type notes on your cell phone or laptop? Cut down on unnecessary school supplies.
- Opt for free campus activities instead of paying to go out. Think of campus museums and free social events.
- If you can help it, get a pet after university. This will save you on costly meals, veterinary bills and time. If you’re an animal lover, you can always volunteer at an animal shelter.
- Learn some DIY skills from online videos or ask your friends to teach you. This can help you to skip the hairdresser by shaving your own head or styling your own hair.
- Shop where they offer student discounts upon presentation of your student card.
- Cut out on binge drinking and eating out unnecessarily.
- Use your skills and talents to generate income. For example, you can charge your mates to do their hair, clean up after a party, walk their dogs, glam up old clothes, or even be a jogging buddy.
- Cancel or alter your TV subscription, especially for the channels you never watch.
- Update your apps and catch up at free (and safe) Wi-Fi spots on campus and other public areas.
- Choose pre-loved goods (second-hand) as opposed to new gadgets, clothes and stuff.
- Change your hobbies to reading library books and swimming at a public pool.
- Use Skype, WhatsApp or other call and texting apps that minimise your phone bill.
- Ditch the expensive phone contract with runaway costs for discounted pay-as-you-go options.
- Unplug unused devices like your computer, TV, charger, and so forth. This can save you electricity.
- Wash your laundry in cold water to save on electricity bills.
- Line-dry clothing instead of opting for a dryer – and it goes without a saying that you can do your own laundry.
- Instead of taking your only power suit (that you wear for job interviews, weddings and all other special occasions) to the dry cleaner, you should opt for a home dry cleaning kit.
- Request free samples.
- Ask your doctor for generics where available.
- Use coupons and promotion codes.
- Try a free or discounted student gym, as opposed to expensive gyms.
- Prepare your own meals and take a lunch box instead of eating out at the cafeteria.
- Eat out less.
- Get a roomie or share your digz – apart from saving money, you have someone to help with the chores.
- Go to class, learn and get good grades. You’ve already gone through the stress of applying, paying for it and enrolling, so you might as well just ace it by giving it your best shot.
- Enjoy the simpler things of life like breathing in deeply, going for a walk, getting enough sleep and applying your mind.
We hope that this list will show you that you have rights and responsibilities when it comes to shaping your financial wellbeing. Better still, we trust that it will inspire you to act, now. Do what you can with what you have. May it inspire you to think of a positive way out. You are never helpless!
Like these somewhat easy money-saving tips that you may or may not have been aware of – the path to financial freedom resounds to those who truly understand: “there is always one more move!”


Its doors haven’t been open since 1992, parts of the walls are coming down and the linoleum is cracked and shattered. Windows are boarded up but you can still see a little of the institution it once was. Originally called the State Sanatorium for tuberculosis patients, today we’re exploring the San Haven Sanatorium in North Dakota, a place with more than a few skeletons in its closet.
The sanatorium first opened its doors in 1912, when an epidemic of tuberculosis was ravaging the states and a hospital out of the way in the Turtle Mountains was necessary for the growing local population. The first year it was open, it housed 12 patients. In 1922, it was reported that they housed 140 patients in the same facilities. The population constantly grew throughout its life as a tuberculosis hospital until nearly 400 patients were crammed into the halls.
After a vaccine for tuberculosis was discovered, the hospital shifted its purpose to one of caring for the mentally ill. The new psychiatric hospital opened its doors in the 1960s, servicing thousands of patients considered “disturbed” during its tenure. Rumors were that this was a very unhappy time behind the doors of the hospital. Due to low staffing, high population, and the nearly barbaric methods used on mental patients, the sanitarium struggled to keep on top of the mounting chaos. The population eventually got as high as 1500, the primary focus of the hospital was treating developmentally disabled adults and children alike. With reports of many deaths in the hospital while it was open, it’s no surprise that the location is considered one of the most haunted places in North Dakota.
Closed in 1987 for good, the San Haven Sanitarium now sits abandoned, the land beneath it being owned by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. The foundation is crumbling and it’s ill advised to actually visit the hospital, due to many safety hazards inside the abandoned building.
A particularly tragic event happened in 2001, when a young boy spent his halloween ghost hunting in the sanitarium. The boy tripped and fell into an open elevator shaft, dying immediately on impact. Some say the boy who searched for ghosts found them in the halls and he joined them as another spirit of the sanitarium. Brave visitors have left flowers and other mementos at the entrance of the elevator shaft, remembering him and the tragedy that took place while exploring the sprawling buildings.
Legends from the locals say that the abandoned building takes on its own activity at night, the laughter of children being heard near the child wing, shadow figures following you through the wreckage, and even a full bodied apparition reported by two teenagers. They said they saw a nurse, walking around as if checking on patients that are long gone. Again, it’s not advisable to visit by any means without permission or proper safety gear. Urban exploring can be dangerous if not taken seriously. But if you want to meet the ghosts of the former sanatorium, be sure to bring a gift to keep the spirits happy and keep note of parts of the building that are unsafe to enter.
From 1912 to 1987, this building housed thousands of patients, and a few that stuck around after their passing. Many people were treated here with whatever science was available at the time, and very few checked out of the mental institution when it was at its peak. Today, all that’s left is crumbling remains and a few ghost stories.
- About the Author
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Born in Death Valley and raised on the prairie, Deborah is a Wyoming-based paranormal researcher and a senior at the University of Wyoming, studying Communication. Her interests lie in folklore, history, rhetorical analysis and research. With an obvious love for ghost stories, frequently those interests combine with her work on Ghostlandia.


Our aerospace customers report corrosion problems in aircraft including stress corrosion cracking, galvanic corrosion, crevice corrosion and general corrosion. These can often be monitored to avoid operational failure or modelled to ensure best corrosion resistance from the start. ACM equipment is ideal for these aerospace scientists as our instruments are built into appropriate tough and waterproof cases as needed.
In the laboratory when researching fundamental aspects such as mixed metal systems a standard corrosion monitoring system is an essential tool. The preferred choice for aerospace engineers is the Gill 8. This performs all electrochemical corrosion tests, both AC and DC. The AC tests are used where there is appreciable resistance in the solution, for example through coatings or in fuel tanks. The DC tests may be used to study general corrosion (e.g. LPR) or localised (e.g. Current and Voltage Noise). For initial studies or lower budget projects the Gill AC is perfect, offering a cost effective single channel solution. Failure of simple connectors have resulted in aircraft loss, a galvanic test in brine would have easily highlighted this fault and eased the development of a solution.
On-board a Field Machine is the instrument to have. Offering all the capabilities of the laboratory models it may be used via its internal (flight approved) battery where no supply exists.
One on-board solution designed and built by ACM was the miniature crack growth monitor. An array of fine wires was taped to a sensitive spot on the airframe. Each wire was monitored by a microcontroller to determine time of crack. After a years flying time the monitor was interrogated and the history of fatigue crack growth plotted. A simple and compact solution to a real problem. This is a good example of ACM's ability to design unique monitoring instruments. If you have any monitoring problems please contact us, we can help.
See Application Notes for more information on Current and Voltage Noise and LPR techniques.
See Downloads for instrumentation datasheets.


March 20, 2009
Light smokers slip under research radar
U.S. researchers say light and intermittent smokers tend to fall under the research radar, despite the risk that cigarette smoke poses for them.
While one-fifth of U.S. smokers are intermittent or occasional smokers, most research and public health efforts focus on moderate to heavy smokers, the American Legacy Foundation said Friday in a release.Researchers consider light smokers to be those who smoke fewer than 10-15 cigarettes per day.
In order to adequately address the issue of tobacco use in this country, we can not overlook light and intermittent smokers, Dr. Pebbles Fagan of the National Cancer Institute said in a statement.
Research suggests an impending global pandemic of light smokers, and we must take what this paper outlines and move the agenda forward in advancing research of the full spectrum of smokers.
The findings are published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research.