Copy right and Public Domain

The exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell or distribute the matter and form of something is the best way to define the term copyright. Public domain in the other hand is very self explanatory, it is the state of belonging or being available to the public as a whole. Copyright does not protect matters such as an idea or a system or process but a manuscript, a recording, painting or blueprint or sculpture.

Generally when speaking of public domain no permission is needed to copy or use public domain works. The reason for this is because either they are ineligible for copyright protection or its an expired copyright. Many students as well as faculty staff rely on upon this type of information.

Jana Quinn states in her article “Who owns creative content” that she thinks the power balance is what makes negotiating publishing rights , distribution rights and other details of creative content such a struggle. I totally agree with her and my reason for saying that is because of the many new artists in the industries today have zero money and only his/her own art. Thats when a skillful executive paying as little as possible while maintaining as much control over the property as possible come in. She clearly says that without the creators invention and arrangements of words and images as well as sounds , the art would not exist. I personally believe that the copyrights are as up to date as they can get for the time being. It is protecting the authors and publishers as well as producers and other artists. As opposed to how the copyright laws where back then they have come a far way.

Propaganda

Lets face it, the days of Saturday morning cartoons are honestly long gone. Today these kids can watch any cartoon show as well as other children’s programming on a variety of channels anytime they turn on their TV. On March 5th of last year, Scott Morefield wrote an article which he titled “ How services like Netflix (in moderation) could help parents break the junk food propaganda stranglehold.” Scott states that these parents would do well in his opinion if they were able to keep a close eye on not only what and how much their kids are watching, but even better the content of the commercials given during these episodes. The kids today are exposed to all types of commercials. We see it all the time; junk food and beverage companies are spending a lot of money poisoning  us with their advertisements.

But now several major food manufacturers including McDonalds, has agreed to promote healthier choices with half of their child directed advertising. It’s incredible the exposure to fast food in TV ads that were are seeing. Morefield shared some very interesting information in his article... “McDonalds alone spent $898.1 million on advertising in 2009. That year, the average 2-5 year-old child saw 309 McDonalds ads, almost 3 per day.” Scott mentions that as a result , 40 percent of the parents said their children ask them to go to McDonalds. The interesting question here is did these parents give in?

I think propaganda should be illegal in a way because it ultimately comes down to all lies. If one can get in trouble for lying why can’t those who influence others while knowing they will be harmed? It just does not make any sense to me. Morefield’s primary focus was to write an article which discussed how to raise healthy kids despite a system and status quoa that makes it as difficult as possible. He named a few alternatives towards the bottom of his article which I thought were quite interesting and accurate. He says it’s the parent’s responsibility to become educated on the issues of fast food and decide what exactly their children consume.

Far too many parents , I see give in to their kids to avoid tantrums and to make them happy but in the long run it doesn’t benefit anyone. I know it’s extremely convenient when a family is out and about to just drive up to McDonalds and order off of the menu. The more these kids watch the McDonald’s ads the more they will want it and eventually parents will give in. What should be done is opt for DVDs or streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix where parents can keep better track of what their kids watch.

Digital vs. Bookstores

Three years ago on November 10th, Jeffrey R. Young wrote a very interesting article which he named “As Textbooks Go Digital, Campus Bookstores May Go Bookless”. Young really emphasized the question “ If textbooks go digital , does the campus even need a bookstore?” all throughout his article.

Both online retailers Amazon.com and Half.com have given college students (like myself) the options of buying those old-fashioned textbooks sitting in the bookstores in our campus’. Jeffrey says that some publishers now sell cheaper electronic versions of their textbooks, either through their own web sites or through coursesmart, which is a commercial service supported by major textbook publishers. If these colleges want students to buy textbooks from them like before they must add a price-comparison tool to its website like a Kansas store recently did. The tool allows a student to click on the courses they’re taking from a menu, and the site pulls up a list of required textbooks and shows what each title would cost in the campus bookstore, on web retailers such as amazon.com or any other textbook rental services. A portion of the article Jeffrey wrote discussed the ideas of these College Bookstores getting a Makeover.  They listed dry cleaning, flu-shot clinics, performance space, expanded snack sales, photo printing and study space as some of the ways the store could be used differently. I think any of the ideas stated would be more successful than sitting around all day waiting for a student to purchase a text from the school.

I also think that Jeffrey did an awesome job in this article. I picked this one out of the rest of the articles because as a college student I could definitely relate. When I first started Hesser College in the Manchester campus I bought all my textbooks and even though I sold them back the school after I was done using them the amount I was given back after only having the books for less than two months was ridiculous.

(Ex: A [USED] psychology book I bought was $165.00 at the beginning of the term. When the two months were over, I went down to the bookstore and was given $25.75 back).My parents were having a really difficult time paying for my books and not to mention the dorm living expenses which was a tremendous amount. I listened to my older sister advice (a college graduate) and bought my books elsewhere. There was a “sell your textbook” store 10 minutes away from the campus and a lot of my classmates were selling back their books there as well. The store obviously did not give us back the same amount we paid for the book but we got atleast half and we were able to buy future textbooks there as well. I was saving money that way and things were going better. Now, I rent them online through Amazon and or I download them online if it’s available and free. The article was well written. He gave examples of some colleges who’s bookstore was not selling a textbook and confessed that the money they were making from students was of them purchasing potato chips and beverages rather than the textbooks.

Abortion

Three weeks ago, Allison Yarrow wrote an interesting story describing what her day was like inside of the Norman, Oklahoma Abortion Clinic.

Dr. Larry Burns and his wife, Debby, have provided abortions for 40 years in a state with very tight restriction and few providers. The Abortion Clinic opens four days a week at 7AM. Larry and Debby Burns clinic is one of the five (about 200 miles from Wichita) that are now the closest remaining options for women there. Yarrow was the first reporter they’ve given such access to in 40 years of practice. Two other clinics who have seen an influx of Wichita women, in Kansas City and Tulsa, have declined to have any reporters visit their site. 

Burns saw fourteen patients the day Yarrow went to visit. The closest patient that day was coming from Oklahoma City, 45 minutes away and the farthest, from Oklahoma’s panhandle, traveled four hours. Debby stated that on other days, patients arrive from as far off as Texas and Arkansas. This shows how badly these women need the procedure and it’s ridiculous that they have to travel so far for what should be done in their own states. 

Larry, a 68-year old father and grandfather has been practicing whats been called both one of the safest and one of the most controversial surgeries for 40 years, since 1973’s Roe. vs. Wade decision changed the legal abortion landscape. 

Oklahoma, banned abortion after 20 weeks, and require those wanting an abortion to wait about 24 hours before making an appointment to have the procedure, to learn about the alternatives and risks as well as remind them that the person who impregnated them would most definitely be responsible for child support.

 Cost is a big concern for many women who see Dr. Burns. Insurance policies in Oklahoma are ordered to not cover the cost in abortion procedures.The only way they can is if the mother’s life is endangered. It costs exactly $550 dollars for the procedure, anesthesia, and a two weeks checkup. About one in four women get financial aid from the Roe Fund run by the Oklahoma Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Debby says that most of their clients pay cash and about one in ten patients will not even cover their full bill. 

It’s easy for anyone to judge these pregnant ladies.But its even harder to walk in their shoes. I believe that society should really focus on how to trust these women to know when and how many children they are capable of raising. Women have rights they should be able to do what they want and what they need to when it comes down to this decision. It’s heart breaking for me to read stories and watch these women get tortured by protestors and it’s quite traumatizing. These ladies should be able to walk into the clinic to get the procedure done without anyone yelling “BABY KILLER”, “MURDERER”. 

These women get abortions for various reasons. Some of these women decide it’s best to get an abortion if they are victims of rape and sexual assault, if they aren’t mentally, emotionally or financially ready. Allison’s report was well written. It was easy to understand and she made sure she included only the important information. Her description of the procedure was interesting. The interviews of the women before and after the procedure at the clinic really made this report stand out from the rest of the articles on Times. 

pod 3

Derek Thompson wrote an article which he titled “ The End of TV and the Death of the Cable Bundle” on July 12, 2012 for The Atlantic. The level of TV today honestly just sinks lower and lower. First there are mind-numbing levels of ads.Then the programming is aimed lower than the lowest common denominator.

After the two companies failed to agree on subscribers fees Viacom yanked it’s 19 channels-- including Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central-- from DirectTV. Derek wrote about Aereo, a technology company based in New York City which allows subscribers to view live as well as time-shifted streams of over- the - air television on internet-connected devices. It brings local TV (NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS) right to your phone(iphone) , Mac , iPad, iPod touch etc. This Aereo story is different, its not about cable so much but the distribution of broadcast networks online.

For example Derek made a very good point towards the end of his article about a sports fan who can get the Olympics and NBA and other shows without having to purchase a cable package whenever he wants. That could definitely serve alongside Netflix, Hulu and other services to replace the cable bundle. The internet is ruthlessly efficient at stripping cross-subsidies and allowing the content to shine on its own. Derek really focuses on the fact that newspapers once paid for international coverage with classifieds section and cars you now can go on the internet and view it there on any classifieds site or a car site. The question isn't really if the internet’s unbundling revolution will visit the television industry but when.

Hate Crime

On March 27,2011 reporter Tara Kyle, shared with us all an article of an NYC alleged anti-gay hate crime attack. Damian Furtch, was the 26 year old victim beaten outside of a McDonald's fast food restaurant at 4:30AM on West Third Street and Sixth Avenue. What could he have possibly done to get beaten up by two men? The guys left him with two very painful and disturbing bruise s on both of his eyes and a broken nose. He had to get stitches on his face after the fight.

Mr. Furtch did nothing more than wear pink attire and accessories that night. We can’t help but wonder how this can happen in the Village where gays are welcome to be who they are. Damian stated that he thought he was safe living in the city that he loved but apparently wearing fluorescent colored clothing and pink shoelaces really bothered those guys.

Damian and one of his close friend were at McDonald's waiting for their order when they noticed two guys staring at them. Mr. Furtch stepped outside to make a phone call in efforts to avoid the tension. While his friend waited inside for the food, the two suspects walked out and asked Damian if he had a problem. Damian answered no and emphasized that he did not have a problem with neither of his three friends. The second suspect hit Damian on the face causing him to stumble and that is when the punches began.

But this happened in NYC where everyone walks the streets with no worries. I honestly do not understand why people would do such horrible thing. Is this a way for the “straight” guys to prove their heterosexuality? They cannot possibly think that by beating up/attacking a gay man they will feel more “manly”. What disturbed me the most when I saw the video on TV was that no one did anything to stop the violence. There was a man talking from a pay phone not even a feet away from the attack not to mention the cars that passed by. How could people be so COLD HEARTED. They did not have to jump in the fight to stop it, a simple 911 call could have made a difference. What ever happened to the good Samaritans? What is this world coming to?

After reading the article and even after watching the news I still had so many unanswered questions. Tara definitely had me wanting to know more. I know this is not the first case but I sure hope these ignorant individuals would just grow up and let it go. Unfortunately the sad truth is that these acts do still happen. Some people have no class or compassion for other people at all. Every one of every color, size, gender, sexuality, culture have the right to feel safe not only in NY but the whole world. No one should live in fear.

Mark E. Vogler wrote an article on Eagle Tribune which really caught my eye. The title “Company denies leaving child alone” really worried me as I work with toddlers everyday at a center for child development. Mark describes in his article that a 2 year old child got stuck on a bus for more than two hours Friday. His mother was at home waiting for her son to get dropped off from the day care center he attends. Freddy Recio, the owner of Transerve Inc. a transportation company told police the child was never left alone on the bus.

Ynes (the driver of the bus) says she was running late on Friday and was not familiar with the addresses on her route. A worried mother of a two year old son who was supposed to be home by 415 after leaving the day care center at 330 called the center and bus company numerous times asking where her son was at. The bus company dispatcher told the mother the buses were parked and cleared and there was no child on them. But why wasn’t her son home? Why did it take them two hours later to call this mom with an answer. The kid was finally found and the same bus driver drove the boy back to the daycare where they asked his mother to meet them to be reunited. The mother still asks where her child was and I believe this is question that must be answered.

Mark says the mom told the authorities her son was sleeping and full of throw-up. What disturbed me the most about this article was how clueless this driver and the company where about the kids whereabouts. When the dispatcher called the driver to find out whether she had a boy on the bus from the day care center, Ynes said no- that she had a girl from the day care and a boy from the YMCA in Methuen. The bus driver thought the boy was a girl because he had long hair fastened into a pony tail. The dispatcher called the mother to ask if her son had long hair which she kept in a ponytail. The dispatcher Mary now knew the mother’s child was being mistaken for a female by the driver and immediately called the driver. She told her to bring the boy to the center where his mom would be. What’s not making sense to me is why the driver (who was working her first day at the company) was left alone and not accompanied by a monitor.

The writer left me wanting more information. Unfortunately this is not the first time it’s happened. I see it all the time in the newspaper and all over the news on TV. Kids are being left alone in the bus after school and I just don’t seem to understand how or why. I believe that there should be steps to prevent this from ever happening again. I would assume that the bus drivers would back to the end of the bus before beginning their routes and after dropping off the children. How exactly does this even happen? The company can say whatever they want but that doesn’t mean it’s the truth. Why was Ynes (a new bus driver) left alone? Shouldn’t there be another monitor in the vehicle to assist. How and why did she not know if the child was a boy or a girl? Aren’t these drivers given a Emergency list or something to identify the kids. It’s not like this toddler would have been able to give out his address or name. The driver should be trained and penalized as well as the company.