Month: October 2007

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Domain Name System Management: For its Accountability and Transparency

I.  Introduction

No matter how it is emphasized, it may be difficult to describe the importance of the Internet in our daily lives.  It is very important to provide a secure service to connect domain names to the numeric computer identifiers, such as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, for a stable internet exploration environment.  The service, coordinating (i) the allocation of identifiers for the Internet, (ii) the operation of the nameservers, and (iii) policy development on the domain name system (DNS) has been managed in a central manner by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). [1]  Due to its significant effects on the global society, ICANN, a Californian nonprofit public-benefit corporation, has been watched since its creation in 1998. [2]  However, it has still been controversial: Is ICANN accountable and transparent enough to manage the global DNS?

II.  Domain Name System (DNS) in the Internet

Each computer or … Read the rest

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The Failure and Future of E-Voting in America

By: Aaron Moshiashwili

1. Introduction

On September 28, 2007, Judge Winifred Smith of the Superior Court of Alamada County, California, took the extraordinary measure of invalidating an election result – an event that has only happened once before in California’s history.[1] Measure R, originally voted upon in November 2004, was ordered back onto next year’s ballot not because of electoral fraud or force majeure, but because 96% of the results from the election had vanished.[2] There was not any suggestion of dastardly doings; no ballots mysteriously vanished; no warehouses caught fire under unusual circumstances. These ballots had vanished because in a very real way they never existed in the first place. The election deciding Measure R’s fate took place entirely on computerized voting machines.

In the middle of litigation over the fate of the election, the machines were returned to the manufacturers, without the data having been backed up.[3] It … Read the rest

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Special Economic Zones: Select Advantages and Substantial Problems

I. Introduction

Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) are regions within a country that have economic laws more liberal than that country’s typical economic laws.[1] They are usually used by developing countries to attract investment and serve as enclaves of economic freedom for businesses located within them. Originating in China in the early 1980’s, SEZ’s have now spread across multiple continents to dozens of countries including Brazil, India, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.[2] While SEZ’s offer a plethora of relaxed laws and economic advantages to investors, they also provide substantial problems for residents of the communities in which they are located and people who comprise the labor force of SEZ industries. This article seeks to examine the economic, environmental and social impact SEZ’s have on various stakeholders and discuss the current trends in SEZ development.

II. Advantages or SEZ’s

Special Economic Zones offer many advantages to investors

… Read the rest
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Economically Reprehensible Behavior, or Benefits and Risks of Morality? (1 of 2)

I. Introduction

Whether it
is through mutual funds, pensions or direct purchases of shares in
companies, some investors are taking more than profit maximization into
consideration when investing. These investors seek to promote
individual social or moral preferences by choosing investments based on
the products and procedures of an investment, rather than solely on
accounting profitability. Essentially, these investors are looking to
use their money for both moral and monetary profit. Of course, when it
comes to capital markets, the customer, i.e. the investor, is still the
boss. Thus understanding this trend is not merely an academic exercise
but perhaps a lesson to those seeking funding.

II. Analysis

These
moral considerations raise issues of manager responsibility, in light
of the traditional role of corporate and fund managers. The proposition
that corporate directors and fund managers have a duty to their
trustors, shareholders and investors, respectively, to maximize profits
is so

… Read the rest
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The 700 MHz Club: Verizon’s Challenge to the FCC’s Open Access Requirements

I. Introduction

With the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Congress amended Section
309(j)(14) of the Communications Act of 1934, setting a February 17,
2009 deadline for the switchover from analog television to digital
television.[1] After this deadline, all full-power television station licensees that hold a license to operate on a frequency
between 698 and 806 megahertz (MHz) may no longer operate on that frequency.[2] On a television, these frequencies encompass channels 52 to 69.[3]

As a result of this freed up bandwidth going back
to the government, Congress instructed the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) to auction off licenses to operate on these
frequencies.[4]
The purpose of these auctions is to encourage the development of new
technology, to encourage competition, to recover a portion of the value
of the spectrum for public use, and to encourage efficient and
intensive use of the electromagnetic spectrum.[5] According to some estimates, … Read the rest

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Google’s AdWords Faces New Litigant

I. Background

Google currently derives most of its revenue from its AdWords and AdSense advertisement programs.  [1]  Through its automated AdWords, Google sells advertisement space, with prices based on either cost-per-click or cost-per impression. Google enables advertisers to closely target potential customers through “keyword advertising,” where advertisers bid on keywords for their ad campaigns. Keywords can be single words such as “tennis,” or phrases such as “tennis lesson” and “tennis racquet string."  [2]

When an advertiser wins a keyword, Google displays their ads anytime that keyword is used. AdWords gives advertisers a high degree of customizability, such as options to associate specific ads with specific keywords, and options to display and bold keywords within ads.  [3]  Ads and keywords can be assigned based on a number of factors, such as the type of website, and the location of the viewer as determined by their IP address. Advertisers can also

… Read the rest
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Casper the Lonely Ghost: Buyers Don’t Want Haunted Houses

As intriguing as haunted houses are, they are not an easy sell.  Whether you believe in ghosts or not, this is the scary truth: if a home has had a murder, suicide, or illness take place in it, it is “psychologically impacted” and carries a supernatural stigma.  [1]  This fact alone may keep buyers away more than any of its physical characteristics.  [2]  According to a study done by professors at Wright State University, psychologically impacted houses take 50% longer to sell than homes with comparable features.  [3]  On top of that, they price at an average of 2.4% less than those that do not come with a supernatural tenant.  [4] And since apparitions are not always readily apparent to the prospective buyer, sellers with stigmatized property are faced with the temptation to keep their ghosts a secret.  Legally though,

… Read the rest