Through catalytic issue management, corporations proactively seek to affect resolutions of issues in which they have some interest. Corporations now catalyze legal changes by purposely disobeying existing law, facing the associated consequences, and lobbying for desired changes. (Author)

Discussion of the effects of copyright on microcomputer software highlights the nature of copyright and situations in which the copying of copyrighted software may be permitted. Rights that a purchaser should insist upon when contracting for computer equipment are noted, i.e., right to test hardware and software prior to purchase. (EJS)

The document is a report on the adequacy of existing procedures for resolving disputes arising out of consumer transactions. It is primarily concerned with problems of the consumer who receives defective goods or services and so suffers economic loss. Focusing on four types of dispute resolution, the document presents its findings and…

Examination of a dispute between two specialists in wine reveals a fundamental difference in the professional perspectives of an economist and a legal expert. (MSE)

A short fictional work for limited English speakers relates a young couple's experience in learning about small claims court through an incident involving damage to the husband's leather jacket. The damage to the jacket occurred when it was left at a dry clearner, but the dry cleaner claims that it sent the jacket to a special cleaner that handles…

Nondisclosure violates a partnership with the public that engineers have entered by introducing new technologies to the public. If technological progress is to coexist with democracy, technology's creators must rethink their communication with the public. (Author/RE)

In light of recent court rulings and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hearings regarding unfair methods of competition and deceptive advertising, a content analysis was conducted of 20 randomly selected college catalogs from 2-year and 4-year, public and private institutions. Four types of misrepresentations were identified including institutional…

Few claims for negligence or misrepresentation against higher education have been sustained, but several important cases in lower education have provided a framework for future litigation. It is noted that the students ultimately lost, but educators should not be lulled. The development of a new tort such as educational malpractice takes years.…

The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss a conceptual model for experimentally investigating the effects of advertising puffery. The various sections contain a discussion of puffery as a legal concept, a description and discussion of the proposed model, research support for the model, and implications for future research on puffery.…

The first student consumer lawsuit against a university tried to a conclusion is examined in terms of the court proceedings. Focus is on the legal philosophies presented by both sides and the legal and educational underpinnings by the judge that influenced him not to allow the case to go to the jury and allowed him to award a directed verdict to…

The author examines the legal context of student consumerism and concludes that while recent court cases have granted more extensive constitutional rights to students in public colleges, for academic grievances, including the quality of institutional services, students receive little support from legal precedent. (Editor/JT)

This report describes a project designed to educate adult education staff on legal issues that affect students so that staff could instruct and support students on the problems they faced. Staff were trained to help students recognize which problems they could handle and which required professional legal consultation. Six workshops (3 hours each)…

Designed for the general public and possibly suitable also for high school economics students, this pamphlet explains how to resolve a billing dispute in a way that protects the customer's credit rating and legal rights. The pamphlet focuses on specific requirements of the Fair Credit Billing law and presents the following: (1) six legal criteria…

When psychologists develop clinically effective behavior therapies that can be totally self-administered, a number of important issues are raised. The present article considers these issues and begins a discussion on the development and use of non-prescription behavior therapies. (Author/AM)

Areas of potential faculty liability are reviewed: evaluation of student performance, and liability for student work, for injuries to students, and as author or consultant. The emphasis is on faculty's efforts to control these aspects of their work. (MSE)