Borders in Cyberspace: Information Policy and the Global Information Infrastructure
Author: Brian Kahin
Today millions of technologically empowered individuals are able to participate freely in international transactions and enterprises, social and economic. These activities are governed by national and local laws designed for simpler times and now challenged by a new technological and market environment as well as by the practicalities and politics of enforcement across national boundaries.
Borders in Cyberspace investigates issues arising from national differences in law, public policy, and social and cultural values as these differences are reformulated in the emerging global information infrastructure. The contributions include detailed analyses of some of the most visible issues, including intellectual property, security, privacy, and censorship.
Electronic Review of Computer Books - Danny Yee
That the Internet is global is a truism, but it is one that many -- and among them, unfortunately, most legislators -- still completely fail to comprehend. Borders in Cyberspace, edited by Brian Kahin and Charles Neeson, is a study of some of the legal and policy issues raised by a "global information infrastructure" (or GII, though most of the contributors write simply about "cyberspace" or "the Internet").
The opening chapter argues that cyberspace has clear boundaries and should therefore constitute a jurisdiction of its own, albeit an unusual one, where genuine competition between alternative rule sets is possible. The second chapter sets the Internet in the context of global communication more broadly, stressing the continuities provided by traditional media organizations. (There's some excellent material in this chapter, particularly about Africa and Eastern Europe, but there are also signs of cluelessness: Among other things, it calls Yahoo a browser and claims that the .com domain is for transnational corporations!) The next chapter reinforces the first, arguing that networks should be recognized as "semi-sovereign entities," capable of regulating themselves. The other chapters are a statistical analysis of correlations between democracy and e-mail connectivity (suggesting that the latter is a better predictor of democracy than other indicators); a look at the consequences of anonymity and regulatory arbitrage for attempts at censorship of the Internet; and a survey of the jurisdictional issues which the Internet creates for existing courts and arbitration systems (this is legally the most technical of the chapters and the one most reliant on details of United States law).
Part Two deals with particular issues in the context of the GII. A highly theoretical chapter on digital piracy applies theories of public goods (from Lösch, Samuelson, and Tiebout) to the Internet, considered as a marketplace for competition between different intellectual property regimes. A chapter on "Free Speech and the GII" calls for an international ius cogens based law to regulate "speech that advocates the following irrevocably reprehensible behavior…: piracy, slavery, genocide, apartheid, aggressive warfare, terrorism, and torture." You don't have to be a "free speech absolutist" like me to wonder if there might not be some disagreement about what belongs in this list, given that the English-speaking nations are more concerned about obscenity than anything else (it is worth noting that one of the authors of this chapter is German). Other chapters address privacy (advocating cooperative privacy codes, though a little pessimistic about their likely success), cryptography (a comparison of the policies of the United States, France, Russia, China, and Japan), international information policy (with the sharing of meteorological data as an example), and consumer protection laws (from an Australian perspective!). One of the few features common to all of these issues is the discordance between the positions of the United States and those of other countries within the developed world.
There is nothing radically new in Borders in Cyberspace, but it wastes surprisingly little space rehashing common knowledge or providing basic background information. One consequence is that it is not entirely suitable for those without online experience (or at least previous involvement with network policy issues). It is, nevertheless, the best introduction to the legal and policy consequences of a global Internet that I have seen anywhere: It really should be mandatory reading for anyone involved with developing law or policy for the Internet.
New interesting textbook: Governing from Below or Self Directed Learning
Concepts in Federal Taxation 2006, Professional Version
Author: Kevin E Murphy
CONCEPTS IN FEDERAL TAXATION is designed for a more conceptual, less detailed approach to federal taxation of individuals and corporations in an introductory taxation course. This conceptual approach presents taxation as a small number of unifying concepts, stressing the overriding principles that apply to all specific tax rules and regulations. Concepts in Federal Taxation offers an excellent balance between tax concepts and the Internal Revenue Code and regulations, preparing users for a future in the business environment.
Booknews
This text for an introductory tax course offers a conceptual, less detailed approach to federal taxation of individuals and corporations, presenting taxation as a set of unifying concepts and stressing the overriding principles that apply to all specific tax rules and regulations. Special features of the text include meaningful examples that students can understand presented in a question-and-discussion format, and primary tax law sources with explanatory notations placed at the end of each chapter. Homework includes issue identification and mathematical problems, Internet assignments, and tax planning cases. This edition has been revised to reflect changes wrought by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Murphy is affiliated with Oklahoma State University. Higgins is affiliated with the University of Rhode Island. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Table of Contents:
| Preface | ||
| Introduction | ||
| Pt. I | Conceptual Foundations of the Tax Law | 1 |
| Ch. 1 | Federal Income Taxation - An Overview | 2 |
| Ch. 2 | Income Tax Concepts | 45 |
| Pt. II | Gross Income | 81 |
| Ch. 3 | Income Sources | 82 |
| Ch. 4 | Income Exclusions | 129 |
| Pt. III | Deductions | 165 |
| Ch. 5 | Introduction to Business Expenses | 166 |
| Ch. 6 | Business Expenses | 219 |
| Ch. 7 | Losses - Deductions and Limitations | 267 |
| Ch. 8 | Taxation of Individuals | 309 |
| Pt. IV | Property Transactions | 363 |
| Ch. 9 | Acquisitions of Property | 364 |
| Ch. 10 | Cost Recovery on Property: Depreciation, Depletion, and Amortization | 404 |
| Ch. 11 | Property Dispositions | 460 |
| Ch. 12 | Nonrecognition Transactions | 502 |
| Pt. V | Income Tax Entities | 541 |
| Ch. 13 | Choice of Business Entity - Part I | 542 |
| Ch. 14 | Choice of Business Entity - Part II | 605 |
| Pt. VI | Tax Research | 683 |
| Ch. 15 | Tax Research | 684 |
| App. A | Tax Rate Schedules and Tax Tables | A-1 |
| App. B | Tax Return Problem | B-1 |
| App. C | Tax Forms | C-1 |
| App. D | Statements on Responsibilities in Tax Practice | D-1 |
| Glossary | G-1 | |
| Index | I-1 |
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