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1. This and the next seven questions are from Issue 11, Should Freedom of Speech Ever Be Restricted. According to Eugene Volokh's article, what is the newest way speech is restricted in the workplace, on college campuses, and in governmental buildings?
- [ ] a. broadcast indecency rules
- [ ] b. fighting words doctrine
- [ ] c. harassment law
- [ ] d. cyperspace indecency regulations
2. Which of the following statements best summarizes the public's concern about offensive radio content, according to the Edison Media and Jacobs Research survey?
- [ ] a. Radio stations are self-selected, so those who are listening to "offensive" content are not offended by it.
- [ ] b. Radio stations are so similar in format that it is difficult for listeners to avoid the offensive content.
- [ ] c. There's significantly less offensive content on the radio than politicians tell the public.
- [ ] d. Something should be done to reduce offensive content, but it is difficult to reach a consensus on what is really offensive material.
3. Volokh's explanation of how harassment law is used to stifle speech clearly shows that only sexually explicit speech is at risk in the workplace environment. This category of speech does include jokes, however, made about third parties (like Monica Lewinsky), not just speech directed at an individual in the workplace.
4. The use of "hostile environment harassment law" on college campuses is a result of what?
- [ ] a. Congress passed a law specifically making harassing speech illegal on campuses.
- [ ] b. The Supreme Court ruled that college students must be protected from harassing speech in order to fulfill their educational goals on campuses.
- [ ] c. Lower federal courts have decided individual cases that show a consistent theme of limiting harassing speech directed toward students.
- [ ] d. The Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has determined that harassing speech is illegal and has no constitutional protection.
5. While librarians can sue to limit what types of materials are accessed on the Internet on library computers under the harassment laws discussed by Volokh, patrons of the library cannot because they do not work at the library.
6. According to Edison and Jacobs Media's survey findings, how do listeners of rock radio stations feel about the 2004 Super Bowl incident (with Janet Jackson)?
- [ ] a. They were not very familiar with the incident.
- [ ] b. They found it to be "much ado about nothing."
- [ ] c. They would like to see greater government control of broadcast content to avoid that type of incident.
- [ ] d. They find it to be a major issue even though they weren't personally offended by it.
7. According to rock music listeners, who should be responsible for what media content children have access to?
- [ ] a. parents
- [ ] b. the children
- [ ] c. radio station managers
- [ ] d. the government
8. What is the methodological flaw of the Edison and Jacobs study?
- [ ] a. The sample size was small.
- [ ] b. The sample was skewed to young adults with no children.
- [ ] c. The sample was not randomly selected; it was self-selected.
- [ ] d. The sample was limited to those who listened to stations with "shock jocks" as DJs.
9. This and the following seven questions are from Issue 19, Are People Better Informed in the Information Society? Roush, who believes people are better informed in the information society, says that PlanetLab will improve the Internet in all of the following ways EXCEPT
- [ ] a. allow streaming video to be retrieved instantly even if millions are accessing the same site.
- [ ] b. set up personal user preferences that will allow your computer to search Web sites for new material that might be of interest to you even when you are not online.
- [ ] c. detect viruses before they infect home computers.
- [ ] d. archive important data on nodes.
10. Robinson, who does not believe people are better informed in the information society, said a majority of Americans lack what type(s) of basic knowledge?
- [ ] a. political
- [ ] b. social issues
- [ ] c. scientific
- [ ] d. all of the above
- [ ] e. none of the above
11. Robinson describes the Internet as a global nervous system. How does he describe the addition of PlannetLab?
- [ ] a. nerve cells
- [ ] b. heart
- [ ] c. brain
- [ ] d. muscle
12. OceanStore's data storage and security capabilities would allow users to have more access to greater amounts of not only their own personal files anywhere in the world but also the files that other people labeled "public in the new security system.
13. Where is data stored on the PlanetLab system?
- [ ] a. large servers
- [ ] b. smart nodes
- [ ] c. PCs the size of cell phones
- [ ] d. data hubs
14. What types of things are Americans more likely to remember about political leaders, according to the data presented by Robinson?
- [ ] a. The most controversial decision they made, like sending troops to war
- [ ] b. Their style of speech, like their laugh or drawl
- [ ] c. Trivial personality traits, like which vegetable they despise
- [ ] d. The region of the country they've resided in most of their lives
15. While a majority of Americans cannot explain DNA, they at least know what type of health insurance coverage they have. Only five percent misidentified their coverage, showing that information that personally affects them is sought out and understood.
16. Which group(s) benefit(s) from voter ignorance, according to Robinson?
- [ ] a. challengers to current office holders
- [ ] b. media outlets
- [ ] c. pollsters and media outlets
- [ ] d. political incumbents and social activists
17. This and the following seven questions are taken from Issue 4, Do Video Games Encourage Violent Behavior. Psychologist Craig Anderson testified before Congress that video game violence has been shown to increase aggressive behavior in players in all of the following instances EXCEPT
- [ ] a. among pre-teen and teenage girls who play violent games.
- [ ] b. among boys and girls more than a year after playing the games.
- [ ] c. among pre-teen boys who play first-person shooter games.
- [ ] d. among boys an girls right after playing one of the violent games.
18. The Economist editorial believes that much of the argument surrounding video game violence can be explained by what phenomenon?
- [ ] a. The recent school shootings that have been erroneously linked to violent video game players.
- [ ] b. The desire of the U.S. Congress to tax that burgeoning video game industry with a "sin" tax much like those imposed on alcohol and tobacco sales.
- [ ] c. The generational divide that separates those who play from those who criticize.
- [ ] d. The gender disparity in those who play violent games versus non-violent games.
19. Why does Anderson argue that television violence research should be used to inform the video game violence discussion?
- [ ] a. Watching a television program and playing a video game are both passive behaviors utilizing electronic images.
- [ ] b. Kids tend to play video games for the same number of hours each day that they watch television.
- [ ] c. Parents are just as concerned about video games as they were about television 30 years ago.
- [ ] d. Children's learning processes are affected by video games like they are affected by television.
20. Anderson believes research shows that playing violent video games results in all of the following negative behaviors EXCEPT
- [ ] a. an increase in aggressive thinking.
- [ ] b. a decrease in respecting parental authority.
- [ ] c. an increase in aggressive retaliation.
- [ ] d. a decrease in helping others.
21. Anderson noted that one of the myths of media violence research is that harmful effects are only seen in a small minority of those exposed to the violent content. While he admits that the relationship between smoking and lung cancer accounts for close to 25 percent of those who suffer from the disease, he believes the 10-12 percent relationship between viewing violent media content and engaging in aggressive behavior is strong enough to warrant action.
22. The Economist argues which age group is the predominant players of video games?
- [ ] a. children under the age of 18
- [ ] b. young adults
- [ ] c. males between the ages of 18-45
- [ ] d. adults over 35
- [ ] e. Answers "a", "b" and "c"
- [ ] f. Answers "b", "c" and "d"
23. Studies into the effects of violent video games suffer from all of the following shortcomings, according to The Economist, EXCEPT
- [ ] a. they only look at short-term effects
- [ ] b. they generalize about playing games, even though content is very different.
- [ ] c. they fail to account for the active vs. passive nature of playing games.
- [ ] d. they assume all players engage with video games for the same number of hours.
24. Video games have the potential to educate players in decision-making skills, economics, narrative writing, and even company policies, according to The Economist.
25. This and the following six questions are taken from Issue 18, Can Privacy Be Protected in the Information Age. Contrasting today's real threats to privacy with George Orwell's vision, Simon Garfinkel, who believes that privacy can be protected in the information age, predicts that over the next 50 years, we will see our privacy breached not by Big Brother but by
- [ ] a. spies, historical revisionism, and control over the media by a totalitarian entity.
- [ ] b. "Little Brother": capitalism, the free market, advanced technology, and the unbridled exchange of electronic information.
- [ ] c. video surveillance.
- [ ] d. anyone out to make a buck.
26. Adam L. Penenberg, who does not believe that privacy can be protected in the information age, hired Web detective Dan Cohn to
- [ ] a. investigate companies that profit from the sale of personal information about their customers.
- [ ] b. look into Garfinkel's credentials.
- [ ] c. access the "innermost details" of Penenberg's life.
- [ ] d. produce evidence that politicians were paid off in soft money by corporations resisting regulation of database use.
27. Which one of the following bargains represents the "deal with the devil" to which Garfinkel refers?
- [ ] a. confidential information in exchange for money
- [ ] b. a stronger economy in exchange for our souls
- [ ] c. today's relaxed attitude toward privacy in exchange for the future loss of privacy
- [ ] d. convenience in exchange for privacy
28. As outlined by Garfinkel, which one of the following principles is not one of the five upon which the Code of Fair Information Practices is based?
- [ ] a. There must be a way for a person to correct or amend a record of identifiable information about the person.
- [ ] b. Any organization creating, maintaining, using, or disseminating records of identifiable personal data must assure the reliability of the data for their intended use and must take precautions to prevent misuse of the data.
- [ ] c. No organization may distribute personal information about any individual without that person's written consent.
- [ ] d. There must be no personal-data record-keeping system whose very existence is secret.
29. According to Garfinkel, a nationwide data-protection act giving people the right to know if their personal information is stored in a database, to see that information, and to demand that incorrect information be removed
- [ ] a. has been stifled by a lack of leadership.
- [ ] b. was passed by Congress in 1979 during the Carter administration.
- [ ] c. means that companies are liable for misuse of customer databases.
- [ ] d. would be costly, time consuming, and difficult to implement.
30. Penenberg was shocked to find that Cohn - thousands of miles away from his source of information - was able to use just a phone to
- [ ] a. discover extremely sensitive personal information about members of the United States Congress and their families.
- [ ] b. find out everything about Penenberg from where he ate dinner the previous night to the time his children get on the school bus every morning.
- [ ] c. have Penenberg's name, address, and Social Security number removed from all commercial databases.
- [ ] d. retrieve Penenberg's investment history, deposits, withdrawals, check numbers, and account balances from Merrill Lynch.
31. Penenberg's temporary strategy for self-protection of privacy includes
- [ ] a. asking his bank to withhold his social Security Number from credit bureaus; restricting telephone access to his investment account; changing his bank, utility, and credit card account numbers.
- [ ] b. writing each company with whom he does business to request that his name and Social Security number not be sold or otherwise distributed.
- [ ] c. ensuring that Cohn's license is revoked so he can no longer dig up people's secrets.
- [ ] d. writing his congressperson to urge support of privacy-related legislation and voting only for candidates who see privacy issues as a priority.
32. This and the next seven questions are taken from Issue 8, Is Negative Campaigning Bad for the American Political Process? Pinkleton, Um and Austin, who believe negative ads can harm the political process, concluded what from their study of negative advertising?
- [ ] a. positive ads were more useful to voters than negative ads
- [ ] b. negative ads contributed to greater apathy among potential voters
- [ ] c. negative ads caused potential voters to be more negative toward political campaigns
- [ ] d. both a & b
- [ ] e. both a & c
33. Lariscy and Tinkham, who do not believe that negative ads harm the political process, note that complex positive ads are just as effective as complex negative ads. The key, they say, to a memorable ad is that it makes the voter question his/her currently held assumptions about a particular candidate or issue.
34. Pinkleton, Um and Austin's findings departed from previous research in what way?
- [ ] a. negative ads did not produce greater cynicism among viewers
- [ ] b. negative ads were found to have lower utility than other types of ads
- [ ] c. comparative ads were just as likely as negative ads to increase voters' negativity toward campaigns
- [ ] d. all of the above
- [ ] e. none of the above
35. What two variables were not affected by negative advertising in Pinkleton, Um and Austin's experimental study?
- [ ] a. negativism and apathy
- [ ] b. self-efficacy and cynicism
- [ ] c. apathy and cynicism
- [ ] d. self-efficacy and apathy
36. What is the distinction drawn by Pinkleton, Um and Austin between negativism and cynicism?
- [ ] a. cynicism is tied to attitudes toward specific candidates and/or races
- [ ] b. negativism is more situationally based
- [ ] c. cynicism is a trait seen only in older voters
- [ ] d. negativism permeates multiple voting cycles
37. According to Lariscy and Tinkham's article, a voter ___________ a negative political advertisement in order for its message to be retained.
- [ ] a. has to like
- [ ] b. doesn't have to like
- [ ] c. has to like the attacking candidate in
- [ ] d. has to know little about either candidate in
38. What two actions occur in what psychologists call the "sleeper effect"?
- [ ] a. The source of the attack fades in memory, and the attack itself fades, too.
- [ ] b. The source of the attack remains in memory, while the attack itself fades.
- [ ] c. The source of the attack remains in memory, and the attack itself remains, too.
- [ ] d. The source of the attack fades in memory, while the attack itself remains.
39. A "bad" negative advertisement is one that is memorable to voters and makes them think but is dealing with an issue that doesn't resonate with them.