Legal Status of Engineering Societies
Today all states in the United States have professional registration laws for engineers, though there is some variability in requirements. The essential purpose of such registration is the protection of the public. It is not surprising then to find that engineers who offer their services directly to the public, as is often the case with civil engineers for example, are invariably required by law to be registered. On the other hand, most mechanical and electrical engineers are not affected in the same way because they are usually employed by a corporation (such as a manufacturing company), which is then liable in the eyes of the law. Exemption, however, should not be taken for granted. In legal matters an engineer may not he recognized as such unless he is registered. For -example, if there is a state statute requiring registration, a contract drawn by an unlicensed engineer may be declared void. He may also be excluded from giving expert testimony in a court of law. It is advisable for all engineers to become registered as soon after graduation as possible. Among the reasons for that are the following ones:
· The importance of registration is likely to increase.
· The nature of one's career is liable to change.
· It could be an aid in promotion and may be viewed as proof or technical competence.
The most common requirement for registration is graduation from a EC'PO (Engineers' Council for Professional Development) accredited school plus four years' experience plus a sixteen-hour examination, or eight years experience plus a sixteen-hour examination.
It should be noted also that wider acceptance of registration could eventually enhance the public image of engineering because of the uniformity aspect resulting from the assurance of a minimum level of technical competence.
Vocabulary to the text:
legal - юридический;
law - закон;
though - хотя;
variability - изменчивость;
requirement - требование;
essential - существенный;
purpose - цель;
protection - защита;
to offer - предлагать;
directly - прямо;
civil - гражданский;
to affect - влиять (на), затрагивать, задевать (интересы);
same - тот же самый;
to be employed - быть принятым на работу;
liable - связанный обязательством; обязан;
exemption - освобождение;
to take smth. for granted - принимать как должное, как само собой разумеющееся;
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matter - вопрос;
to recognize - признавать;
unless - если не;
to declare - объявлять;
void - недействительный;
to exclude - исключать, не допускать;
testimony - свидетельство;
court of law - зал суда;
to advise - советовать;
reason - причина;
likely - вероятно;
to increase - увеличивать;
nature - природа, суть;
aid - помощь;
promotion - продвижение;
to view - рассматривать;
proof - доказательство;
common - общий, обычный;
council - совет;
acceptance - приемлемость, принятие;
eventually - в конечном итоге;
to enhance - увеличивать, усиливать, повышать;
uniformity - единообразие;
to result from - происходить в результате, иметь результатом;
assurance - заверение, гарантия.
Ex. Find equivelents to the following words and phrases.
государственный статус; юридические вопросы; требуется по закону; законы профессиональной регистрации для инженеров; после окончания (вуза); образ инженера в глазах общественности; контракт, подписанный нелицензированным инженером; помощь в продвижении; принимать; суть карьеры; различия в требованиях; следует отметить; инженер-механик; инженер-электрик; рассматривать в качестве доказательства технической компетентности; аспект единообразия; обязан меняться; общепринятое требование.
Ex. Translate the following sentences into English.
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1. Значение регистрации, по все видимости, возрастет.
2. В юридических вопросах инженер не признается в качестве такового (as such), если он официально не зарегистрирован.
3. Контракт, подписанный нелицензированным инженером, может быть объявлен недействительным.
4. Его могут исключить из экспертной комиссии, дающей свидетельства в суде.
5. Регистрация, в конечном итоге, может усилить (исправить) образ инженера в глазах общественности.
6. В этом заключается гарантия минимального уровня технической компетентности.
7. Инженеры напрямую предлагают свои услуги общественности.
8. Основная цель такой регистрации - защита общественности.
9. Это не следует принимать как само собой разумеющееся.
Ex. Answer the following questions.
1. What does professional registration mean?
2. What might threaten to unlicensed engineers?
3. What is the most common requirement for registration?
Text IC
BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
Sometimes the biggest news comes in statistic reports put out by serious organizations with boring-sounding names. Last week the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (cbpp.org) released a depressing study called "The Widening Income Gap." It turns out that the gap between rich and poor in the United States is now greater than at any time since the Great Depression. If this were just because of all the new millionaires, it wouldn't be so terrible. The rich getting richer is, in theory, good for everyone. But it turns out that the poorest fifth of Americans have actually seen their after-tax income decline over the past 20 years. One in five children lives in poverty. The richest 2.7 million Americans now have as much income as the poorest 100 million. These trends are being driven by technology, and the now familiar notion that what you
earn depends on what you learn.
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There's good news and bad news across this new continental divide. Access to computers is expanding rapidly. In 1998 more than 40 percent of American households owned computers, and 25 percent of all households had Internet access. Hardware prices are still falling, and used computers are making their way into even the poorest areas. Community technology centers (ctcnet.org) are springing up, and inner-city schools are being wired more quickly than anticipated, thanks in part to the billions provided through Washington's "E-rate" program, which under-writes Internet access. For Americans with incomes of $73,000 and higher, the gap in home-computer ownership between whites and blacks has narrowed some in the last year. That suggests the digital divide may eventually close, if prices fall and incomes rise. But in the meantime, the divide is getting worse. According to a new Commerce Department report, "Falling Through the Net" (nda.doc.gov), the gap in Internet access between those at the highest and lowest income levels grew by 29 percent in one year alone.
What's being done about the digital divide? Companies say they can't hire enough qualified minorities, yet few provide more than a symbolic contribution to nonprofits working in the inner city to close the divide. There are exceptions. Techcorps.org has 6,000 volunteers in 43 states helping poor schools plug in; cyber-mentoring programs that help professionals become e-mail pen-pals with disadvantaged kids (for example, imentor.org) are emerging. More common are the press releases that cross my desk from high-tech companies with multibillion-dollar market caps that want publicity for their five-figure charitable table scrapings. Most would rather lobby Congress to import more low-paid skilled immigrants than seriously invest in closing the divide. It's a long road. The computer is not a dew ex machina* - a god that can fix every social injustice. Access to technology won't by itself level the playing field: if you wire them, they won't necessarily prosper. Computers might become as common as TVs, but they require initiative and creativity to use fully. Knowing how to play computer games is not the same as knowing how to design them. "The access gap will close, but the gap in being able to use the technology in meaningful ways may get even larger," says Mitchel Resnick of the MIT Media Lab. Resnick, who cofounded creative after-school centers for at-risk kids (computerclubhouse.org), compares it to the study of foreign languages. "It's like the difference between having a phrase book and real fluency." Getting out of the ghetto requires the latter, but even fluency isn't enough. Job-readiness skills - how to show up at work on time and interact well are at least as important as learning Web design. Here, too, the high-tech companies are not doing enough.. They've mostly earned a blind eye to welfare-to-work programs.
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In the political world, everyone keeps asking how the Internet will affect the 2000 campaign. Maybe it will do so less as a tool for organizing and fund-raising than as a metaphor for deeper questions of social justice. That theme is already in play, with President Clinton poised to veto a $792 billion Republican tax cut heavily weighted in favor of the rich. If prosperity holds, the next election may provide economic fairness, which today increasingly means digital fairness. Income gaps will always be with us. The wealth of the Information Age cannot, in a free society, be equally shared. But the knowledge and opportunity that the new economy creates should know no class distinction. Once the digital and opportunity gaps close, some greater economic justice will follow.
By Jonathan Alter.
NEWSWEEK, September, 1999, p.55
Note:
· dew ex machina - лат.: бог из машины (обязательный сценический образ в древнем Риме, появляющийся в конце пьесы и ввиду лимита времени быстро решающий проблемы) = неожиданное вмешательство, развязка
Vocabulary.
bridge - соединять
digital - цифровой
divide - раскол, разделение
put* out - здесь: предоставлять
boring-sounding - скучный
release - выпускать, публиковать
depressing - удручающий
widen - расширять, усугублять
income - доход
gap - раскол, разрыв
turn out - оказываться
after-tax - за вычетом налогов
decline - упадок,снижение
trend - направление, тенденция
familiar - знакомый
notion - понятие
earn - зарабатывать
depend (on) - зависеть (от)
warfare - война
expand - расширять(ся)
rapidly - быстро
household - здесь: семья
spring* up - возникать, появляться
be* wired - быть оснащенным (компьютерами)
anticipate - предвидеть
in part - частично
provide - обеспечивать, предоставлять
"E-rate" - рейтинг компьютеризованности
under-write* - подписаться (на)
ownership - собственность, владение
narrow - сократить, уменьшить.
eventually - в конечном итоге
meantime - тем временем
get* worse - ухудшаться
alone - здесь: только
hire - принимать на работу
nonprofit - некоммерческий
exception - исключение
volunteer - доброволец
plug in - подключаться (к Интернету)
mentoring - обучающий
pen-pals - друзья по переписке
disadvantaged - в неблагоприятном положении
emerge - появляться, возникать
common - общий, общепринятый
caps - заголовки
publicity - известность, реклама, гласность
charitable - благотворительный
table scrapings - крохи со стола
skilled - квалифицированный .
fix - уладить
injustice - несправедливость
prosper - процветать
require - требовать(ся)
creativity - творчество
meaningful - значимый, важный
at-risk kids - неблагополучные дети
phrase book - разговорник
fluency - белость (речи)
latter - последний (из двух)
interact - взаимодействовать
blind - слепой
welfare - благосостояние
social welfare - соц. Пособие
keep*(+ doing) - продолжать делать
affect - влиять
fund-raising - сбор фин.средств
poise а veto - наложить вето/запрет
tax cut - снижение налогов
heavily - значительно
in favor (of) - в пользу кого-то
election - выборы
fairness - справедливость
increasingly - все в большей степени
wealth - богатство, благосостояние
equally - поровну
share - делить(ся)
create - создавать
distinction - различие
оnce - когда
follow - наступать, (по)следовать
Word Study.
Ex. I. Match the phrases with their Russian equivalents.
1. language fluency a) на семью
2. more common b) разрыв в доходах
3. income decline c) зарплата после вычета налогов
4. boring-sounding name d) более общепринятый
5. per household e) разговорник
6. after-tax salary f) классовая война
7. in the meantime g) скучное название
8. income gap h) благотворительный взнос
9. social injustice j) в пользу (кого-то)
10. one in five k) неблагополучные дети 1
11. pen-pals l) квалифицированный рабочий 1
12. class distinction m) классовые различия
13. at-risk kids n) обучающая программа
14. in favor (of) o) снижение налогов
15. class warfare p) а тем временем
16. phrase book q) друзья по переписке
17. skilled worker r) социальная несправедливость
18. charitable contribution s) один из пяти
19. mentoring program t) свободное владение языком
1. Ex. II. Match the phrases with their Russian equivalents.
1. to release a study a) обязательно процветать
2. to poise smth. to veto b) жить в бедности
3. to want publicity c) ухудшаться
4. to be equally shared d) хорошо взаимодействовать
5. to live in poverty e) требовать творческого подхода
6. to expand rapidly f) опубликовать исследование
7. to get worse g) желать известности
8. to prosper necessarily h) наложить вето (запрет)
9. to interact well j) распределяться поровну
10. to require creativity k) быстро распростаняться
Ex. III. Translate the following sentences into English.
1. Иногда самая большая новость приходит в статистических отчетах серьезных организаций со скучными названиями.
2. На прошлой неделе Центр по приоритетам в бюджете и политике опубликовал удручающие результаты исследования под названием "Разрыв в доходах расширается".
3. Оказалось, что разрыв между бедными и богатыми сейчас больше, чем когда-либо со времен Великой Депрессии.
4. Теоретически, если богатые богатеют, жто лучше для всех.
5. Но оказывается, что беднейших 20% американцев дрход, остающийся
после вычета налогов, упал за последние 20 лет.
6. Каждый пятый ребенок живет в бедности.
7. Эта тенденция вызвана (driven) техническим прогрессом и знакомым уже понятием - то, что ты зарабатываешь, зависит от того, чему ты научился.
8. Доступ к компьютерам быстро растет (расширяется).
9. В 1998 г. более 40% американских семей (households) владели компьютерами, и 25% имели доступ к Интернету.
10. Возникают районные (community) технические центры, школы оснащаются компьютерами и подключаются к Интернету (be wired) быстрее, чем ожидалось, частично благодаря финансам, предоставляемым по программе Вашингтона "E-rate".
11. "Цифровой раскол" может в конечном итоге (eventually) "закрыться", если цены упадут, а доходы возрастут.
12. На самом деле, раскол усугубляется.
13. Что делается по этому поводу?
14. Компании заявляют, что они не могут принимать на работу недостаточно квалифицированных представителей меньшинств.
15. Но есть и исключения.
16. В Technocorp.org насчитывается 6 тысяч добровольцев в 43 штата, которые помогают бедным школам полключаться к Интернету.
17. Компьютер - не бог, который может уладить любую социальную несправедливость.
18. Доступ к высоким технологиям сам по себе ((by itself) не означает мгновенного процветания.
19. Разрыв в доступе к Интернету будет уничтожен, но разница (разрыв) в умении пользоваться техникой значимыми способами (in a meaningful way) может стать еще больше.
20. Митчел Резник, который был соучредителем Творческих Центров для неблагополучных детей, сравнивает это с владением иностранным языком.
21. Это как разница между наличием разговорника и свободным владением языком.
22. Раскол (разница) в доходах всегда будет с нами.
23. В Век Информации богатство в свободном обществе не может распределяться поровну.
24. Но знания и возможности, создаваемые новой экономикой, не должны иметь классовых различий.
25. Когда исчезнет (close) цифровой раскол и разница возможностей, наступит (be followed by) большая экономическая справедливость.
Comprehension Check.
Answer the following questions.
1. Where can we get sometimes the greatest news from?
2. Why the discussed study is called a depressing one?
3. How many American households are wired?
4. What people are in a worse position?
5. What is being done about the digital divide?
6. Can having an access to high technologies mean a necessarily prosper?
7. What does M.Resnick compare it with?
8. Can income gap be annuled some day?
9. Can wealth in a free society be equally shared?
Topics to Discuss.
1. Digital divide.
2. What you eaarn depends on what you learn.
Text ID
Loosing your good name online
ALL IT TAKES IS YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, AND SOMEBODY CAN STEAL YOUR IDENTITY—AND THE NET'S MAKING^IT"EASIER FOR THE BAD GUYS
In just two days after leasing two expensive sport utility vehicles last spring, Kenneth Morse was finally stopped by a third dealership. Noting Morris's suspicious SUV-buying spree through a credit check, the New Jersey Mercedes dealer said no deal. It was a good thing, because the real Kenneth Morse was more than 250 miles away pushing papers at his desk in upstate New York. With just his name and Social Security number, someone had hijacked Morse's credit-worthiness and was joy riding it for al. it was worth. The cops, who weren't mud help, knew enough to suspect he had given out his Social Security number somewhere online. The suspect was ultimately caught, and Morse's name was cleared—as best as he can tell. He still doesn't know exactly how it all happened. And he still drives his old Camry, a rusty beater with 160,000 miles.
Morse was a victim of the worst kind of privacy violation—the theft of his identity. This alarming prospect is poised to be an increasingly common nightmare as the tendrils of the Internet take root even deeper in our daily lives. All it takes is your name and your Social Security number, and your identity can be plucked from you easier than a coat from a closet With Social Security numbers being used an account identifiers by financial-service firms, health care companies and motor vehicle departments—all of which are going online—it is becoming easier for impostors to put on your happy face. Once it's stolen, count on bureaucratic torture: a seemingly endless telephone and letter-writing campaign trying to atone for your alter ego's sins. Peter Neumann of the R&D firm SRI International calls identity theft the "hidden down side of computing."
The advent of e-commerce is inadvertently endangering privacy. Companies have long boasted about the efficiency, convenience and personalized service that distinguish commerce online. But that promise hinges on the merchants' intimate knowledge of their customers' tastes and behavior. For starters, they know who their customers are, where they live and their credit-card numbers. And the more someone buys, the more the seller finds out about him: likes bourbon and trash novels; sends someone not his wife flowers every Wednesday. Any Web-site operator can reconstruct a visitor's every move on his site: what pages he viewed, what information he entered and the Internet service he uses. Privacy advocates warn that most online companies won't fight subpoenas seeking access to those logs. "
Getting your identity stolen online isn't as unusual as you might think. Three weeks ago John Aravosis, a Washington, D.C., Internet consultant, logged onto AOL and found an e-mail warning that his account was involved in criminal activity in certain chat rooms. Realizing someone had been logging into his account, he wanted to make sure AOL knew it wasn't him in the event any records became public. He began a weeklong lobbying effort, calling AOL, privacy groups and a senator's office. Ultimately, he found out that the "criminal" activity was software piracy, and he's still waiting for a letter from AOL that clears his name.
Aravosis says he never gave out his password, nor did he download a malicious program, but AOL staffers suspect he did. Using AOL's Instant Messenger service, online cons can send a user a missive posing as an AOL employee who needs the user's password for some reason or another. "We are experiencing difficulties with our records... I need you to verify your logon password to me so that I can validate you as a user." If you don't fall for that ploy, you could become the unwitting victim of a "Trojan horse" program—an innocuously named e-mail attachment that stores your password when you open it. The program then e-mails the information to the perp.
So you have to be digitally vigilant. Guard your Social Security number as if it were the master key to your life, which it is. And plead with your insurance company and financial institution not to use the number as your account ID (good luck).
Paranoid, maybe, but it could have saved William Bergau. In May 1998 the 35-year-old college recruiter and his wife had their wallets stolen from their car and returned the next day. But the thief kept checks and Bergau's Social Security card, which he used to obtain a fraudulent driver's license by telling he had lost the original. He successfully purchased goods and withdrew money. But the real problem hit Bergau when the pretender started getting arrested, under Bergau's name, for drunken driving, marijuana possession and grand-theft auto. A year after the theft, when Bergau was on vacation with his wife and kids in Arizona, thousands of miles from home, he was pulled over for speeding. "His" record—for driving under the influence—came up, and the cop wanted to lock him up. "The kids are in the van thinking Daddy's going to jail," he says. But Bergau explained the theft of his identity and, after more letters and calls, he finally got off the hook. He wasn't ensnared online, but the Internet makes his predicament more imaginable for the rest of us.
Now Bergau carries around a series of letters from agencies and the police explaining his plight. But the notes give him little comfort: "I'm going to spend my whole life picking up the pieces of this guy's dirty work." For him—and anybody whose identity is lifted in cyberspace—it's hard to see if he'll ever truly get his name back.
BY JARED
NEWSWEEK SEPTEMBER 20, 1999
Note:
· AOL = America-On-Line
Vocabulary:
lose* - терять
steal* - красть
identity card - удостоверение личности
lease - брать в аренду
high-end utlity vehicle
dealership - сделка
suspicious - подозрительный
SUV - камера видеозаписи
deal - сделка
hijack - ограбить а/м на дороге
worthiness - стоимость; возможность
cop - разг. полицейский
suspect - подозревать
rusty - ржавый
victim - жертва
violation - нарушение
theft - кража
alarming - тревожный
prospect - перспектива
increasingly - все в большей мере
common nightmare - общий кошмар
tendrils - бот. усики
take* roots - укореняться
closet - встроенный шкаф
account identifier - определитель счета
healthcare - здравоохранение
impostor - самозванец, мошенние
vehicle - средство передвижения, (любой) транспорт
put* on - здесь: присвоить
count on - рассчитывать на
torture - пытка
atone - заглаживать, возмещать
sin - грех
crook - разг. жулик, плут
cause - вызывать, быть причиной
criminal - преступник
lock onto - нацеливаться на
marriage liense - свидетельство о браке
county courеhouse - окружной суд
safeguard - охрана (в т.ч. и прибор)
compound - осложнять
advent - приход
inadvertently - нечаянно, непреднамеренно
endanger - подвергать опасности
boast - восхвалять, хвастаться
distinguish - различать
depend (on) - зависеть (от)
merchant - торговец, продавец
customer's taste - вкус клиента
for starters = first of all
advocate - защищать
warn - предостерегать
guru - инд. учитель
liken (to) - cравнивать (с)
VCR - видео
log - войти
involve - вовлекать
in the event - в случае
lobby - защищать (интересы)
effort - попытка
ultimately - в конечном итоге
piracy - пиратство
password - пароль
download - загружать
malicious - преднамеренный, злобный
staffer - staff member - сотрудник
thief - вор
missive - официальное послание
posing - ставящий (вопрос)
verify - проверять, удостоверять
validate - подтвердить
unwitting victim - невольная жертва
attachment - приложение
store - хранить
perp(etrator) - нарушитель, преступник
vigilant - бдительный
guard - охранять
master key - отмычка
plead - обращаться с просьбой
insurance - страховой
recruiter - тот, кто набирает (на службу)
wallet - кошелек
obtain - получать, добиваться
fraudulent -обманный, мошеннический
purchase - приобретать, покупать
goods - товары
withdrew* money - снимать сеньги
pretender - лже(кто-то)
possession - владение
grand-theft auto - крупный автоугон
pull over - разг.: задержать
driving under the influence
jail - амер.: тюрьма
speeding - превышение скорости
get* of the hook - разг.: снять с подозрения
plight - здесь: тяжелое положение
comfort - утешение
dirty - грязный
tip - совет, намек
protect - защищать
floodgate - шлюз(ные ворота)
guard - охранять
attachment - приложение
stranger - незнакомый человек
spread - распространять
WORD STUDY.
Ex. Match the phrases with their Russian equivalents:
1. to give little comfort 2. to note smth. suspicious 3. to get off the hook 4. to make smth. easier 5. to seek access (to) 6. to catch a suspect 7. to take roots 8. to cause problems 9. to boast about efficiency 10. to suspect smb. of doing smth. 11. to steel one's identity card
a/ украсть удостоверение личности b/ приносить мало утешения c/ укореняться d/ искать доступ (к) e/ снять с подозрения f/ отмечать нечто подозрительное g/ подозрвать кого-то в совершении h/ вызывать проблемы i/ облегчить что-то j/ схватить подозреваемого k/ восхвалять эффективность
Ex. Match the words and phrases with their Russian equivalents:
1. password 2. no deal 3. under the influence 4. privacy violation 5. driving license 6. alarming prospect 7. unwitting victim 8. increasingly common 9. health care 10. in the event 11. criminal activity 12. alter ego 13. marriage license 14. widely used 15. county courthouse 16. customer's tastes
a/ "второе Я" b/ здравоохранение c/ вкусы клиетов d/ никакой сделки e/ под влиянием/воздействием f/ нарушение конфиденциальности g/ невольная жертва h/ окружной суд i/ пароль j/ в случае k/ водительские права l/ преступная деятельность m/ свидетельство о браке n/ настораживающая перспектива o/ широко используемый p/ все в большей мере присущий
Ex. Translate the following sentences into English.
1. Однажды Кеннету Морсу было отказано в проведении сделки по кредитному чеку.
2. И хорошо, потому что настоящий К.Морс находился более чем в 200 милях от данного места.
3. Зная его имя и номер сертификата социального страхования, некто совершал крупные покупки от его имени (on his bahalf).
4. Полицейские, помощь которых была невелика, подозревали Кеннета в том, что он сам дал кому-то свой номер сертификата социального страхования.
5. Подозреваемого (преступника) в конце концов поймали, и имя Морса было "обелено".
6. Но он до сих пор не знает, как все это получилось.
7. К. Морс оказался жертвой наихудшего нарушения частной собственности/тайны (privacy).
8. Чтобы избежать подобных случаев, следует хранить в тайне (keep secret) номера всех ваших документов и никому не давать ваши документы.
Comprehension Check.
Ex. Answer the following questions:
1. Why was Kenneth Morse stopped by the New Jersey Mercedes dealer last spring?
2. What was real Kenneth Morse doing that time?
3. What was he suspected of?
4. Was he guilty (виновен)?
5. Is such theft common nowadays?
6. What can by done with a social security number?
7. What threat (угроза) is brought by the advent of e-commerce?
8. Can you give someone your password?
9. Is it easy to clean your name after your social security number was used by someone?
Topics to discuss.
1. Identity theft.
2. William Bergau's story.
3. Clearing your name.
4. Tips (советы/подсказки) to protect you online
Text IIA
TELLING THE TRUTH
Freedom of information in the USA and UK
1.GOVERNMENT RECORDS
THE USA
The federal Freedom of Information Act says, in general, that all US citizen can inspect and copy any of the records of the various federal government departments. There are some exceptions -many defense and foreign policy matters are kept secret, for instance. And people are not allowed to obtain information about other citizens' private affairs.
The Freedom of Information Act only applies to federal record State governments do not have to open their records to the public and the majority do not.
BRITAIN
The Local Government (Access to Information) Act says that loc. government meetings must be open to the public (with a few exceptions), and that the public may inspect any documents which were consulted at the meetings. But at the time of writing (1987), Britain has no law similar to the Freedom of Information Act. So there is at present no general right to inspect national or local government records, though this may change during the ne few years.
2. PERSONAL FILES
THE USA
Under the Freedom of Information Act, people can find out whether federal authorities hold files on them, and can inspect an' copy their files.
State governments are not obliged by law to show individuals their personal files.
BRITAIN
From November 1987, the Data Protection Act gives people the right to see, check and if necessary correct any information about themselves which is kept in computerised records. But people have no right to see personal information which is held in non-computerised records.
British local government authorities keep files on large numbers of people - for instance, all those who have had anything to do with the local authority housing, social services or education departments. Some local authorities allow people to see their own files. (In Barnet, in London, for instance, schoolchildren are allowed to see their own files, and from the age of ten they can stop their parents seeing them.) But many local authorities keep people's files secret. So unless these files are computerised, individuals may not be able to check the truth of what is written about them.
However, an Access to Personal Files Bill is going through Parliament, and may become law in 1987. If this happens. British people will be able to see what is written about them in some kinds at records (though they will still not be allowed to see their medical 3r banking files unless these are computerised).
Vocabulary.
government records - правительственные документы (записи)
citizen - гражданин
inspect - проверить, рассмотреть
copy - снять копию
exception - исключение
defence - оборонa, защита
matter - вопрос
allow - позволять, разрешать
obtain - получать
affairs - мн.ч.: дела
apply (to) - относиться (к)
similar (to) - подобный, схожий
personal files - личные дела
under - здесь: согласно, в соответствии
find* out - выяснить
authorities - власти
obliged - обязан
have smth. to do (with) - иметь дело (с)
housing - обеспечение жильем, жилищный фонд
Word Study.
Ex. Match the phrases with their Russian equivalents:
1.local authorities 2. policy matters 3. exception to the rule 4. freedom of information 5. private affairs 6. data protection 7. personal file 8. similar law 9. access to information 10. defense matters
a/ вопросы обороны b/ доступ к информации c/ политические вопросы d/ личные дела e/ местная власть f/ свобода информации g/ подобный закон h/ личное дело i/ защита данных j/ исключение из правил
Ex. Match the phrases with their Russian equivalents:
1.to keep secret 2. to be applied (to) 3. to be obliged 4. to show records to individuals 5. to obtain information 6. be available to public 7. to correct any information 8. to copy any records
a/ применяться (в) b/ быть доступным для общественности c/ исправить любую информацию d/ хранить в тайне e/ переписать любые записи f/ быть обязанным g/ показывать запись отдельным лицам h/ получать информацию
1. Ex. Translate the following sentences into English.
2. В соответствии с Актом (законом) о свободе информации, граждане США имеют право просматривать и снимать копию с любого документа.
3. Исключение составляют некоторые вопросы обороны и внешней политики, которые остаются секретными, т.е. закрытыми для публики.
4. Акт о свободе информации относится только к документации федерального уровня.
5. Закон местного правительства (о доступе к информации) гласит, что правительственные собрания должны быть открытыми для общественности (публики).
6. Кроме того, людям не разрешается получать информацию о личных делах других граждан.
7. В настоящее время нет общего закона, разрешающего просматривать записи национального или местного правительства, хотя ситуация может измениться в течение ближайших нескольких лет.
8. Согласно Закона о свободе информации, люди могут выяснять, ведет ли федеральное правительство личные дела (файлы) на них.
9. С ноября 1987 г. дает англичанам право на исправление любой информации, которая хранится в компьютере. !
10. В Лондоне дети школьного возраста имеют право видеть свои личные дела, а с 10 лет они могут запрещать родителям просматривать эти дела.
Comprehension Check.
Ex. Answer the following questions.
1. What does the Federal Freedom of Information Act say about US citizens?
2. What issues are considered to be exceptions?
3. To what level of records does the Act apply?
4. Did Britain have the law, similar to the US Freedom of Information act in 1987?
5. What does the Data Protection Act give people from 1987?
6. What are schoolchildren in Barnet and London allowed to do in the age of ten?
Topics to discuss.
1. The US federal Freedom of Information Act.
2. The British Local Government Act.
3. The Data Protection Act.
Text IIB
BOOK BANNING MUST BE STOPPED
"I can't wait to go home and relax," my friend Marianne declared. After taking three midterm exams that week, Marianne planned a quiet evening at home. "Marcia, you're an English major," she said, looking up from her bag. "Can you think of a good book to me to read?" "How about Native Son or to Kill a Mockingbird?" I said. "Or did you ever read Flowers for Algernon or Ordinary People?" The four books I recommended have something in common. Although good by my standards, each has been attacked as dangerous by certain people or groups in communities across the United States. Along with other works by outstanding authors, such as Alice Walker, John Steinbeck, Kurt Vonnegut, and Mark Twain, these books - four of my all-time favorites - have been challenged, censored, banned, burned or removed from American schools and libraries in recent years.
Censorship of textbooks and other books in school libraries appears to be increasing in all parts of the country. People for the American Way, a Washington-based lobby group that recently conducted its fourth annual study of censorship, reports that incidents of censorship have increased 35 percent in the past year. In the past four years these incidents have more than doubled. Last July, the American Library Association published a list of more than five hundred books that have been banned, challenged, or removed from schools and public libraries around the country, ranging from Harriet the Spy, by Louise Firzhugh (considered "dangerous" because it "teaches children to lie, spy, back-talk, and curse"), to The Merchant of Venice, by William
Shakespeare (considered to be anti-Semitic).
Often under the guise of upholding community values, censors attack books for profane or obscene language or for scenes о sex and violence. Apparently they believe that by shielding us, they will discourage us from adopting undesirable attitudes, speech. and behavior. The censors may mean well, however, I don't think teenagers encounter many words or details in books that they have not already heard in real life. Besides, I am no more apt to swear after reading Go Ask Alice than I am to speak in blank verse" after reading Macbeth.
Instead of zeroing in on certain passages or words they find offensive, these censors should focus on understanding the value of the work as a whole. For example, J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, which contains numerous four-letter words, has been a recent target of criticism. In recent years, the novel has been challenged, banned, or removed in school districts in states including Washington, Ohio, Florida, and Michigan. Perhaps by examining this work as a whole, the censors would realize its real literary value. Through his protagonist's use of strong language in a clearly unnatural "tough kid" style, Salinger depicts the struggles of a vulnerable boy who hides behind a facade as he grows up in a world that frightens and confuses him. In this work, vulgar language emphasizes Salinger's message and serves a definite purpose.
Even more disturbing to me than attacks on so-called dirty books are those against books that express ideas with which censors - who are often political, social, or religious extremists - disagree.
In Alabama, the state textbook committee rejected thirty-seven textbooks after various conservative groups had objected that the books failed to reflect certain "religious and social philosophies." In Oregon, environmentalists wanted to remove a social studies book because they believed it contained "pro-industry propaganda."' And last July a group of fundamentalist Christian parents in Church Hill, Tennessee, filed suit against the county's public schools. The group argued that a series of schoolbooks preached "secular humanism," a doctrine that they said places man above God. There are a lot of such cases
Notes:
· · To Kill a Mockinbird - "Убить пересмешника"
· · Catcher in the Rye - "Над пропастью во ржи"
· blank verse: a type of poetry that doesn't rhyme
· four-teller words: words that deal with bodily functions (very bad words)
· "pro-industry propaganda": information from industrialists that i the environmentalists
· secular humanism: и philosophy that seeks to encourage moral Dei isi Christians because they believe that people must follow the title;
· squelch: to suppress, or stamp on
Word Study.
Ex. 1. Match the phrases with their Russian equivalents.
1. as a whole A/ наряду с
2. Book banning b/ случаи цензуры
3. Vulnerable boy c/ трудный ребенок
4. Four-letter words d/ определенный отрывок
5. Renowned author e/ нежелательное поведение
6. Tough kid f/ в последние годы
7. Native son g/ в целом
8. Annual study h/ эколог
9. In recent years i/ многочисленные случаи
10. Undesirable behaviour j/ cцены насилия
11. Incidents of censorship k/ запрет на книги
12. Certain passage l/ под видом
13. Numerous cases m/ ругательные слова
14. Protagonist n/ уязвимый мальчик
15. Under the guise (of) o/ родной сын
16. Along with p/ главный герой
17. Environmentalist q/ ежегодное исследование
18. Violation scenes r/ прославленный автор
Ex. 2. Match the phrases with their Russian equivalents.
1. to make a list A/ поддерживать ценности
2. To have smth in common b/ быть склонным (к)
3. To hide behind smth c/ сталкиваться с такими словами
4. To be removed (from) d/ служить определенной цели
5. To conduct a study e/ не удаваться отражать
6. To rаnge from… to… f/ ставить под сомнение
7. To back-talk g/ подавать в суд (на)
8. To uphold values h/ провести исследование
9. To adopt the ideas i/ быть удаленным из
10. To discourage from smth j/ составить список
11. To be apt (to) k/ спрятаться за чем-то
12. To be challenged l/ иметь что-то общее
13. To serve a definite purpose m/ отговорить от…
14. To fail to reflect n/ воспринимать идеи
15. To file a suit (against) o/ варьировать от… до…
14. To encounter such words p/ дерзить
Ex. 3. Translate the following sentences into English.
1. После сдачи экзаменов в середине семестр моя подруга Марианна попросила меня посоветовать ей что-нибудь почитать, и я порекомендовала ей четыре книги - из моих любимых.
2. Мне пришло в голову (to occur to smb), что у всех этих четырех книг есть что-то общее.
3. Все они в последние годы ставились под сомнение, подвергались цензуре, сжиганию или удалялись из школьных библиотек.
4. Похоже, что цензура на учебники или другие книги в школьных библиотеках возрастает вт всех уголках страны.
5. Одна лоббирующая группа из (based in) штата Вашингтон провела 4-е ежегодное исследование по вопросу цензуры.
6. Согласно данному исследованию, за последний год случаи цензуры возрасли на 35%, а за последние 4 года эти случаи более чем удвоились.
7. В июле прошлого года Американская Библиотечная Ассоциация опубликовала список из более чем 500 книг, которые зарпещены, поставлены под сомнение или удалены из школьных или публичных библиотек.
8. Под видом оказания поддержки устоям общества (community values), цензоры “нападают” на книги за неприличный (profane/obscene) язык, за сцены секса или насилия.
9. По-видимому, они полагают, что “защищая” нас, они отговаривают нас от усвоения бранных слов и нежелательного поведения.
10. Может быть, у цензоров и хорошие намерения, но не думаю, что подростки сталкиваются в книгах с такими словами и поступками, которых они не встречали в реальной жизни.
11. Кроме того, я не стал более склонным к ругательствам после прочтения книги “Пойди и спроси Алису” и не стал говорить белой прозой после чтения “Макбета”.
12. Вместо того, чтобы убирать отдельные слова или даже целые отрывки,
цензорам лучше было бы рассмотреть значение и воздействие книги в целом.
Comprehension Check.
Answer the following questions.
1. What did the four books (recommended to Marianne) have in common?
2. What were the results of the 4th annual study on sencorship?
3. What were the reasons for censorship?
4. Do people behave like protagonists of the books the read?
5. What is the author’s suggestion for censors?
Topics to Discuss.
1. American societies struggling against censorship.
2. Reasons for censorship.
3. Your personal attitude toward censorship.
Text IIC
On the Front Lines in the War Over Academic Freedom.
(University of Minnesota professors are battling an effort to change tenure rules).
(Abridged)
The last stand of the professors here at the University of Minnesota has begun. They are fearful, angry, and convinced they are fighting to save the soul of American higher education. Listen to Thomas Walsh, who teachers physics. "What we're facing has the potential to decimate* this place," he says. Or to Edward Fogelman, chairman of the political science department, who says, "Academic freedom, the very idea of a university is at stake".
The campus is now at the center of a growing national battle over one of the most sacred doctrines of academia: the right of professors to earn tenure, a lifetime guarantee to teach and research without fear of being fired. Squeezed by rising costs, and under pressure to stop raising tuition, college officials here and nationwide are taking a hard new look at tenure - a teaching reward that dates to the Middle Ages - and taking their first serious steps to limit or eliminate it.
Many universities are hiring part-time faculty, or depending more on graduate students to teach classes, as ways of reducing the number of eligible for tenure. Others are requiring more scrutinity of tenured faculty. But no step is as drastic as the one being considered here. Virtually, the entire faculty is in open revolt. "This is a very critical place - if changes like this can occur at a major university like Minnesota, they can happen on any campus," says Mary Burgan, the general secretary of the American Association of University Professors, which has about 45,000 members. "Faculty see this as the beginning of the end."
The uproar here began this fall. Faced with financial troubles, the state's Board of Regents proposed making it easier to lay off tenured faculty, to cut their salaries, or to discipline them even not for maintaining a "proper attitude of industry and cooperation." The 12-member board, which governs public universities, drafted the policy with the help of a Washington, D.C. law firm, Hogan and Hartson, and said the changes would be a powerful way to bring more efficiency to the sprawling university. It has more than 200 departments, 60,000 students and 3,000 faculty members, the majority of whom have tenures. The regents, who are appointed by the state legislature, quickly crossed the "proper attitude" phrase out after the faculty denounced it as "the Chairman Mao provision". They are still standing for other changes to tenure.
Hundreds of professors are forming a union to bargain collectively with the university for the first time over wages and working conditions. Between classes and research, they are organizing a campus labor movement. That would be unprecedent ; none of the nation's 30 largest public research universities has a unionized faculty. "This is the only way now to ensure we have a voice," says Paula Rabinowitz, a tenured English professor. "If they're talking about laying
us off*, they are talking about destroying the basic principles we operate with at a university."
Around the country, professors are joining the fight. For months, the tenure debate has been the subject of furious conversation among academics on computer e-mail nationwide. Some are urging their junior faculty or graduate students not to apply for teaching jobs here. Other universities are already courting* some of Minnesota prestigious professors. Alumni groups have petitioned the board to change its mind. There is open talk among some faculty of simply giving up* and teaching elsewhere. In early November, a regent who had been an architect of the tenure revisions suddenly resigned.
"If this proposal isn't stopped," says Virginia Gray, a professor in the political science department who is helping lead the faculty rebellion, "the university is going to suffer tremendous damage in the eyes of higher education."
The regents say faculty members are overreacting to their proposal, refusing to negotiate sensibly about it, and spreading misinformation to colleagues around the country. The regents have been getting lots of protest calls. "The goal of this is only to improve the quality of the university," says Patricia Spence, a regent. "Resources are getting tighter. We need more flexibility. In no way this will diminish academic freedom. But the faculty are really reacting with paranoia. I'm afraid it has done great damage to the university."
All the pressure, however, seems to be working. Two weeks ago, the regents signaled a new willingness to compromise by supporting a scaled-back version of their tenure plan for University of Minnesota law school professors, who represent only a tiny fraction of the campus faculty. Under that proposal, it would take longer, and become harder, to earn tenure, and cutting salaries would be negotiable. But layoffs would still be rare. Regents say that model may become the one they use for the full faculty.
At most universities, faculty members may get tenure after six years or so of teaching. Professors with tenure have a lifetime appointment. They cannot be dismissed, transferred or demoted. Only extreme misconduct on their part, or a financial emergency at a university, can cost them their jobs. For centuries, universities have held tenure sacred because it protects scholarly work - from the shifting priorities of colleges, from outside political pressures or from personal biases of campus
administrators.
Today, about 58 percent of the nation's college faculty are tenured. That figure is declining, expenses are rising and colleges are facing greater pressure to restructure and keep salaries down. Nationally, faculty pay is rising each year at about the rate of
inflation, 3 percent. Some universities are saving money either by not replacing tenured professors who retire or hiring younger teachers without putting them in tenure-track jobs. In recent years, the University of Minnesota has not replaced many professors who retired.
"Some university leaders believe tenure is a straitjacket," says Richard Chait, a Harvard professor and tenure specialist hired by the regents to advise them on the issue. "Tenure gives faculty great power in how a university conducts its business. What's at the heart of this is not academic freedom - every regent believes in that. This is fundamentally about how power is distributed at a university." At Minnesota, tenured professors can be dismissed now only if an entire academic department or college is closed. That is not common.
What the regents have been calling for is the power to make layoffs when "programs" are eliminated. They also have wanted the freedom to cut salaries for "adequate cause." Faculty say both terms are too vague. Many academic programs here consist of only a few professors.
The new policy would give the university administrators power to fire the professors they do not like, or who are viewed as too costly to keep. Professors here realize that having absolute job security is a rare privilege, and they continue their fight. They insist that tenure is vital. Without it, they say, an array of scholarly work could be compromised by outside pressures.
(Rene Sanchez's article from "Washington Post",.
Vocabulary to the text:
to decimate - уменьшить на одну десятую;
sacred - священный, неприкосновенный;
tenure - пребывание, срок пребыввания (в должности);
v. пройти по конкурсу;
tuition - плата за образование;
to eliminate - упразднять, отменять, ликвидировать;
faculty - преподавательский состав университета;
part-time faculty - "почасовики";
tenured faculty - штатные сотрудники (= прошедшие по конкурсу);
revolt - восстание, мятеж;
regent - амер. член правления (Board of Regents);
to draft - составить план, черновик;
provision - пункт, положение (договора, документа, закона);
to bargain - здесь: договариваться;
to lay off - увольнять (= dimiss, fire);
to court - здесь: уговаривать;
alumnus (pl. alumni) - (бывший) питомец, выпускник (школы, университета);
to give up - отказаться, уступить, махнуть рукой;
revision - пересмотр;
rebellion - восстание; сопротивление, возмущение;
to negotiate - вести переговоры, договариваться;
straitjacket - смирительная рубашка;
to dismiss - увольнять;
entire - весь, целый;
vital - жизненно необходимый, существенный, важный;
array - порядок, устройство.
·
Comprehension Check
Ex. Answer the following questions:
1. What is tenure? On what condition it is given to professors? How long does it exist?
2. What are the functions of the state's Board of Regents?
3. What are the goals and proposed measures of the new tenure policy? How does the Board explain it?
4. In what way it can threaten the faculty?
5. How do professors fight for their academic freedom?
Word Study to the Text
Ex.1 Match the words with their Russian equivalents.
1. official a/ фактически, в сущности
2. to resign b/ требоваться
3. to distribure c/ чиновник, должностное лицо
4. wages d/ убеждать, настаивать
5. to require e/ твердый, непреклонный
6. appointment f/ уменьшать, убавлять
7. to head g/ вынужденное увольнение
8. virtually h/ крайняя необходимость
9. adamant i/ уменьшать, убавлять
10. to refuse j/ зарплата
11. uproar k/ распределять
12. to hint l/ слагать обязанности, уходить в отставку
13. to urge m/ убеждать, настаивать
14. to demote n/ отказываться
15. to urge o/ возглавлять
16. layoff p/ намекать
17. emergency q/ шум, волнение, суматоха
18. to diminish r/ понизить в должности
Ex.2 Identify pairs of words close in their meanings (synonyms).
to dismiss; to battle; to lead; to occur; to resign; to lay off; rebellion; to cut;
scholarly; to reduce; to fight; to retire; entire; virtually; to require; revolt;
to happen; scientific; to negotiate; actually; to bargain; to need; to head; all.
Ex.3 Match the expressions with their Russian equivalents.
1. to spread misinformation a/ научная работа
2. rare privilege b/ личное предубеждение
3. to suffer tremendous damage c/ пожизненная гарантия
4. outside pressure d/ чрезвычайное нарушение
5. law school e/ увеличение расходов
6. vague term f/ понести огромный урон
7. political science department g/ распространять дезинформацию
8. personal bias h/ разваливающийся университет
9. scholarly work i/ прилежание и сотрудничество
10. entire faculty j/ давление извне
11. sprawling university k/ редкая привилегия/преимущество
12. industry and cooperation l/ быть поставленным на карту
13. rising expenses m/ кафедра политологии
14. extreme misconduct n/ столкнуться с трудностями
15. lifetime guarantee o/ юридическая школа/колледж
16. to be at stake p/ весь преподавательский коллектив
17. to face difficulties q/ неопределенный/расплывчатый термин
Ex. Translate the following expressions. Use them in the sentences below.
new tenure policy, to resign abruptly, to be eliminated, to dismiss, to
call for, unionized faculty, to be transferred or demoted, outside
pressure, to decimate, to retire, to spread desinformation, to show one's willingness, to draft a plan, to govern, to compromise, state legislature, to cross out a provision, to lead a rebellion, to be appointed, to give up, to reduce expenses, to replace, to face a possibility, a threat, public university.
1. В начале ноября член правления, который был одним из инициаторов новой
кадровой политики, внезапно уволился.
2. Члены правления призывают к тому, чтобы увольнять преподавателей, когда какие-либо программы отменяются.
3. Некоторые университеты экономят деньги, не принимая новые кадры взамен ушедших на пенсию.
4. Правление из 12 человек, которое осуществляет руководство государственными университетами, выработало план по сокращению
расходов.
5. Зав.кафедрой политологии возглавляет восстание.
6. Они называют это распространением ложной информации среди коллег по всей стране.
7. Мы сталкиваемся с возможностью уменьшения штата преподавателей
на десять процентов.
8. Некоторые университеты предлагают преподавателям махнуть на это рукой.
9. Ни один из 30 крупнейших государственных университетов не имеет объединенного союза преподавателей.
10. Две недели назад они выразили готовность пойти на компромисс по этому вопросу.
11. Им пришлось вычеркнуть данный пункт.
12. Штатные преподаватели не могут быть уволены, переведены (на другое место работы) или понижены в должности.
13. 13.Это означает угрозу академической свободе.
14. Многие университеты принимают на работу внештатных преподавателей или полагаются на старшекурсников в проведении занятий.
15. Члены правления назначаются законодательной властью штата.
16. Шумиха здесь началась прошлой осенью.
17. Это означает давление извне.
Topics for discussion:
1. Tenure.
2. Board of Regents.
3. New tenure policy.
4. Faculty's rebellion.
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