A reader writes:

Dear Computer Forensic Technician,

How can I tell if my telephone line is being tapped?

Dear reader,

As far was wiretapping, I assume you are referring to the N.S.A. and the recent news. The federal program is/was only used to track the calling habits and only recorded who people are calling in the effort to fight terrorism. (which numbers they call), no conversations were recorded, or will be recorded without a warrent. Interestingly enough the phone #’s you call is not privlidged information and law enforcement agencies, or private companies for that matter do not need a court order or your permission to know who you are calling.
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Is racial profiling a method still used by modern law enforcement agencies? Is the practice still officially or unofficially used?

Introduction:

In the 20th and 21st century, law enforcement agencies have established or have been accused of using profiling policies based upon factors including race. These agencies have used crime statistics that show that Black Americans and Latinos have a larger incarceration rate as an attempt to explain the use of profiling.

Public outrage over the use of racial profiling has led most law enforcement agencies to officially abolish the practice. Nonetheless, minorities still claim they are being targeted. Does law enforcement still unofficially practice the use of racial profiling?

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“Discuss the classical experimental design and its relationship to causality.”

Drawing the Parallel

The classical experimental design consists of a researcher, a topic of research, an environment, independent, and dependent variables. Causality is a cause-and-effect relationship. A researcher or research experiment having an effect on the outcome is known as the “Hawthorne Effect”.

The “Hawthorne Effect” Explained

The term “Hawthorne Effect” is taken from an experiment done at the Hawthorne works facility of Western Electric during 1924, to 1927. The researchers experimented with light illumination levels, and attempted to determine the proper amount of illumination necessary to achieve the greatest worker productivity.
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“Why are the principles of science and the ethical guidelines for science so important to research?”

In the entire history of scientific research there has always been some occurrence of misrepresentation of facts for the purposes of defrauding the public and the scientific community. The problem exists today and will likely never cease to exist.

In the 1960’s and 1970’s, in the United States, Tobacco Manufacturers conducted studies on the addictive nature of nicotine. These studies concluded that the substance nicotine in tobacco is indeed highly addictive (Rodu, 1995). The resulting suppression of the results of these studies from the public and the government, and outright denial was a serious ethical and legal mistake that has resulted in many lawsuits, settlements, fines, and other government actions in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
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