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Volume 7, Issue 6
Business Controls Wins CSIA Distinguished Services Award
 Business Controls (BCI) was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Colorado Software and Internet Association (CSIA) at CSIA's APEX Awards event on Tuesday, June 7, 2007. The award recognized BCI as the company whose services best enable its customers to conduct their own businesses more effectively and efficiently, and as having demonstrated not only innovative solutions, but also tangible benefits that customers are deriving from those services.
Steve Foster, President of BCI, accepted the award at the CSIA APEX Award event. "This is a tremendous honor for BCI, especially given the caliber of the organizations that we were up against for this award," Foster said. "In fact, one of the other candidates, ViaWest, assited us in receiving this award in that ViaWest helps us deliver MySafeWorkplace worldwide."
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User-Generated Content Presents Legal Complications
The recent explosion in the appearance of User-Generated Content (UGC) has been so sudden and dramatic, that it may be difficult to gain the proper perspective on its implications, especially from a legal perspective. When one considers the popularity of YouTube and the 1.6 billion dollar acquisition of it by Google, as well as the boom in social networking sites, all of which represent tools and platforms created especially for UGC, one can see that this is an area whose boundaries have yet to be defined. Accordingly, UCG carries with it significant legal ramifications.
UGC by definition is content that is created by end-users, as opposed to more traditional forms of content that is created by media producers, licensed broadcasters, or production companies. In the UGC age, and because the technologies that drive it are very accessible and affordable, anyone can become a media producer. Unfortunately, end-users are learning how to produce UGC much faster than they are learning what sorts of legalities can come about from creating UGC.
UCG can appear in so many different types of media (digital video, blogging, podcasting, mobile phone photography and wikis, to name a few) that legal considerations such as intellectual property, defamation, privacy, negligence, and consumer protection (to name a few) all come into play. Given the prevalence of UGC in the workplace (one recent study estimated that 87% of employees access UCG-related sites each week), and the fact that organizations are oftentimes held responsible for the behavior of their employees, we may see a trend of organizations responding to litigation arising from their employees’ production of UGC.
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Cool Fact
Algae in the world's oceans generate two-thirds of all oxygen on the planet.
Source: Planet Earth on Discovery Channel
Safely Traveling Abroad
Vacations or extended trips abroad can be tough enough to manage even when one avoids getting into a tight spot. Assuming that you already have your passport, visa, customs, and immunizations figured out, you can still do a few things to put you in a good place should worst come to worst:
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Get in touch with the foreign embassy or consulate in the country you plan to visit. The U.S. Department of State provides a wealth of information, including "Background Notes" on most countries, which include reading lists, maps, and travel notes
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Be sure to know whether there have been any Public Announcements or Travel Warnings where you are traveling – go here to get the latest information
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If you don’t have adequate health care benefits, or aren’t sure, you may want to consider travel insurance. This form of insurance is handy in case you cancel your trip, need emergency medical care, or lose your luggage – not to mention serious incidents such as natural disasters or terrorism.
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Quote: "Wealth is the slave of a wise man. The master of a fool."
- Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD)
"The Lone Star" State Passes Bill That Will Allow
Deadly Force in the Workplace
 Effective September 1, 2007, Texas Senate Bill ("SB") 378 will expand Texans’ legal right to protect themselves in the workplace. Specifically, this new law states that citizens have no duty to retreat from an intruder in the workplace before using deadly force for means of self-defense. In 1995, Texas legislature created an exception to a 1973 statute, which required that citizens’ retreat in the face of a criminal attack. The exception permitted use of force without retreat when an intruder unlawfully entered someone’s home. SB 378 further expands upon this exception by extending citizens’ rights to stand their ground beyond their home into cars and workplaces.
SB 378 allows the reasonable use of deadly force when an intruder is (1) committing certain violent crimes, such as murder or sexual assault, or is attempting to commit such crimes; (2) unlawfully trying to enter a protected place; or (3) unlawfully trying to remove a person from a protected place. The law also protects people who lawfully use deadly force in those circumstances by providing civil immunity in a consequent lawsuit. However, the use of deadly force is not lawful when it is used to provoke or if a crime other than a Class C misdemeanor is committed by the victim.
To read more about Texas SB 378, visit here.
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MySafeCampus™ is your personal 24-hour incident reporting hotline for colleges and universities.
MySafeWorkplace™ is your personal 24-hour incident reporting hotline.
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