The idea that cyberspace should be presumptively self-governing has resounded in thoughtful scholarship. It has also precipitated the recent, dramatic withdrawal of the United States government from significant portions of Internet administration and regulation. This Article critiques a central prong of the argument for cyberspace self-governance: the claim that a self-governing cyberspace would more fully realize liberal democratic ideals than does nation-state representative democracy. That cyberian claim, in turn, has two parallel components: first, that the Internet creates possibilities for bottom-up private ordering that are a superior form of liberal democracy, and second, that a truly liberal nation-state must grant considerable autonomy to cyberspace communities. These claims of liberal perfectionism and community autonomy pose an intriguing challenge to traditional democratic theory. But I believe that they ultimately fail. I argue, indeed, that an untrammeled cyberspace would prove inimical to the ideals of liberal democracy. It would free majorities to trample upon minorities and would serve as a breeding ground for invidious status discrimination, narrow casting and mainstreaming content selection, systematic invasions of privacy, and gross inequalities in the distribution of basic requisites for citizenship in the information age. Accordingly, I argue, that selective state regulation of cyberspace is warranted to protect and promote liberal ideals. I maintain as well that in the absence of regulation by a democratic state, cyberians would be forced to try to invent a quasi-state institution to legislate and enforce meta-norms governing critical aspects of cyberspace organization and operation. Even if cyberians were successfully to establish such an institution, it would, at best, suffer from much the same democratic deficit as, according to cyberians, characterizes nation-state representative democracy.
The maxim that ‘information is power’ is relevant now more than ever. Until recently, most information was scattered, disorganized and awkward to find then acquire. Google was one of the first to realize how digital technology changed that by encoding information as 1s and 0s. Google’s corporate mission is to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. The relations between Google, Facebook and other social spheres on the internet emphasize their ‘relative autonomy.’ The intuition behind the ‘relative autonomy’ formula is that they are neither wholly independent of, nor entirely reducible to, political, legal, economic and other social processes. This article examines the relation between Google, Facebook and other social spheres. The theory examined will be Niklas Luhmann’s theory of ‘autopoiesis.’ This article presents autopoietic theory with particular attention to the way in which Luhmann reformulates the ‘relative autonomy’ problem. Throughout, the article focuses on the connections between autopoietic theory and issues of Google, Facebook and contemporary legal theory.
Doc 4 : Long tails in the tourism industry : towards knowledge intensive service suppliers
This paper analyses the effects of the internet on the organisations and the markets in the tourism industry. It enlightens its deepening impact on incumbent organisations and markets from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 though the analysis of the dynamics of the long tail, i.e., of the distribution of activities in tourism. Innovation is gone from exploitation to exploration of the long tail, towards the emergence of non-profit or for-profit knowledge intensive service suppliers (KISS) allowing ‘prosumers’ to find solutions to run themselves their activities, through users generated resources. The growing autonomy of the tail from the head of distribution in the tourism industry emerges with the development of a platform economy, i.e., of global innovative market places inside the long tail itself.
Doc 7 : Detecting and Sorting the Paradoxes Associated with Smartphone Use by Brazilian Professionals
The use of mobile wireless technologies brings associated paradoxes already identified in the literature. Thus, this research uses quantitative analysis to determine the perception of presence and intensity level of fourteen technological paradoxes related to the use of smartphone by professionals in Brazil. Besides, this study identifies the variables that impact the perception of each paradox associated with the use of smartphone by professionals. Data analysis shows that the paradox autonomy vs. addiction is perceived by more than 85% of those who responded to the survey. The study also results in a paradoxes ranking regarding the strength of the paradoxes. This ranking has the following paradoxes in the top positions: autonomy vs. addiction, engagement vs. disengagement, and freedom vs. enslavement, respectively. Finally, an ordinal logistic regression is run, leading to the conclusion that only two of the fourteen paradoxes are influenced by some of the independent variables of the model.
Doc 11 : Cyberchiefs: autonomy and authority in online tribes
Acknowledgments Introduction PART I 1. The Autonomy Imperative 2. The Distribution of Charisma 3. The Tyranny of Structure 4. The Grammar of Justice PART II 5. The Last Online Tribe: primitivism.com 6. The Primary War: dailykos.com 7. The Imperfect Committee: debian.org 8. The Great Sock Hunt: wikipedia.org 9. Online Tribal Bureaucracy Notes Index
Doc 18 : The Big Read: Assembling the Popular Canon
Sociological accounts of the literary field emphasise the ways it is institutionally shaped and how actors within it make claims to cultural authority. These accounts include consideration of reviewing as a social or institutional practice and the role of literary prizes in the production and management of esteem. Much of this research draws on the work of Pierre Bourdieu as an inspiration, particularly around notions of cultural capital, disinterestedness and autonomy. Recent research into such phenomena as Oprah’s Book Club in the US has demonstrated the complexities and ambiguities of cultural authority in the light of mass forms of participation and access. This paper uses the recent phenomenon of The Big Read – a television and internet based search for ‘the nation’s favourite books’ broadcast in 2003 – to examine persistent and emerging forms of cultural authority in the light of these debates. By exploring the processes of book selection, the type of books selected and drawing on a textual analysis of the television programmes covering ‘the top 21’ favourite books, the paper examines the different ways in which questions of value in the literary field were addressed and negotiated. The paper concludes by suggesting the need for a modification of the Bourdieusian perspective on cultural authority in understanding the contemporary literary field.
The unilateral and unqualified nature of the right to abandon (at least as it is usually described) appears to make it a robust example of the law’s concern to safeguard the individual autonomy interests that many contemporary commentators have identified as lying at the heart of the concept of private ownership. The doctrine suppos edly empowers owners of chattels freely and unilaterally to abandon them by manifesting the clear intent to do so, typically by renouncing possession of the object in a way that communicates the intent to forgo any future claim to it. A complication immediately arises, however, due to the common law’s traditional prohibition of the abandonment of land. But the problem goes even deeper. Viewed through the lens of land, the (prospective) right to abandon virtu ally any form of tangible property, even chattels, is an illusion. This is because the legal prohibition of abandoning land dramatically qualifies the unilateral right to abandon chattels to the point of in significance. The common law’s treatment of land is not an anomalous restriction within a legal regime that otherwise empow ers owners to freely abandon their property. Instead, the inability to abandon land forms the foundation of a system that, among other things, helps regulate and direct the disposition of unwanted chat tels by requiring those seeking to sever their bonds of ownership to do so in cooperation with others. Instead of asking why the com mon law treats land differently from chattels, the more appropriate question to ask is why the common law exhibits such suspicion of abandonment as a whole. Approaching the discussion of abandon ment from this perspective points towards connections between the common law of property and conceptions of ownership that view the latter as a social practice suffused with obligation and duty.
Doc 24 : Small Island States: Vulnerable, Resilient, Doggedly Perseverant or Cleverly Opportunistic?
While ever facing risks and vulnerabilities, small island states continue impress with a wily and adroit commercialisation of imaginative ‘resources’: these include discrete tax shelters, citizenship, internet domains, philately, generic drugs, place-branded goods and geostrategic services (including tourism). However, the option to migrate is increasingly fraught by the regulations of the receiving countries, wary of heightened security concerns, stagnating economies and rising xenophobia. Comparisons with subnational island jurisdictions, which treasure their autonomy but are not interested in full sovereignty, are instructive.
This volume examines the changing contours of global capitalism at the end of the century, and demonstrates that no democracy worth the name can any longer be conceived except in terms of a fundamental break with it. In the process, it exposes many illusory responses to globalisation. The essays published here on the contradictions that have been undermining the Swedish, Rhineland and East Asian ‘models’ go far towards showing how vacuous are the currently fashionable proposals for a ‘third way’ (even those advanced in Cuba). But it is not only the crisis of all models implicated in globalisation that concerns us here. The essays in this volume also reveal the shallowness and growing instability of the ‘democracy’ peddled and often put in place by global capitalism’s ideologues and state functionaries from Latin America to Russia. That it was always a serious error to take East Asia as offering a model of any kind was very clear long before the economic cataclysm that has now engulfed that region. But even in the core capitalist countries, as several of the essays here also show, democracy is increasingly thin, the public sphere and the autonomy of the state having been drastically curtailed by market forces, and the social democratic parties having been hollowed out by the very political elites who pretend that their ‘third way’ is a solution to, rather than a symptom of, the crisis of the left. Yet there is no easy way forward. Among the obstacles examined by the contributors to this volume are, for example, the western working classes’ complex implication in globalisation through their pension funds as well as through trade union support for ‘progressive competitiveness’, and the readiness of some left intellectuals to embrace the idea of a new non-material ‘cyber-economy’. Many such problems will have to be confronted and overcome before effective movements able to challenge and transcend the forces that have brought us globalisation will be able to emerge and develop strategies, not only for democratising the economy and the state, but for reconstructing a public sphere where socialist voices can once again be heard. Such movements will need to discover how to make democracy simultaneously meaningful and effective at the local, national and global levels, not least by building new linkages between these levels.
Doc 27 : New methods in human subjects research: do we need a new ethics?
Online surveys and interviews, the observations of chat rooms or online games, data mining, knowledge discovery in databases (KDD), collecting biomarkers, employing biometrics, using RFID technology - even as implants in the human body - and other related processes all seem to be more promising, cheaper, faster, and comprehensive than conventional methods of human subjects research. But at the same time these new means of gathering information may pose powerful threats to privacy, autonomy, and informed consent. Online research, particularly involving children and minors but also other vulnerable groups such as ethnic or religious minorities, is in urgent need of an adequate research ethics that can provide reasonable and morally justified constraints for human subjects research. The paper at hand seeks to provide some clarification of these new means of information gathering and the challenges they present to moral concepts like privacy, autonomy, informed consent, beneficence, and justice. Some existing codes of conduct and ethical guidelines are examined to determine whether they provide answers to those challenges and/or whether they can be helpful in the development of principles and regulations governing human subjects research. Finally, some conclusions and recommendations are presented that can help in the task of formulating an adequate research ethics for human subjects research.
Doc 28 : La documentación informativa y la recuperación de la información escrita. Nuevas competencias para el ciberespacio
Cyberspace has opened to the journalist the possibility of accessing a lot of documentation sources without the direct mediation of an information science professional. However, this autonomy is more a dream than a reality for the vast ocean that represents Internet and, especially, for those deep areas (deep Internet) which are very difficult to reach without the right skills. This article will attempt to show the reality of documentation sources on the Internet and the need for literacy training on the future journalists, as well as the presence of documentalists, now more than ever, in the media.
Doc 32 : Intelligent Devices in Rural Wireless Networks
The rural wireless networks are increasingly in demand by associations and autarchies to expand Internet access in this type of areas. The problem of such solutions centers not only in network deployment and its maintenance, but also in the equipment installation on clients, which always has big costs. This installation and configuration must be performed by a technician on site, so that the equipment can be integrated in the infrastructure. To try to mitigate this problem, it is presented a solution that allows the clients to install, with transparency, the device at home, reducing not only the cost for the management entity but also for the clients. This way, for info-excluded people or with new technology low experience level, it is the user that integrates himself in the network, making him part of the process, fostering the network usage. In this article are specified not only the system architecture but also the way that it works and how it obtains the desirable result. The tests made to the solution show the quickness, reliability and autonomy in the execution of the tasks, making it a benefit for rural wireless networks. This solution, by its robustness and simplicity, allowed an uptake to the IT by people who never thought to do it, namely an advanced age group (elderly) who want to join the world of the new technologies
Doc 39 : The Capability Approach and Sociological Conceptions of Human Agency: An Empirical Assessment on the Basis of an Analysis of Activation Policies
From the mid-nineties on, European welfare states are facing formidable pressures. As a response to these pressures, a strong international reform agenda has found support around the ideas that benefit recipients have to be “activated” in order to find Jobs. Such approaches conceive the aim of welfare states to strengthen Social Policy as a productive factor and to provide the “right” incentives and compulsion (carrots and sticks) in order to control and design behaviour of persons (van Berkel, 2010; Handler, 2004). On an ideological level, these developments correspond to a shift from previously contested assumptions about human motivation, choice, agency and human responsibility of beneficaries of the welfare state. In Critical Social Policy research, a discussion has emerged around the models of human motivation and agency that have been influential in policy design (see e.g. Le Grand, 2003; Deacon, 2005; White, 2013). The article argues that conceptions of human agency have important political implications when it comes to debates about individual responsibility. This may lead to so called “autonomy gaps” (Anderson, 2009), or to situations in which welfare beneficaries perceive the instituionalized imperative to autonomy as an injunction. The article confronts the capability approach (C.A.) to different competing sociological conceptions of human agency. On the basis of an empirical study of the construction of welfare subjects through activation policies, the article points to some shortcomings of the C.A. especially for the analysis of the micro-workings of power in post-disciplinary societies, in which the exercise of power does not so much consist of imposing direct constraints upon citizens as of “governing trough freedom”. For this reason, the article argues that Sen’s realization-based approach needs to be supplemented by concepts which allow accounting for the social mediatedness of individual identities and for the social construction of subjectivity within different social contexts.
Doc 40 : The Social Media Toolkit as a Means to Support Self-Represented Defendants and Increase Procedural Justice in Criminal Courts
The trend towards an increase in pro se litigation challenges all court systems. Criminal courts face unique challenges maintaining the integrity of the criminal adjudicatory process while balancing the competing interests of moving cases efficiently through the system, respecting defendant autonomy and honoring due process. Holding pro se litigants to the same standards as attorneys, just one of the challenges inherent in allowing pro se defendant representation, can prove difficult because defendants often lack the necessary education, experience and social knowledge about how a courtroom works. As the pro se movement shows no signs of decreasing, courts must make an effort to accommodate these defendants with a plan that addresses court efficiency, autonomy and judicial process integrity concerns. Scholars generally agree that providing pro se defendants with a “road map, a passive tool, [that] lets them competently exercise their own route” can address many of the issues courts encounter when pro se defendants enter the system. Previous scholars have suggested potential solutions that could come from courts, non-profit organizations, or even law offices. One scholar has argued that the middle class has a significant unmet legal need in civil litigation cases and that social media might be the key to facilitating access to justice. This paper will take these arguments further and apply them to criminal court cases, highlighting unique considerations of the criminal justice process. This paper will address both how courts can use social media to assist pro se criminal defendants and why doing so improves individual and community relationships with the courts and furthers procedural justice goals. This paper proposes a Social Media Toolkit provided and overseen by a community’s local court that allows pro se defendants to interact with court staff and to access informational videos that will assist them in resolving their cases. As the influence and pervasiveness of social media increases, many organizations and businesses have implemented strategies to reach out online to the communities they once served exclusively in person. State courts are no exception. Some state courts have implemented parts of the proposed toolkit. This paper will discuss those examples and advocate for increased social media engagement in communities where it is absent.
Doc 46 : Privacy-Enhancing Technologies for Internet Commerce
We examine privacy-enhancing technologies based on the consistency of the business plans, technology, stated objectives, and the concept of privacy as embedded in the technologies. Three distinct trust models result from the three distinct concepts of privacy: a right of autonomy, a right to seclusion and a right to property. We use these trust models to segment the privacy market and classify the privacy-enhancing technologies. The Anonymizer and Zero Knowledge’s Freedom were built as technologies to enhance autonomy, while Privada Control, iPrivacy, and Incogno SafeZone are built to provide seclusion. Microsoft’s Passport is built with an assumption of privacy as a tradable property right. Security, privacy, and authentication are intertwined and sometimes confused in the privacy market. We argue that the creation of new trusted third party is not an effective strategy. In the case of creating a trusted third party, autonomy-based products have been more successful than seclusion-based products, despite the wider array of services offered by seclusion services.
Doc 48 : Uma história moral, apologética e… moderna? A escrita católica de meados do século XVIII ao início do XIX
In middle of the 18th century, the providencialist conception of history, which was formulated bytheology and propagated by catholic preaching, was gradually declining. Thus the epistemicchallenge faced by the scholars from the Church, religious people and laymen: to support thisconception as significant in the scope of a culture that provided autonomy to the historicalprocess of the divine action and the natural laws. In the attempt to keep the message of faithperformative, some catholic speeches had revealed partially receptive to the historical experienceand to the historical changes from the second half of the 17th century, since they were relatedto the moral reflection and to apologetics both especially developed in that conjuncture, andwhich had in Alfonso de Ligorio and Chateaubriand two of its greatest exponents.
Doc 54 : AMBIENTES VIRTUAIS DE APRENDIZAGEM E A FORMAÇÃO EM EAD DAS PNEES COM LIMITAÇÃO VISUAL: UM ESTUDO DE CASO UTILIZANDO FERRAMENTAS DE INTERAÇÃO
This article tells the study of case carried through in a EAD experience, total in the distance, mediated for computer and the use of the tool Chat in the Virtual Environment of Learning TelEduc during the accomplishment of the PROINESP. The citizen of this study is a Person with Educational Necessities Special with visual limitation. This study of case it opens possibilities stops beyond the inclusion, of the autonomy of the PNEEs with visual limitation and space for its development, through the access to the information and the use of the signs and the instruments of mediation.
Doc 56 : Higher Education in Transition: From Corruption to Freedom of Information in Post-Soviet Georgia.
This article examines higher education reforms in the Republic of Georgia, tracing changes before and after the Rose Revolution. The transformation of this higher education system is one of gradual evolution, moving from a centrally controlled and corrupt system into a more transparent and organized system through a series of reforms, including (1) legislative changes, (2) institutional reforms, as well as (3) development of information and communication technologies (ICT) associated with the Bologna process. The article analyzes factors that contributed to the successful implementation of anticorruption reforms, as well as those that continue to hinder reform implementation. Although many studies focus on post-Soviet educational reform processes, less attention is given to the role of political corruption, involvement of the republics’ top leadership in the educational sector, and the overall system of rigid subordination, which limits higher education institutions’ autonomy, and students’ and professors…
Doc 57 : Intermediary Liability and Child Pornography: A Comparative Analysis
With the increasing instances of transmission of child pornography over the internet, the liability of the host of service providers who facilitate the transmission of the content has become a contentious issue. With varying legal regimes, jurisdictional issues and standards of obscenity applied as well as varying degrees of care to be exercised, this area is a legal quagmire. This article addresses the question of whether we need an intermediary liability regime or not. The article posits that intermediary liability does not address the question of preventing transmission of child pornography as the actual culprits remain beyond the reach of law. A scheme of intermediary liability only acts as a disincentive to the intermediary to innovate and hinders growth of internet services. A comparison of three regimes, United States, European Union and India, is undertaken to see the legislative measures, developments in case law and analyze their stand towards the intermediary. The Article finally works towards arriving at alternative options so that the autonomy of the intermediary is not compromised through over-regulation and censorship.
Doc 65 : When patient empowerment encounters professional autonomy: The conflict and negotiation process of inscribing an eHealth service
In Sweden, as in many other European countries, government and public agencies have promoted the expansion of eHealth in recent years, arguing that this development enhances patient participation, empowerment and cost efficiency. This article presents a study of the development of My medical record on the Internet, a civic service originally inspired by the home banking concept. The study illustrates how the technology is developed and inscribed with new technical norms, dictating access and use. These norms are in turn shaped by negotiations between social and legal norms as well as the values and beliefs of several different actors involved in the development process. Supported by the study, we conclude: 1) that the new technology challenges the medical professionals, thus causing resistance as the institutional boundaries are changed when patients are given digital access to their medical record; 2) that the technology changes or inscribes the law; 3) that a pilot project of this type is dependent on an enthusiast, seeing the project through until it becomes accepted on a larger scale; and 4) that increased patient participation requires improved access to information which differs from the NPM rhetoric advocating more service to customers.
Doc 71 : The Internet and grassroots politcs: Nike, the athletic apparel industry and the anti-sweatshop campaign
Carty examines ways in which the Internet has been employed to enhance political struggle in contemporary society. A case study of Nike Corp highlights the power and autonomy of transnational companies.
Doc 73 : Interveillance: A New Culture of Recognition and Mediatization
The everyday uses of networked media technologies, especially social media, have revolutionized the classical model of top-down surveillance. This article sketches the contours of an emerging culture of interveillance where non-hierarchical and non-systematic monitoring practices are part of everyday life. It also introduces a critical perspective on how the industrial logics of dominant social media, through which interveillance practices are normalized, resonate with social forces already at play in individualized societies. The argument is developed in three steps. Firstly, it is argued that the concept of interveillance is needed, and must be distinguished from surveillance, in order to critically assess the everyday mutual sharing and disclosure of private information (of many different kinds). Secondly, it is argued that the culture of interveillance responds to the social deficit of recognition that characterizes highly individualized societies. Finally, it is argued that the culture of interveillance constitutes a defining instance and even represents a new stage of the meta-process of mediatization. The dialectical nature of interveillance integrates and reinforces the overarching ambiguities of mediatization, whereby the opportunities for individuals and groups to achieve growing freedom and autonomy are paralleled by limitations and dependences vis-a-vis media.
Doc 77 : A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN A DEMOCRATIC POLITICS
According to western democracy, which demands the fundamentals of individual autonomy, freedom of expression is among those ground maxims that trigger critical and philosophical discourse. A democratic system of government, which wins popular legitimacy, is expected to lay down solid and systematic foundations with serious political will and practical commitment for the realization of “market place of ideas”. Besides, free and democratic societies, which have constitutionally stipulated rights to freely access, transfer, and choose information with diversity of sources and contents, could naturally have the better chance to pass informed decisions and judgments in cogently defining their destinies. In principle, such a democratic political system, with all its contemporary challenges, does not therefore impose up on individual citizens’ mind public media over private media, domestic media over international as well as social media, and development oriented news over diversity of ideas. Though there are varieties of literatures as well as research works conducted in this regard, little has done in critically justifying why such a system authorizes individual human agents to be indispensible and autonomous vetoes to determine the sources and the contents of information. Besides, this work tries to critically explore some of the positive developments and existential challenges posing significant threat to such a democratic value for the autonomy of individual human actors. To this effect, critical evaluation and reflection of the main philosophical assumptions on freedom of information, which in turn enable us to critically assess contemporary problems and opportunities, have been parts of this article. In this regard, however, this work has not been an attempt for generalization on topic raised based on existential situations of individual countries.
Doc 78 : Age-appropriate information technology on the advance: Putting paid to olden times
Ageing society opens up enormous economic potential. Whereas for a long time social interpretation homed in on the doomsday scenarios of demographic change, it is the economic potential that is now emerging with increasing clarity. Information and communication technologies stand a good chance of benefiting from this trend. Older people are not intrinsically technology refuseniks, as evidenced by the growing number of silver agers using the internet. Successful products will be far removed from disenfranchisement and stigmatisation. The challenge to product developers and marketing strategists is to create age-appropriate offers that older people do not perceive as encroaching on their autonomy or pointing up their physical infirmities. Particularly promising are offers enabling barrier-free use without seeming like segregational solutions for specific age groups. User friendliness, value systems and the legal framework are currently stymieing yet wider success. Technical fascination aside, the business potential hinges directly on regulations concerning data protection, teletreatment and cost reimbursement, on user friendliness and society’s attitude towards the application of robotics in medicine and healthcare. The tasks involved are enormous. Product developers, marketing strategists, physicians, nurses and carers, politicians and older people in need of help themselves must be prepared to take the new routes. Assistance systems, e-Health and health games benefit from demographic change. The range of offers is highly diversified. They extend from ‘intelligent’ tablet dispensers, emergency bio sensor technology in motor vehicles and motion sensor technology through tele-monitoring and online consultations to brain jogging and exercise games.
This paper explores the values, characteristics, and conditions of interoperability provided by Open Application Programming Interfaces (Open APIs) used by Facebook to identify underlying tensions that may challenge the sustainability of the Web as an open, secure, and liberating communication space. Interoperability between major online social network services holds great potential for linking a broad range of platforms, spaces, and people together in exciting new ways. Open APIs support interoperability by providing the tools to share data used to develop popular and useful Web applications, achieve seamless integration of social media services, and give rise to mutually beneficial third-party developer ecosystems that build on top of social media platforms. Yet, while Open APIs provide new ways of sharing and participating, they also provide a means for companies like Facebook to achieve market dominance, as well as undermine privacy, data security, contextual integrity, user autonomy and freedom. This…
Doc 91 : LAS TECNOLOGÍAS DE LA INFORMACIÓN Y LA COMUNICACIÓN EN LA UNIVERSIDAD COLOMBIANA: EVOLUCIÓN Y PROSPECTIVA
The current review summarizes the historic memory of the evolution and futurology concerning the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Colombian Universities. This is in order to make an approach to understand the current state and provide a conceptual input that advices decision making, policies and programs regarding ICTs towards its trends in universities. ICTs mean modernization, quality, productivity, better services and support to educational processes. Therefore, some universities try to be up-to-date because they consider that ICTs gives them the advantage, which is why it is imperative to investigate how this process was faced. This synthesis followed the methodology of the History of Education3 . ICTs were integrated in the Colombian universities mainly in the concepts of teaching and management through university’s autonomy, advancing in every context towards an on-line university. Nowadays, the potential and services have become real, there are public policies available and on-line modality is increasing, however the University 2.0 trend must be reached.
Doc 94 : Health privacy in genetic research: Populations and persons
last decade has witnessed a policy shift in the ethics framework surrounding genetic research moving from an emphasis on autonomy and privacy towards including more communitarian values, such as reciprocity, mutuality, and solidarity.1 Today, the era of open access databases and personal genomics via the Internet could again affect this framework. As both longitudinal, populational studies and virtual personal genomics strain the confines of deontological and legal parameters of consent to health privacy, it becomes important to ask: What are the convergent and divergent elements of health privacy in these new contexts? And, is there a need to reconstruct privacy? Historically, the legal and ethical framework surrounding the protection of privacy has been centered on the right of the individual to control and limit the flow of personal information. Indeed, the protection of privacy is traditionally viewed as stemming from a unilateral emphasis on autonomy as underscored by article 12 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or corre-
As of 2015, cyber threats have become more prevalent due to high-profile cases like the Target, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Home Depot, and Sony Entertainment breaches. In order to prevent what former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta characterized as a “Cyber Pearl Harbor,” the US government has to engage the private sector in order to build a solid public-private partnership (PPP) for cybersecurity. For there to be a successful cybersecurity PPP between the US government and the private sector, there must be a PPP founded on a model composed of four essential elements: a high level of trust between the public and private entities that corresponds to a mutual belief in the positive gains of both partners; clear baseline guidance imposed from legislation, which should be reinforced with government training and financial incentives; a bottom-up structural approach for efficient operations that allows for more autonomy at lower levels on local needs and resources; and, gaining influential community involvement in the formation of PPPs from all levels of the participating organizations, as well as civil leadership and the general public. This article is available in Journal of Strategic Security: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol8/iss5/9
Doc 103 : Free software and the political philosophy of the cyborg world
Our freedoms in cyberspace are those granted by code and the protocols it implements. When man and machine interact, co-exist, and intermingle, cyberspace comes to interpenetrate the real world fully. In this cyborg world, software retains its regulatory role, becoming a language of interaction with our extended cyborg selves. The mediation of our extended selves by closed software threatens individual autonomy. We define a notion of freedom for software that does justice to our conception of it as language, sketching the outlines of a social and political philosophy for a cyborg world. In a cyberspace underwritten by free software, political structures become contingent and flexible: the polity can choose to change the extent and character of its participation. The rejection of opaque power is an old anarchist ideal: free software, by making power transparent, carries the potential to place substantive restrictions on the regulatory power of cyborg government.
Doc 105 : New Media, Old Criticism: Bloggers’ Press Criticism and the Journalistic Field
Bourdieu’s field theory suggests that the rise of the internet and blogs could generate a shift in the journalistic field – the realm where actors struggle for autonomy – as new agents gain access. This textual analysis of 282 items of media criticism appearing on highly trafficked blogs reveals an emphasis on traditional journalistic norms, suggesting a stable field. Occasional criticisms of the practicability of traditional norms and calls for greater transparency, however, may suggest an emerging paradigm shift.
Doc 107 : A cybernetic theory of morality and moral autonomy.
Human morality may be thought of as a negative feedback cotrol system in which moral rules are reference values, and moral disapproval, blame, and punishment are forms of negative feedback given for violations of the moral rules. In such a system, if moral agents held each other accountable, moral norms would be enforced effectively. However, even a properly functioning social negative feedback system could not explain acts in which individual agents uphold moral rules in the face of contrary social pressure. Dr. Frances Kelsey, who withheld FDA approval for thalidomide against intense social pressure, is an example of the degree of individual moral autonomy possible in a hostile environment. Such extreme moral autonomy is possible only if there is internal, psychological negative feedback, in addition to external, social feedback. Such a cybernetic model of morality and moral autonomy is consistent with certain aspects of classical ethical theories.
Doc 111 : Technological change, globalization and the Europeanization of rights
In contrast to civil and political rights, and to economic and social rights, which have been constructed and guaranteed within the framework of the nation-state, the new rights that aim to respond to opportunities and risks arising from new information and communication technologies, biotechnologies or, more generally, technology-based industrial development, are emerging in a context characterized by the strengthening of trans-national forces and dynamics (so-called ‘globalization’) and the erosion of state sovereignty. The state’s loss of power and autonomy to regulate economic and social activity, as well as to protect individual rights, has been accentuated in the European Community (EC) as a result of a process that to a certain degree anticipated contemporary global tendencies. The EC appears, therefore, as a privileged observatory of the possible impact of globalization on the contents of rights, whether ‘classical’ rights or new rights, such as the rights of access to information, new forms of in…
Doc 115 : Theatrocracy Unwired: Legal Performance in the Modern Mediasphere
AbstractWriting in the middle of the 4th century BC, in an age of mass trials and dramatically trained rhetoricians, Plato worried that Athens was becoming a “theatrocracy” – a state ruled by theatre – in which audience applause or catcalls determined verdicts and established laws. In the 21st century – with legal news, television trials, reality police shows, YouTube execution videos (etc.) shouting at us from our many screens – Plato might think his theatrocratic nightmare had come true with a vengeance. In our theatrocracy, where the media and its ever-online TV spectators can determine guilt or innocence, are the boundaries of the legal system beginning to dissolve? Does theatrocracy threaten law’s “stability,” “legitimacy,” “autonomy,” and “authority,” as some have argued? Is theatrocracy a threat to nomocracy, to the very existence of law? “Theatrocracy Unwired” looks at the nature of our legal theatrocracy (from the age of television to the age of the Internet), theoretical discussions of law and m…
Doc 117 : Commercial websites: Consumer protection and power shifts
Internet forms a popular forum for information exchange between consumers, while online marketing has opened a range of new facilities for companies to promote and sell their products. This article aims to find out if consumer power has increased as a result of comparison websites and access to more information, or whether it has decreased because of unreliable companies and websites that misuse identity concealing features of the Internet. Main question is whether the autonomy of consumers, and therewith the position of power against producers, is restricted by advertisement techniques from producers who are using the Internet, and if there are causes for concern. Attention will be paid to current legislation on consumer protection and on unfair commercial practices, and implications of online shopping are discussed. Methods such as ‘markufacturing’ and comparison websites are discussed explicitly. Some focus points are provided as a first onset to further regulation in order to retain fair power positions between producers and consumers.
Doc 122 : Architecture as a verb: cybernetics and design processes for the social divide
Purpose – This paper aims to draw on current research in public policy, and more specifically about a collaborative design process for a poor suburban community in Sao Paulo, Brazil and its relation to social cybernetics as the “science of effective organization.” The research project in public policy, online‐communities, has been financed by the state‐sponsored agency FAPESP since 2003, and involves four research groups from the Architecture and Computer Science Departments at the University of Sao Paulo, and various public and non‐governmental organizations under the coordination of Nomads.usp Research Center (Center for Studies on Interactive Living, www.eesc.usp.br/nomads).Design/methodology/approach – The design methodology includes three premises: an organization of the team which considers multidisciplinary and multicultural aspects; the involvement of potential users as creators of the virtual community and of its concrete space; and the concern that the process will be organized so that autonomy …
Both corporate and global governance seem to demand increasingly sophisticated means for identification. Supposedly justified by an appeal to security threats, fraud and abuse, citizens are screened, located, detected and their data stored, aggregated and analysed. At the same time potential customers are profiled to detect their habits and preferences in order to provide for targeted services. Both industry and the European Commission are investing huge sums of money into what they call Ambient Intelligence and the creation of an ‘Internet of Things’. Such intelligent networked environments will entirely depend on real time monitoring and real time profiling, resulting in real time adaptation of the environment. In this contribution the author will assess the threats and opportunities of such autonomic profiling in terms of its impact on individual autonomy and refined discrimination and indicate the extent to which traditional data protection is effective as regards profiling.
If we are flexible, hybrid and unfinished creatures that tend to incorporate or at least employ technological artefacts in our cognitive lives, then the sort of technological regime we live under should shape the kinds of minds we possess and the sorts of beings we are. E-Memory consists in digital systems and services we use to record, store and access digital memory traces to augment, re-use or replace organismic systems of memory. I consider the various advantages of extended and embedded approaches to cognition in making sense of E-Memory and some of the problems that debate can engender. I also explore how the different approaches imply different answers to questions such as: does our use of internet technology imply the diminishment of ourselves and our cognitive abilities? Whether or not our technologies can become actual parts of our minds, they may still influence our cognitive profile. I suggest E-Memory systems have four factors: totality, practical cognitive incorporability, autonomy and entanglement which conjointly have a novel incorporation profile and hence afford some novel cognitive possibilities. I find that thanks to the properties of totality and incorporability we can expect an increasing reliance on E-Memory. Yet the potentially highly entangled and autonomous nature of these technologie pose questions about whether they should really be counted as proper parts of our minds.
Doc 128 : Catholicism, Choice and Consciousness:: A Feminist Theological Perspective on Abortion
Despite the apparently irreconcilable conflict between ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-choice’ activists in the abortion debate, many feminists and Catholic theologians agree that questions of consciousness, relationality and foetal development are of greater ethical significance than theological claims about the personhood of the embryo or feminist claims about women’s autonomy. This article argues that absolutist positions based on the embryo’s right to life or the woman’s right to choose fail to represent the reality of abortion and the dilemmas it poses. It suggests an approach in which maternal consciousness and foetal development are together recognized as intrinsic to the process of humanization, and argues for a gradual shift in emphasis from the primacy of the woman’s right to choose in the first trimester, to the right to life of the foetus in the third semester. It concludes with a reflection on Mary and Eve, as symbols of women’s eschatological hope and existential reality with regard to childbearing.
Doc 131 : Visible moves and invisible bodies: the case of teleworking in an Italian call centre
Popular images of teleworkers’ autonomy, such as ‘the electronic cottage’, give unrealistic pictures of the control exercised over teleworkers, particularly when these are call centre operators and highly integrated information and communication technology systems facilitate pervasive forms of control. However, this study of Italian home-located call centre operators demonstrates that extensive and multifaceted monitoring practices cannot ‘solve’ the controversial issue of control.
Doc 136 : Surveillance in ubiquitous network societies: normative conflicts related to the consumer in-store supermarket experience in the context of the Internet of Things
The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging global infrastructure that employs wireless sensors to collect, store, and exchange data. Increasingly, applications for marketing and advertising have been articulated as a means to enhance the consumer shopping experience, in addition to improving efficiency. However, privacy advocates have challenged the mass aggregation of personally-identifiable information in databases and geotracking, the use of location-based services to identify one’s precise location over time. This paper employs the framework of contextual integrity related to privacy developed by Nissenbaum (Privacy in context: technology, policy, and the integrity of social life. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 2010) as a tool to understand citizen response to implementation IoT-related technology in the supermarket. The purpose of the study was to identify and understand specific changes in information practices brought about by the IoT that may be perceived as privacy violations. Citizens were interviewed, read a scenario of near-term IoT implementation, and were asked to reflect on changes in the key actors involved, information attributes, and principles of transmission. Areas where new practices may occur with the IoT were then highlighted as potential problems (privacy violations). Issues identified included the mining of medical data, invasive targeted advertising, and loss of autonomy through marketing profiles or personal affect monitoring. While there were numerous aspects deemed desirable by the participants, some developments appeared to tip the balance between consumer benefit and corporate gain. This surveillance power creates an imbalance between the consumer and the corporation that may also impact individual autonomy. The ethical dimensions of this problem are discussed.
Doc 146 : The transformation of the human dimension in the cyberspace
In the very interdisciplinary tradition of AI & Society, this issue covers a diversity of topics ranging from mindloading, ‘moral subject’ and human dignity and autonomy, organisation as a cognitive machine, the dilemma of boundaries between femininity and masculinity in the cyberspace, knowledge sharing for sustainable development, the emerging robotisation of the organisation, to cultural acceptance of robots in richly complex regions of the world. Other issues covered in this issue include dialogical framework of skill training, wealth adjustment in an artificial society and speech recognition. On mind-uploading, the argument is that ‘mind-uploading is a futuristic process that involves scanning brains and recording relevant information which is then transferred into a computer’, in the sense of ‘transfers of both human minds and identities from biological brains into computers’. The world of ubiquitous technology brings about a new challenge of what is to be human, for example, what we understand by ‘moral subject’, in other words the subject’s unique metaphysical qualities of dignity and autonomy. The argument posited in this issue is that concept of ‘human dignity underlies the foundation of many democratic systems, particularly in Europe as well as of international treaties, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Digital agents, artificial organisms as well as new capabilities of the human agents related to their embeddedness in digital and biotechnological environments bring about an important transformation of the human self appraisal’, especially from an ethical perspective. It is interesting to note how technological culture is beginning to subscribe to the transformation of the human organisation into a cognitive machine. In the human-centred tradition of AI & Society, it can be seen as a transformation of the human dimension from wisdom to calculation and then to being a cognitive machine. The argument put forward in this issue is that ‘cognitive machines contribute to improving cognitive abilities in the organisation by extending people’s rationally and decisionmaking capacity, and by reducing intra-individual and group dysfunctional conflict’. The increasing acceptance of the organisation in terms of a cognitive machine leads to robotisation of the organisation, raising issues of the cultural acceptance of the cognitive machine in diverse cultural regions of the world. As we live in a culture of ubiquitous technology where ‘everything can be commodified, measured and calculated and can be put in the competitive market for sale, detached from its roots and purpose’, we face a dilemma and challenge of what is meant to be human. The world of cyberspace poses a further dilemma as to where the boundaries may lie ‘between femininity and masculinity both in terms of lifestyle and thought style’. The issue could be posed as how to ‘redefine our humanness in terms of the changing nature of science, technology and their deeper impact on human life’. This means also to take note how ‘on the one hand our being in the cyberspace opens up new and exciting horizons before us, on the other hand how we ourselves are changed and transformed in the process’. This reorientation of the human dimension also raises issues of how societies use symbols and signs to communicate information in the technological world we live in, and in what ways the communication media conveys a broad range of different kinds of messages within diverse cultural contexts. In the globalising world, knowledge sharing is increasingly seen as a crucial factor in cultivating sustainable K. S. Gill (&) Professor Emeritus, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK e-mail: kgillbton@yahoo.co.uk
Doc 153 : Critical Theory of Communication Technology: Introduction to the Special Section
The debate over the contribution of new communication technology to democracy is far from settled. Some point to the empowering effects of online discussion and fund-raising on recent electoral campaigns in the United States to argue that the Internet will restore the public sphere. Others claim that the Internet is just a virtual mall, a final extension of capitalist rationalization into every corner of our lives, a trend supported by an ever denser web of surveillance technologies threatening individual autonomy in the advanced societies of the West. This introduction to the special section on critical theory of communication technology argues for the democratic thesis with some qualifications. The most important contribution of new technology to democracy is not necessarily its effects on the conventional political process but rather its ability to assemble a public around technical networks that enroll individuals scattered over wide geographical areas. Communities of medical patients, video game players, musical performers, and many other groups have emerged on the Internet with surprising consequences. New forms of resistance correlate with the rationalizing tendencies of a technologized society.
The purpose of this paper is to address some of the questions on the notion of agent and agency in relation to property and personhood. I argue that following the Kantian criticism of Aristotelian metaphysics, contemporary biotechnology and information and communication technologies bring about a new challenge—this time, with regard to the Kantian moral subject understood in the subject’s unique metaphysical qualities of dignity and autonomy. The concept of human dignity underlies the foundation of many democratic systems, particularly in Europe as well as of international treaties, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Digital agents, artificial organisms as well as new capabilities of the human agents related to their embeddedness in digital and biotechnological environments bring about an important transformation of the human self-appraisal. A critical comparative reflection of this transformation is important because of its ethical implications. I deal first with the concept of agent within the framework of Aristotelian philosophy, which is the basis for further theories in accordance with and/or in opposition to it, particularly since modernity. In the second part of this paper, I deal with the concept of personhood in Kantian philosophy, which supersedes the Aristotelian metaphysics of substance and builds the basis of a metaphysics of the moral human subject. In the third part, I discuss the question of artificial agents arising from modern biology and ICT. Blurring the difference between the human and the natural and/or artificial opens a “new space” for philosophical reflection as well as for debate in law and practical policy.
Despite the concern with oppressive systems and practices there have been few attempts to analyse the general concept of oppression. Recently, Iris Marion Young has argued that it is not possible to analyse oppression as a unitary moral category. Rather, the term ‘oppression’ refers to several distinct structures, namely, exploitation, marginalisation, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence. This paper rejects Young’s claim and advances a general theory of oppression. Drawing insight from American chattel slavery and the situation of the German Jews during the 1930’s, I argue that to be oppressed is to be unjustly denied the opportunity for what I call ‘resilient autonomy’. I argue that all instances of oppression can usefully be analysed in these terms. I test my analysis against each of Young’s five structures of oppression, concluding that in each case they are captured by my analysis.
Doc 168 : Free Speech Rights at Work: Resolving the Differences between Practice and Liberal Principle
ACAS reports increasing disciplinary action against employees over expression that employers dislike. Given the prominence of social media in contemporary life this is a significant current legal issue yet one which has attracted relatively little academic comment. This paper examines the compatibility of unfair dismissal doctrine in this context with traditional liberal principle. Arguably, doctrine provides only flimsy protection. Although the common law recognises the importance of individual autonomy generally when determining rights claims this well-established liberal value appears to have little influence on unfair dismissal doctrine. The dominant academic view on realising greater workplace human rights protection through greater application of the proportionality principle is unlikely to address this problem; reconceptualization of the substantive free speech right at stake is required. This paper offers a strategy on how this might be achieved – and so how differences between practice and principle might be reconciled – through a sympathetic reading of the Strasbourg and UK jurisprudence and potential policy-maker intervention.
Doc 169 : Ethical issues in the employment of user-generated content as experimental stimulus: Defining the interests of creators
Social experimental research commonly employs media to elicit responses from research subjects. This use of media is broadly protected under fair use exemptions to copyright, and creators of content used in experiments are generally not afforded any formal consideration or protections in existing research ethics frameworks. Online social networking sites are an emerging and important setting for social experiments, and in this context the material used to elicit responses is often content produced by other users. This article argues that users may have a reasonable interest in controlling the use of their content in experiments conducted in online social networks. Matters of risk and autonomy in research ethics are explored by analogy to active debates in law over adhesion contracts, moral rights, and the right to be forgotten. The article concludes by considering practical difficulties in identifying and protecting the interests of creators.
Doc 177 : COMMUNITY INFORMATICS AND THE LOCAL STATE IN THE UK: Facilitating or assimilating an agenda for change?
The emerging discipline of community informatics (CI) has begun to trace out a distinct agenda for change in the social uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Focusing upon the appropriation of ICTs by local communities who have been disenfranchised by technological development, this agenda foregrounds uses of the Internet in the pursuit of distinctly community-related objectives. However, the role that the local state ought to play within this agenda for change remains marked by a degree of controversy and ambiguity. Assertions of the need for community autonomy coexist uneasily with a recognition that the local state can help develop and sustain CI. Much current work therefore focuses upon exploring notions of ‘partnership’ between the local state and local groups in developing CI. Against this background, this paper draws on a case study of Birmingham City Council (BCC) in order to explore a series of significant organizational changes to local government, which have seen BCC adopt …
Doc 190 : Technology, work organisation and job quality in the service sector: an introduction’
This special issue volume is concerned with how technology is changing the nature of work and working conditions while generating new products and new forms of service delivery. The five articles included in this volume cover service work, from the routine and clerical through to highly credentialed and professional work. Although some of the established challenges concerning the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on work and workplaces are evident in the articles, it is also clear that new service delivery processes demand new skills and training to some extent. Overall findings indicate that while ICT competencies are important, they need to be supplemented by the soft skills that are crucial for effective customer interactions and more open work systems with greater autonomy and participation whereby flexible work teams can have a positive impact on job quality outcomes. This introductory article examines technology and the changing nature of work through three strands of interpre…
Doc 192 : Computer Ethics and Neoplatonic Virtue: A Reconsideration of Cyberethics in the Light of Plotinus’ Ethical Theory
In normative ethical theory, computer ethics belongs to the area of applied ethics dealing with practical and everyday moral problems arising from the use of computers and computer networks in the information society. Modern scholarship usually approves deontological and utilitarian ethics as appropriate to computer ethics, while classical theories of ethics, such as virtue ethics, are usually neglected as anachronistic and unsuitable to the information era and ICT industry. During past decades, an Aristotelian form of virtue ethics has been revived in modern philosophical enquiries with serious attempts for application to computer ethics and cyberethics. In this paper, the author argues that current trends and behaviours in online communication require an ethics of self-care found in Plotinus’ self-centred virtue ethics theory. The paper supports the position that Plotinus’ virtue ethics of intellectual autonomy and self-determination is relevant to cyberethics discussions involved in computer education and online communication.
Doc 196 : Mobile Phones in Romantic Relationships and the Dialectic of Autonomy Versus Connection
This study investigates cell phones in perceptions of autonomy and connection within the romantic relationships of college students. Self-report measures of rules for cell phone use, cell phone conflicts and their management, and perceptions of autonomy vs. connection were administered. Results revealed the use of cell phones was a source of autonomy-connection conflict, with higher levels of tension related to more conflict over quantity of calling and texting and over use with the opposite sex. Commonly reported rules pertained to timing of calls and texts, although many reported no rules. Selection and Neutralization were employed to address the dialectical tension.
This study examined the use that older, regular users of computers make of information and computer technology in their daily lives. Opinions from such users were obtained regarding what they want these technologies to offer them in the future. By means of a discussion group and an online questionnaire, our critical case examined a group of mature senior students from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (online learning) who have used computers and the Internet in their activities. In general, the participants needed to know the function of the tool beforehand and to have continued support and confidence. In particular, they need the certainty that the future technology will allow them to maintain their independence and autonomy. Older people’s adoption of IT needs to be treated as more than merely a question of usability. Attitudes, experience of use, and perceived benefits are also key aspects that must be taken into account.
Doc 209 : Formative assessment: A cybernetic viewpoint
This paper considers alternative assessment, feedback and cybernetics. For more than 30 years, debates about the bi-polarity of formative and summative assessment have served as surrogates for discussions about the workings of the mind, the social implications of assessment and, as important, the role of instruction in the advancement of learning. Currently, alternative assessment lives uneasily with its classical counterpart. Classical test theory–and its conception of the summative value of the true score–came from behaviourist learning theories developed in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Formative assessment, with its conceptions of feedback and development, had a different origin. It arose from cognitive and constructivist theories of learning that emerged in the 1930s and 1940s. This paper identifies the tensions that underpin this uneasy coexistence. It suggests that different conceptions of mind lie behind these tensions and, to mark the autonomy and integrity of formative asse…
Doc 210 : Internet research and informed consent: An ethical model for using archived emails
Ethical conduct involving research participants rests on the Belmont principles of autonomy, beneficence and justice. Novel methods present new challenges in safeguarding these principles. The increasing use of data obtained from the internet in health research raises important questions regarding obligations to people posting personal information online. Ethical issues warrant special consideration since guidelines are only beginning to emerge, placing greater onus on the researcher’s discretion. This paper presents a model (a synthesis of the work of Eysenbach and Till (2001) and Kraut et al (2004)) to assist in decision-making regarding obtaining or waiving informed consent when using archived emails from websites. For illustrative purposes, the application of the model to a PhD project is described.
Doc 213 : Research of the Intellectual Property Protection Based on the Internet Information Utilization
The Internet has greatly expanded the scope of the use of network information resources and scale, people search and ease of access to information resources and autonomy is also greatly enhanced, but also led to information sharing network of intellectual property protection and infringement issues. This article lists the use of network information resources and violations of copyright law and civil law from the perspective of legal thinking.
Doc 214 : Internet privacy rights. Rights to protect autonomy
As the author says on his blog, Internet Privacy Rights is an ‘academic book, and written from the perspective of a legal academic …’ The book analyses the current threats to our online autonomy an…
Doc 215 : The Prosecution of Taiwan Sexuality Researcher and Activist Josephine Ho
In April 2003, following a newspaper report of a hyperlink to a website on bestiality on the Sexuality Databank website of the Center for the Study of Sexualities, National Central University, Taipei, Taiwan, 14 conservative NGOs filed charges against the Center’s founder, Josephine Ho, for propagating obscenities that corrupt traditional values. Ho has been researching sexuality and supporting freedom for marginalised sexual minorities for ten years. In a public statement in response to the charges, she said that the work of scholarly research must not be dictated by prejudice and that differences in sexual values should not be arbitrated by law and should be open for public discussion. As the legal process began in January 2004, Ho’s supporters in Taiwan have called for the preservation of the Taiwan Constitutional decree on integrity and autonomy of academic research and freedom of expression on the internet, for the University to resist calls to dismiss Ho from her post, and for respect for freedom of speech and expression and the right to create spaces to educate people about non-normative sexualities.
Doc 216 : How anonymous are you online? Examining online social behaviors from a cross-cultural perspective
Communication on the Internet is often described as “anonymous”, yet the usage of the term is often confusing, even in academia. Three levels of anonymity, visual anonymity, dissociation of real and online identities, and lack of identifiability, are thought to have different effects on various components of interpersonal motivation. Specifically, we propose that cross-cultural differences in interpersonal motivation (autonomy vs. affiliation) are illustrated by choices individuals make when deciding whether or not to remain anonymous while communicating online. Autonomy is often valued in Western societies, whereas Eastern societies tend to emphasize affiliation, suggesting that individuals in Western societies will gravitate toward online communities that allow lower levels of anonymity, while individuals in Eastern societies will be more likely to seek out online communities that promote higher levels of anonymity. The research presented in this article supports this notion, suggesting that we need to consider cultural differences when designing online communication systems and other communications technologies.
Doc 229 : Tensions Across Federalism, Localism, and Professional Autonomy: Social Media and Stakeholder Response to Increased Accountability
Drawing upon research on federalism, localism, and professional autonomy, this article explores how educational stakeholders used social media to discuss and organize against the implementation of Differentiated Accountability in a large Florida school district. The results showed that the stakeholders used social media to engage in sense making and organizing against district policy changes. The authors also find that opposition stemmed from a sense among the commenters that aspects of the policy violated broadly accepted norms of professional autonomy. Strain across the groups ultimately detracted from the fundamental objective of raising student achievement.
Doc 230 : Tin Men: Ethics, Cybernetics and the Importance of Soul
The idea that overly emotional humans make poor ethical actors pervades the current literature on the ethical implications of the development of autonomous weapons systems. From this perspective, developing fully autonomous military robots should be doubly desirable: the technical process of ‘teaching’ robots ethics would finally systematize just war thinking, while robots could uphold the rules of engagement even under the most emotionally trying of situations. This article addresses my doubts about both claims. I argue that truly ethical behavior requires what classical just war theorists would have called soul, or what we might today term conscience – and that the flexibility of the traditional principles reflects this understanding. In pursuit of this argument, this article proceeds in two parts. First, it argues that the apparent ‘messiness’ of just war thought is actually morally useful. Second, it argues that emotions play an important and irreplaceable role in our ethical behavior, particularly as…
Doc 231 : Waterfront Redevelopment: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Policy-making Process within the Chatham Maritime Project:
The redevelopment of the former naval dockyards in Chatham is one of the largest regeneration sites in the UK and is widely seen as a high-profile flagship project aimed at encouraging business investment. This paper utilises the Chatham redevelopment project as a basis from which to discuss recent developments in UK policy. It draws upon the methods of critical discourse analysis in order to discuss particular tensions within the project in the context of central-local government relations, partnership arrangements, project implementation and marketing. The paper’s conclusion is that, in spite of the initiatives established to devolve decision-making and establish regional autonomy, property-led development projects in the UK are likely to remain tightly controlled with only limited scope for community groups to exert influence.
Doc 232 : The Use of Information and Communication Technology in the Training for Ethical Competence in Business
Information and communication technology has certain advantages that can contribute positively in business ethics education programmes. It is necessary, however, to identify first the factors critical for acquiring ethical competence and later to proceed to the construction and use of such tools, in order to ensure that these tools are indeed adapted to the process and the goals of business ethics education. Based on psychological theory and research, it is argued that one such crucial factor is the psychological construct of ethical autonomy. The strengths and weaknesses of information and communication technology tools are discussed in accordance with this, and some suggestions are given on fruitful ways to incorporate these tools in business ethics education.
Doc 237 : A Rainbow at Midnight: Zapatistas and Autonomy
THE BRUTAL MASSACRE of 45 indigenous sympathisers, mostly women and children, of the EZLN (Zapatista National Liberation Army) in a refugee camp near Acteal in the south-eastern state of Chiapas, Mexico, last December 22, at the hands of paramilitary death squads linked to the PRI government served to remind world opinion that the ‘Rebellion of the Forgotten’ of January 1994 has moved from a low to a high intensity conflict. The success of the Zapatistas in mobilising Mexican and international ‘civil society’, particularly through the Internet, in a common struggle against the disastrous human and environmental consequences of neoliberalism, globalisation and “free trade” and for increased autonomy for indigenous peoples has forced the PRI regime, under the instigation of the US government and World Bank, to adopt a more violent and politically riskier strategy of repression through state terror. This has effectively ended the phase of negotiations which led to the signing of the San Andres Accords on Ind…
Doc 238 : The National Grid for Learning: panacea or Panopticon?
Although not fully established, the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) initiative is already being presented by both government and industry as offering students, teachers and school extensive freedom and autonomy in their day-to-day work. However, this paper argues that the official discursive construction of the NGfL in this way, as a ‘panacea’ to educational problems, obscures vital issues of power and control that may only become apparent once the initiative is fully integrated at the classroom level. Drawing initially on the work of Foucault, and then Poster’s more recent conception of the electronic ‘SuperPanopticon’, this paper re-examines the basis of the NGfL and its role in extending and reinforcing existing power configurations in education. The paper concludes by considering directions for future research into the NGfL, and educational use of the Internet in the light of this analysis.
The Internet is responsible for a “structural transformation of the public sphere”, which in a radical way changed the concepts of privacy too. The most important issue of the public debate is the invasion of privacy accompanying this transformation. But new ways of self-expression emerged as well. Personal autonomy and self-determination can survive or even be intensified under the condition that they are performed in solidarity within the Internet-community.
Doc 244 : A Madness for Identity: Psychiatric Labels, Consumer Autonomy, and the Perils of the Internet
Psychiatric labeling has been the subject of considerable ethical debate. Much of it has centered on issues associated with the application of psychiatric labels. In comparison, far less attention has been paid to issues associated with the removal of psychiatric labels. Ethical problems of this last sort tend to revolve around identity. Many sufferers are reticent to relinquish their iatrogenic identity in the face of official label change; some actively resist it. New forms of this resistance are taking place in the private chat rooms and virtual communities of the Internet, a domain where consumer autonomy reigns supreme. Medical sociology, psychiatry, and bioethics have paid little attention to these developments. Yet these new consumer-driven initiatives actually pose considerable risks to consumers. They also present complex ethical challenges for researchers. Clinically, there is even sufficient evidence to wonder whether the Internet may be the nesting ground for a new kind of identity disturbance. The purpose of the present discussion is to survey these developments and identify potential issues and problems for future research. Taken as a whole, the entire episode suggests that we may have reached a turning point in the history of psychiatry where consumer autonomy and the Internet are now powerful new forces in the manufacture of madness
Doc 249 : Virtue, Privacy and Self-Determination: A Plotinian Approach to the Problem of Information Privacy
The ethical problem of privacy lies at the core of computer ethics and cyber ethics discussions. The extensive use of personal data in digital networks poses a serious threat to the user’s right of privacy not only at the level of a user’s data integrity and security but also at the level of a user’s identity and freedom. In normative ethical theory the need for an informational self-deterministic approach of privacy is stressed with greater emphasis on the control over personal data. However, scant attention has been paid on a virtue ethics approach of information privacy. Plotinus’ discussion of self-determination is related to ethical virtue, human freedom and intellectual autonomy. The Plotinian virtue ethics approach of self-determination is not primarily related to the sphere of moral action, but to the quality of the self prior to moral practice. In this paper, it is argued that the problem of information privacy should be reconsidered in the light of Plotinus’ virtue ethics and his notion of self-determination.
Doc 250 : Executivos e smartphones: uma relação ambígua e paradoxal
Based on theoretical approaches concerning the existence of paradoxes associated with the use of technological appliances, this article seeks to identify the existence of ambiguities in the day-to-day use of smartphones by Brazilian executives. The single representative case study method was applied, by analysing a Brazilian company within the pharmaceutical sector, which has a policy of providing smartphones to its senior executives. Data were collected from: questionnaires filled out by fourteen executives of the company in question; in-depth interviews conducted with five of these executives and e-mails sent by them via smartphones over a given period of time. After consolidation and analysis of the data obtained, it was seen that two paradoxes were strongly related to the use of smartphones by the executives in question, namely: continuity vs. asynchronicity and autonomy vs. addiction. Furthermore, three other paradoxes were moderately associated with the use of smartphones by the executives in question, namely freedom vs. enslavement, dependence vs. independence, and planning vs. improvisation. Lastly, the implications and limitations of the research are set forth.
Doc 252 : IT for a better future: how to integrate ethics, politics and innovation
Purpose The paper aims to explore future and emerging information and communication technologies. It gives a general overview of the social consequences and ethical issues arising from technologies that can currently be reasonably expected. This overview is used to present recommendations and integrate these in a framework of responsible innovation. Design/methodology/approach The identification of emerging ICTs and their ethical consequences is based on the review and analysis if several different bodies of literature. The individual features of the ICTs and the ethical issues identified this way are then aggregated and analysed. Findings The paper outlines the 11 ICTs identified. Some of the shared features that are likely to have social relevance include an increase in natural interaction, the invisibility of technology, direct links between humans and technology, detailed models and data of humans and an increasing autonomy of technology that may lead to power over the user. Ethical issues include several current topics such as privacy, data protection, intellectual property and digital divides. New problems may include changes to the way humans are perceived and the role of humans and technology in society. This includes changing power structures and different ways of treating humans. Research limitations/implications The paper presents a piece of foresight research which cannot claim exact knowledge of the future. However, by developing a detailed understanding of possible futures it provides an important basis for current decisions relating to future technology development and governance. Practical implications The paper spells out a range of recommendations for both policy makers and researchers/industry. These refer to the framework within which technology is developed and how such a framework could be designed to allow the development of ethical reflexivity. Social implications The work described here is likely to influence EU policy on ICT research and technology research and innovation more broadly. This may have implications for the type of technologies funded and broad implications for the social use of emerging technologies. Originality/value The paper presents a novel and important broad view of the future of ICTs that is required in order to inform current policy decisions.
Scholars of technology have long puzzled over the question of the relationship between human societies and their technologies. Technological determinism suggests that the technologies present in a society have a determining effect on the structure of that society. Critics of this idea point out that the technologies are themselves developed by people within societies and so are themselves determined by the characteristics of those societies. It may be that the influence flows in both directions. The concept of the autonomy of technology suggests that human societies do not have very effective mechanisms to control and direct their technologies. Instead, those societies are more apt to adapt their structures and values to accommodate any efficient technologies that develop. The themes of autonomy and control thus arise in various ways in the consideration of the place of technology in human societies. While the ideas of technological determinism and the autonomy of technology tend to focus on the effects of technology at the social level, it is possible to consider the questions of control and autonomy at the individual level as well. At the level of the individual, it seems clear that many technologies support human autonomy and promote freedom by expanding human capacities for action. At the same time, individual human beings paradoxically come to feel obliged to adopt particular technologies in a manner that undermines their autonomy and freedom. This series of short articles addresses the theme of human autonomy, law, and technology. In the winter of 2009, Arthur Cockfield invited a group of scholars of law and technology to continue their joint conversation on the Law and Technology Theory Blog (http://techtheory.blogspot.com/). Each of us wrote a short piece containing reflections on this theme. The short articles have been revised for inclusion here in the Bulletin and are presented in the order in which they appeared on the Blog. In the rest of this short introduction, I provide a sketch of the main themes emerging from each article. Arthur Cockfield describes the competing views, first, that technologies are merely neutral instruments that humans choose or not and, second, that technologies have pervasive and unintended effects that undermine human autonomy. He explores how these two competing views might tend to lead legal policy makers in different directions in the context of the government deployment of surveillance technologies. Frank Pasquale explores the extent to which “neurocosmetic” pharmaceuticals challenge our understanding of human liberty and autonomy. He considers the external pressures that may limit a person’s freedom to reject cognitive enhancement. More fundamentally though, he points out that to the extent that these drugs interfere with the recognition of difficult truths and feelings, they may undermine the foundation of personal autonomy. Jennifer Chandler looks at the effect of technology on human autonomy through two lenses. First, she looks at collective self-determination, as expressed in the laws that we choose for self-governance. Here, the question is whether technological ideology tends to determine legal doctrines and outcomes rather than that the law controls technology. Second, she suggests various mechanisms to explain the sense that individuals may feel constrained to adopt specific technologies whether they wish to or not. Kieran Tranter approaches the relationship between human autonomy, law, and technology using three stories. The technological story of “human as tool user” suggests that technology is the essence of humanity and emancipates humans from natural limits. The legal story tells a tale of anarchy overcome through a social contract that enabled, among other things, the flowering of technology. He proposes a critique of both these stories—the autonomy story—and argues that we have choice and responsibility for the cultural narratives that we adopt to understand our technologies. Lyria Bennett Moses turns her gaze upon legal scholars and how they have responded to technological innovation as a field of legal study. She speculates about the reasons that lawyers may rush to publish on the legal implications of the latest technology. Lawyers may be dazzled by an exciting technology, but they may also be rushing to assert the continuing relevance and importance of the law (and themselves) in a rapidly changing technological society. Lisa Austin traces the evolution of the philosophy of technology and identifies the mutual enrichment that the philosophy of technology and legal scholarship might draw from one another. She discusses a recent skirmish in the “control wars” over personal information on the Internet and proposes a reimagining of the value of privacy that is inspired by the approach of the early philosophers of technology. Sam Trosow argues that it is essential to consider economics in seeking to understand the relationship between law, technology, and other social phenomena. He addresses the important role of economic analysis in the field of intellectual property law—a field that is central to the interaction of law and technology.
Doc 265 : Online Survey Tools: Ethical and Methodological Concerns of Human Research Ethics Committees
A survey of 750 university human Research Ethics Boards (HRECs) in the United States revealed that Internet research protocols involving online or Web surveys are the type most often reviewed (94% of respondents), indicating the growing prevalence of this methodology for academic research. Respondents indicated that the electronic and online nature of these survey data challenges traditional research ethics principles such as consent, risk, privacy, anonymity, confidentiality, and autonomy, and adds new methodological complexities surrounding data storage, security, sampling, and survey design. Interesting discrepancies surfaced among respondents regarding strengths and weaknesses within extant guidelines, which are highlighted throughout the paper. The paper concludes with considerations and suggestions towards consistent protocol review of online surveys to ensure appropriate human subjects protections in the face of emergent electronic tools and methodologies.
Doc 266 : At the Intersections Between Internet Studies and Philosophy: “Who Am I Online?”
This special issue fosters joint exploration of personal identity by both philosophers, on the one hand, and scholars and researchers in Internet Studies (IS), on the other. The summary of articles gathered here leads to a larger collective account of personal identity that highlights embodiment and thereby the continuities between online and offline senses and experiences of selfhood. I connect this collective account with other contemporary works at the intersections between philosophy and IS, such as on trust and virtual worlds, thereby entailing further questions and debates. I close by exploring how these collective insights illuminate larger themes regarding technology—specifically, the debate between a distinctively modern Augustinian–Cartesian account emphasizing control, liberation, and immortality by way of escape from the body, vs. more contemporary alternatives in feminist, environmental, and information philosophies that highlight autonomy through, rather than against, embodiment.
Cybernetics Academy Odobleja commemorates the name of the Romanian physician, psychologist and cybernetician Stefan Odobleja. Its Vice-President in France organized the First Seminar on Human Autonomy and Interdependence which was held in June 1988. This paper reviews some of the contributions to the Seminar. It also describes individual and social modes of human behaviour in terms of cybernetics and systems analysis, with a focus on group conflict. Some extracts from a provisional glossary of social cybernetics are appended.
Doc 279 : Control Devolution as Information Infrastructure Design Strategy: A Case Study of a Content Service Platform for Mobile Phones in Norway
This paper depicts the results of an empirical case study on how two Norwegian telecommunications operators developed a business sector information infrastructure for the provision of mobile content services. Focusing on the context of this technology’s development, and the strategic issues behind its design, implementation and operation, control devolution as a design strategy is explored. This analysis draws on insights presented by Claudio Ciborra’s in his study of the change from alignment to loose coupling in the Swiss multinational Hoffmann-La Roche. This paper illustrates how control is played out on different levels, and balanced against autonomy. The theoretical implications of this paper highlight how the differences and transformations between information systems and information infrastructures are conceptualised, with the development of the latter better understood in light of a balance between control and autonomy. Consequently, it is suggested that control devolution as a design approach should be based on a deep understanding of the existing control/autonomy balance as well as the distribution of resources, risks and the ability and willingness to innovate.
Doc 281 : Questioning autonomy: an alternative perspective on the principles which govern archival description
This article employs lenses of the history of systems thinking and elements of cybernetic thought to develop an alternative perspective on the principles (respect des fonds, provenance and original order) which govern the practice of archival description. It seeks to focus attention on the idea of autonomy and the questioning of this idea that rests within the practice and to demonstrate how this questioning ultimately resolves into a concern with epistemology and with the question of how we can describe the world around us without any point of reference external to ourselves. This article will also suggest an alternative perspective on the principles which govern archival description, namely that they should be seen as an injunction to account for the point of view in points of view. Moreover, that such principles should be seen as governing archival description, not in the sense of directing archivists how to describe archives, but rather in the sense of being an archival expression of the check that governs, the epistemological question inherent in, all our descriptions.
Doc 287 : Sobre redes de interação subjetiva: a comunicação como vetor da cibercultura
Would “technology” be an autonomous force capable of propelling the advances of modern societies as Kevin Kelly (2012) states? Opposing to this idea, we believe that such autonomy lies not in technology, but in communication as a human creation, mediated by technology. It about analyzed communication, not as a systemic view, but from the point of view of complexity as Morin (2007) and Bar-Yam (2004) defined. This is another understanding of cyberculture that makes us realize the existence of a subjective interaction network, whose main characteristic is the constant negotiation between personal expression and collective conceptions, transiting on the web and generating vectors of change and transformation in the information society. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how communication generates vectors of change from large unpredictable information flows, like the subjective interaction networks. Keywords : communication, interaction networks, cyberculture.
Doc 290 : Executives and smartphones: an ambiguous relationship
Purpose – This paper aims to investigate whether the technological paradoxes identified and prevalent in a series of technologies are also identified in the relationship between executives and smartphones, as well as which of these paradoxes is most strongly detected in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach – It was adopted the simple case study method, in which the individual is the unit of analysis. Therefore, a medium-sized company that operates in the Brazilian pharmaceutical market was chosen since the majority of its senior executives use the smartphone as a tool in their day-to-day work. Findings – Two paradoxes generated strong ambiguity regarding the use of smartphones by the executives, namely continuity vs asynchronicity and autonomy vs addiction. Furthermore, three other paradoxes were moderately associated with the use of smartphones by the executives, namely freedom vs enslavement, dependence vs independence, and planning vs improvisation. Research limitations/implications – By usin…
Doc 296 : Designing Data Protection Safeguards Ethically
Abstract: Since the mid 1990s, lawmakers and scholars have worked on the idea of embedding data protection safeguards in information and communication technology (ICT) with the aim to access and control personal data in compliance with current regulatory frameworks. This effort has been strengthened by the capacities of computers to draw upon the tools of artificial intelligence (AI) and operations research. However, work on AI and the law entails crucial ethical issues concerning both values and modalities of design. On one hand, design choices might result in conflicts of values and, vice versa , values may affect design features. On the other hand, the modalities of design cannot only limit the impact of harm-generating behavior but also prevent such behavior from occurring via self-enforcement technologies. In order to address some of the most relevant issues of data protection today, the paper suggests we adopt a stricter, yet more effective version of “privacy by design.” The goal should be to reinforce people‟s pre-existing autonomy, rather than having to build it from scratch.
Doc 303 : Internet Taxation and U.S. Intergovernmental Relations: From Quill to the Present
One of the most contentious issues involving federal, state, and local relations today is Internet taxation. Internet taxation is a significant battleground because it involves issues of great import to federalism, including state and local autonomy and revenue adequacy. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1992 decision in Quill v. North Dakota, the taxability of online transactions has been governed by the court’s physical presence nexus rule. This nexus rule has recently been called into question by various organizations, corporations, and elected officials. Proposals to alter the nexus rule abound from various sources. This article examines the roles played by these various actors in the Internet taxation debate and explores the potential implications of changes to the nexus forfederalism and intergovernmental relations.
Doc 304 : Cracking down on autonomy: three challenges to design in IT Law
The paper examines how technology challenges conventional borders of national legal systems, as shown by cases that scholars address as a part of their everyday work in the fields of information technology (IT)-Law, i.e., computer crimes, data protection, digital copyright, and so forth. Information on the internet has in fact a ubiquitous nature that transcends political borders and questions the notion of the law as made of commands enforced through physical sanctions. Whereas many of today’s impasses on jurisdiction, international conflicts of law and diverging interpretations of statutes can be addressed by embedding legal safeguards in ICT and other kinds of technology, to overcome the ineffectiveness of state action by design entails its own risks, e.g., threats of paternalism hinging on the regulatory tools of technology. Rather than modelling people’s behaviour by design, the article suggests that design policies should respect individual and collective autonomy by decreasing the impact of harm-generating behaviour (e.g., security measures and default settings for data protection), or by widening the range of people’s choices (e.g., user friendly interfaces).
Doc 311 : Toward a model of NGO media diplomacy in the Internet age: Case study of Washington Profile
Abstract This qualitative study explores values, perceived effectiveness and factors that affect effectiveness of the public diplomacy-oriented international news services by a U.S.-based non-governmental, not-for-profit organization. In-depth, semi-structured interviews are conducted with the staff of the organization. Results show that the key values that guide the operations include independence from government, journalistic objectivity and balance as well as reader education. The perceived effectiveness of NGO international news service is much higher than government-sponsored news programs in terms of reaching audiences, affecting elite groups and return of investment. The factors that affect the effectiveness include use of local journalists and editors as decision-makers, the Internet, censorship by governments of the target region, vision of the NGO leaders, dialogue approach, non-governmental funding, and target elite niche audience.
Doc 316 : Privacy by Design: essential for organizational accountability and strong business practices
An accountability-based privacy governance model is one where organizations are charged with societal objectives, such as using personal information in a manner that maintains individual autonomy and which protects individuals from social, financial and physical harms, while leaving the actual mechanisms for achieving those objectives to the organization. This paper discusses the essential elements of accountability identified by the Galway Accountability Project, with scholarship from the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams LLP. Conceptual Privacy by Design principles are offered as criteria for building privacy and accountability into organizational information management practices. The authors then provide an example of an organizational control process that uses the principles to implement the essential elements. Initially developed in the ’90s to advance privacy-enhancing information and communication technologies, Dr. Ann Cavoukian has since expanded the application of Privacy by Design principles to include business processes.
Doc 320 : Üksildus küberruumis: autori individuaalsus ja teksti autonoomia. Solitude in Cyberspace: the Individuality of an Author and the Autonomy of a Text
The keywords in analyses of digital literature and cybertexts (literature that has been created by and is read on a computer) mostly derive from the vocabulary of increasing collectivism: shared authorship, readerviewer interaction, their active participation in creating text etc. However, this article focuses on the opposite phenomenon: the essence of individualism in the process of digital text creation, that is, solitude. At the same time, the paradoxes related to collectivism and solitude are also addressed. In this article, solitude is regarded as a technical term, indicating the number of different agents in a creative process. This primarily means: whether the text can be associated with one author and his intention, or whether authorship is distributed between several people who have participated in the creation of the text, as well as if and how much texts presume activity on the part of the reader. We can claim that when writers write their texts they are usually on their own. A text is born in the writer’s head and he or she needs some kind of form to present it. When the form of literature was mostly what was recorded on paper, we could say that the author formalised his text in solitude – writing alone on pieces of paper. Only after the manuscript was handed in were other participants added, such as the editor, designer and printer, who took part in the completion process of the literary work. However, when the end result of production is not a printed book, but a cyber- or hypertext, we can assume that these relationships change significantly in the case of digital literature. In addition to the author of the text, cybertexts and hypertexts need active co-authors: programmers, designers etc. Creating a cybertext is, therefore, basically a collective act (although there are of course exceptions). The author of a cybertext is no longer the only and unique creator. At the same time, the solitude of a creative work in cyberspace disappears. After publishing a book in print, the text is left alone; it begins living its own life. In cyberspace, on the contrary, connections in various forms between the author, the work and the reader are retained. Alan Kirby has launched the concept of digimodernism, which marks the cultural stage connected with the spread of Web 2.0. The “digimodernist turn”, in the form of blogs, Facebook and Twitter, has also brought about a change for authors of digital literature. The technological simplicity of the new software means that authors no longer need any urgent technical assistance. This again raises the problem of the author’s solitude: he formalises his work in his blog on his own, alone. It might thus seem paradoxical that in the printed world both the author and his work are solitary, whereas in the cyberworld the solitude of creative work vanishes, because it requires interaction between authors and readers. At the same time, the author’s solitude in cyberspace is twofold – creating cybertexts mostly requires assistance, whereas digimodernist blog literature can be produced in solitude, independently. Very few cybertexts in Estonia have been produced as teamwork, with technical assistance. In this article, two showcases have been studied: the hypertextual poem “Trepp” (“Staircase”, 1996) by Hasso Krull and the grand team project Sonetimasin (Sonnet Machine, 2000) by Mart Valjataga, which consists of a book, an Internet text generator and an enormous electromechanical sonnet machine, which was displayed in an art gallery. Considering the technological experimentation of Estonian writers, these two examples are exceptional rather than normal. Estonian authors have traditionally been reluctant to try out computer-technological experiments. However, the digimodernist turn has altered this situation. Many Estonian writers are active bloggers and Facebook users. Estonian writers who were earlier afraid of technology have become very keen on it in the digimodernist world. We think that the reason for this significant change is that Estonian writers wish to be independent. We can claim that Estonian writers want to be solitary in cyberspace, to avoid participating in technological teamwork, and the new and easy technological platforms make it possible. Literature in Estonia therefore, in a way, continues the tradition of the modernist author who does not wish to give up the position of being an individual author. Digimodernist technological simplicity has indeed made possible the organic transfer from printed text to digital literature, which does not endanger the authorial position.
Doc 324 : Anticipatory ethics for a future Internet: analyzing values during the design of an Internet infrastructure.
The technical details of Internet architecture affect social debates about privacy and autonomy, intellectual property, cybersecurity, and the basic performance and reliability of Internet services. This paper explores one method for practicing anticipatory ethics in order to understand how a new infrastructure for the Internet might impact these social debates. This paper systematically examines values expressed by an Internet architecture engineering team-the Named Data Networking project-based on data gathered from publications and internal documents. Networking engineers making technical choices also weigh non-technical values when working on Internet infrastructure. Analysis of the team’s documents reveals both values invoked in response to technical constraints and possibilities, such as efficiency and dynamism, as well as values, including privacy, security and anonymity, which stem from a concern for personal liberties. More peripheral communitarian values espoused by the engineers include democratization and trust. The paper considers the contextual and social origins of these values, and then uses them as a method of practicing anticipatory ethics: considering the impact such priorities may have on a future Internet.
Doc 326 : “We Reject: Kings, Presidents, and Voting”: Internet Community Autonomy in Managing the Growth of the Internet
ABSTRACT The Internet is currently facing the gravest challenge in its 30-year history as IPv4 addresses, the fundamental numbers required for a machine to connect to the Internet, run out. Despite the economic importance of the issue, states have played little role in its governance. This article uses organization theory to examine how the Internet community of technical experts in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) has been protective of their expert authority and maintained autonomy to manage the address exhaustion problem on their own, guarding against “political” interventions in Internet governance by states.
Doc 327 : Teachers’ Professional Autonomy in England: are neo-liberal approaches incontestable?
This article is informed by a longitudinal research project undertaken with 22 teachers, four head teachers and two other related education professionals in England between May 2010 and April 2011. Drawing on 50 semi-structured interviews and some related email correspondence, the project investigates this cohort’s view of teachers’ professional autonomy. It takes as its starting point the hegemony of neoliberal policy and the adoption and reinforcement of this by UK political parties of all persuasions. The outcomes of the project demonstrate that notwithstanding the thrust of such policy -manifested most obviously by the current conversion of increasing numbers of schools to semi-privatised academy status -teachers acknowledge, explicitly or otherwise, the prevalence of performativity and survivalism yet often retain loyalty to the concept of education as a liberal humanist project as opposed to that of a provider of human capital. In short, they manage to cling to a notion of teaching that transcends the demands of the pursuit of measurable standards. They also recognize the central paradox of the current policy ensemble embodied in the inconsistency of rhetoric from government about professional autonomy alongside strong central control and scrutiny. The article goes on to ask whether, given the expressed antipathy on the part of this government and its predecessors towards research informed policy in general, and to qualitative research in particular, it is possible that such voices will be heeded by power. There are clear implications here for teacher education at initial and post-qualification
Doc 336 : Legal bans on pro-suicide web sites: an early retrospective from Australia.
There are worldwide concerns that pro-suicide web sites may trigger suicidal behaviors among vulnerable individuals. In 2006, Australia became the first country to criminalize such sites, sparking heated debate. Concerns were expressed that the law casts the criminal net too widely; inappropriately interferes with the autonomy of those who wish to die; and has jurisdictional limitations, with off-shore web sites remaining largely immune. Conversely, proponents point out that the law may limit access to domestic pro-suicide web sites, raise awareness of Internet-related suicide, mobilize community efforts to combat it, and serve as a powerful expression of societal norms about the promotion of suicidal behavior.
The convergence between biology and computer science has not just produced new scientific disciplines such as artificial life, a development, according to some theoriests, of artificial intelligence. It has also produced (and been produced by) a widespread biologization of culture and technology that is exemplified by the attribution of evolutionary mechanisms and metaphors to the human mind and its supposed analogue, the computer and, more specifically, the Internet. Evolution is one of a number of properties of biological systems (alongside self-organization, selfreplication, autonomy and emergence) that has been used to describe the development of the Internet, which is now said to be evolving (spontaneously) into the global brain. What are the ethical implications of naturalizing and therefore dehistoricizing the development of the Internet and other techno-cultural artefacts, and how can we understand this phenomenon? Kember shows how it can only be understood in the context of the convergence betwee…
Doc 341 : Theology, Science, and Postmodernism: Responding to Stanley Grenz
This article responds to Stanley J. Grenz’s Templeton Lecture, “Why Do Theologians Need to Be Scientists?” published in the June 2000 issue of Zygon (Grenz 2000). In the first part I outline my reasons for finding the kind of theological reflections in which Grenz engages worthy of attention by noting my disagreement with the view that a sufficient response to theological issues can be formulated on the basis of an examination of our biological nature. I assert, in that connection, the autonomy of reason as a way of investigating and understanding the world. In the second part I respond directly to Grenz by explaining my disagreement with the postmodern critique of science upon which he relies and his adherence to Christian eschatology as an answer to the conundrums into which, he posits, we are drawn as a result of that critique. I note that I agree with Grenz, however, that the activity of valuing is necessarily a forward-looking Godlike endeavor that is not derivable from science. In the third part I suggest that we must be open to the investigation of the possible existence of an objective realm of value and that, in any case, rejection of the postmodern critique of science in many cases pro-vides a sound basis for the disciplined resolution of factual questions that frequently lie at the base of disagreements about values.
Doc 346 : The Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord in Bangladesh: An Overview
The Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, signed on December 2, 1997 between the government of Bangladesh and the Parbattya Chattagram Jana Samhiti Samiti(PCJSS—Chittagong Hill People’s Solidarity Association) ended a long-standing armed conflict between the Bangladesh Army and the tribal people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. The treaty promised to bring stability in the region. But 15 years into the signing of the Accord, it has yet to bear fruit. The region is still the most unstable region of the country and resentment among the tribal people is increasing day by day due to delays in the full implementation of the Accord. The Accord has also produced a new conflict: after its signing, a group emerged from within the PCJSS movement and formed the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) a political party aiming at “full autonomy” rather than implementation of the Accord. The frequent clashes between PCJSS and UPDF and between the tribal and the ‘Bengali Settlers’ pose serious threat to the security of the country. In this situation this paper argues that the government of Bangladesh should take immediate and meaningful steps toward full implementation for the Accord. The costs of failure are high: disrupting activities, armed warfare, violations of human rights, losses of lives and resources, exposing the border regions to external threats—all of these are costs that the nation can hardly bear if lasting peace is not achieved. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n4p123
Doc 348 : Special theme: ambient assisted living for mobility: safety, well-being and inclusion
The ageing of the population worldwide is one of the major social and economic issues facing modern society. With age, the risk of frailty increases, including dementia and reduced mobility, and with it, functional dependence to perform activities of daily living. Ambient assisted living (AAL) aims at seamlessly integrating information and communication technologies (ICT) within homes and residences to increase the quality of life and autonomy of older adults. This special issue focuses on developments in AAL to address mobility challenges among frail older adults, due to physical and cognitive impairments. Among these challenges are an increase risk of falls, inability to independently perform daily activities and difficulties navigating the environment. Ambient technologies can assist automatically detecting falls or relevant activities performed by the older adult, providing augmented cues to assist in mobility and motivating older adults to remain active and autonomous. Ten papers have been selected to be included in this special issue. The first two papers deal directly with the problem of frailty and the risk of falls. The paper by Planinc and Kampel entitled ‘Introducing the use of path data for fall detection’ presents an approach based on a depth sensor to detect falls, which are becoming pervasive as their cost decreases. The approach is compared to the use of audio and 2D video exhibiting better performance. In ‘Elderly frailty detection by using accelerometerenabled smartphones and clinical information record’, Fontecha et al. describe the use of accelerometer data captured by a mobile phone for gait analysis and frailty estimation. The approach was evaluated with 15 elders, and they identified the strong and weak points of the approach to be used for the design of future systems. The next two papers are closely related with the former: an important aspect of AAL technologies aimed at assisting in activities of daily living is the recognition of the activity being performed by the user. In ‘Activity Recognition with Hand-worn Magnetic Sensors’, Maekawa et al. propose the use of magnetic sensors worn in the hand to detect the presence of electrical devices and infer the activity performed by the user. The evaluation performed with real data sets achieved high accuracies even with a small number of sensors. Bravo et al. present in ‘RFID breadcrumbs for enhanced care data management and dissemination’ an approach that uses RFID and NFC technologies to gather information in data-intensive working environments such as assisted living facilities. They introduce the RFID breadcurmbing interaction metaphor for efficient data management and dissemination. Once AAL systems are able to recognize the current activities of users, the task is now to help them in performing them. For this reason, one of the more active areas in ambient assisted living is the support for activities of daily living of the cognitive impaired. Two papers deal with this topic. People with Alzheimer’s have difficulties recognizing objects in their environment and navigating trough it. In ‘Augmented reality annotations to assist persons with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers’, Quintana and Favela describe the use of computer vision to create digital tags in J. Favela (&) CICESE, Ensenada, Mexico e-mail: favela@cicese.mx
Doc 349 : Using Social Networking Sites for Communicable Disease Control: Innovative Contact Tracing or Breach of Confidentiality?
Social media applications such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have attained huge popularity, with more than three billion people and organizations predicted to have a social networking account by 2015. Social media offers a rapid avenue of communication with the public and has potential benefits for communicable disease control and surveillance. However, its application in everyday public health practice raises a number of important issues around confidentiality and autonomy. We report here a case from local level health protection where the friend of an individual with meningococcal septicaemia used a social networking site to notify potential contacts.
Doc 352 : Survival of the project: A case study of ICT innovation in health care
From twenty years of information and communication technology (ICT) projects in the health sector, we have learned one thing: most projects remain projects. The problem of pilotism in e-health and telemedicine is a growing concern, both in medical literature and among policy makers, who now ask for large-scale implementation of ICT in routine health service delivery. In this article, we turn the question of failing projects upside down. Instead of investigating the obstacles to implementing ICT and realising permanent changes in health care routines, we ask what makes the temporary ICT project survive, despite an apparent lack of success. Our empirical material is based on Norwegian telemedicine. Through a case study, we take an in-depth look into the history of one particular telemedical initiative and highlight how ICT projects matter on a managerial level. Our analysis reveals how management tasks were delegated to the ICT project, which thus contributed to four processes of organisational control: allocating resources, generating and managing enthusiasm, system correction and aligning local practice and national policies. We argue that the innovation project in itself can be considered an innovation that has become normalised in health care, not in clinical, but in management work. In everyday management, the ICT project appears to be a convenient tool suited to ease the tensions between state regulatory practices and claims of professional autonomy that arise in the wake of new public management reforms. Separating project management and funding from routine practice handles the conceptualised heterogeneity between innovation and routine within contemporary health care delivery. Whilst this separation eases the execution of both normal routines and innovative projects, it also delays expected diffusion of technology.
Doc 357 : MY KINGDOM FOR AN AGENT? EVALUATION OF AUTONOMY, AN INTELLIGENT SEARCH AGENT FOR THE INTERNET
This paper presents an evaluation of a commercially available intelligent search agent for the Internet. Search robots and search engines can be of great help in finding information on the Internet, but their different features and sometimes their unfriendly interfaces can be confusing. Some expect that intelligent search agents could solve these problems. But most of these applications are not yet on the market, and the few that are: do they really perform? One of the few commercially available search agents is Autonomy, from Autonomy Corporation. Its concept is promising to professional users: the natural language processing of the query, the take‐over of repetitive jobs, an integrated interface for searching and managing information, and the sharing of knowledge with other users. The test in this article, however, reveals that the product is not yet ready to challenge the Internet search indexes which, in the test cases, perform better than Autonomy does with regard to recall and precision of information retrieval. Moreover, Autonomy does not give enough feedback to control the search action.
Doc 361 : Author Autonomy and Atomism in Copyright Law
Digital technology enables individuals to create and communicate in ways that were previously possible only for well-funded corporate publishers. These individual creators are increasingly harnessing copyright law to insist on ownership of the rights to control their musical works, scholarly research, and even Facebook musings.When individual creators claim, retain, and manage their own copyrights, they exercise a degree of authorial autonomy that befits the Internet Age. But they simultaneously contribute to a troubling phenomenon I call “copyright atomism” - the proliferation, distribution, and fragmentation of the exclusive rights bestowed by copyright law. An atomistic copyright system is crowded with protected works and rights, owned by rights-holders who are numerous and far-flung. This situation can raise information and transaction costs for participants in the creative marketplace, hampering future generations of creativity and thus undermining the very purpose of copyright: to encourage the creation and dissemination of works of authorship for the ultimate benefit of the public.This article introduces and articulates the copyright atomism concept. It then places atomism in historical and doctrinal context by documenting copyright law’s encounters with proliferated, distributed, and fragmented copyright ownership from medieval monasteries to the Internet age. This history demonstrates the enduring relevance of anxiety about atomism within copyright policy, highlights countervailing concerns, and provides a framework for thinking about how to alleviate the unfortunate contemporary consequences of atomism - and how not to.
Interorganizational computer-mediated communication ICMC is expanding rapidly through the Internet and other elements of infrastructure. ICMC can be expected to evolve into the mainstream of existing communications infrastructure, but this evolution is not occurring uniformly across organizations. ICMC infrastructure appears to be most strongly supported, at least in this early stage, among organizations dependent on the maintenance of external weak social ties among employees who are members of professional, dispersed occupational communities. This can be seen in the experience of research-oriented organizations. Two strong forces—the professionalism of key occupational communities seeking autonomy, and a persistent desire by organizations to reduce fixed costs and organizational size—are posited as encouraging growth of ICMC infrastructure. Such growth might provide an important “bootstrapping mechanism” of long-predicted shifts from hierarchical to market forms of organization, at least in professionalized sectors of the economy.
Doc 380 : “Don’t Affect the Share Price”: Social Media Policy in Higher Education as Reputation Management
The last 5 years have seen a growing number of universities use social media services such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to engage with past, present and prospective students. More recently still, a number of universities have published policy or guidance documents on the use of social media for a range of universityrelated purposes including learning, teaching and assessment. This study considers the social media policies of 14 universities in the United Kingdom (UK) that are currently in the public domain. It addresses some of the ways in which Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are responding to both the positive potential of social media as well as its perceived threats. Drawing inspiration, if not actual method, from critical discourse analysis, this study argues that marketisation has been the main policy driver with many social media policies being developed to promote university ‘‘brands’’ as well as protect institutional reputation. The creation and implementation of social media policies are therefore playing a role in helping universities manage both the risks and the benefits of social media in the context of an increasingly marketised Higher Education (HE) environment in which protecting institutional reputation has become a priority. However, in the defence of the metaphorical institutional ‘‘share price’’, some policies constrain both academic autonomy and the possibilities for innovation and risk-taking. Keywords: policy; social media; openness; sharing; academic autonomy; research; thought piece (Published: 30 August 2012) http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v20i0.19194
Doc 381 : What sort of bioethical values are the evidence-based medicine and the GRADE approaches willing to deal with?
The concept of evidence-based medicine (EBM) has been invented by physicians mostly from English Canada, mostly from McMaster University, Ontario, Canada. The term EBM first appeared in the biomedical literature in 1991 in an article written by a prominent member of this group-Gordon Guyatt from McMaster University. The inventors of EBM have also created the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) working group, which is a prominent international organisation whose main purpose is to develop evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). CPGs that are based on the GRADE approach are becoming increasingly adopted worldwide, in particular by many professional or governmental organisations. This group of thinkers being thus identified, we have retrieved and read many of their publications in order to try and understand how they intend to incorporate bioethical values into their concept. The author of this little essay did also spend a few years on the internet as an active member of the GRADE group discussion list. The observations thus gathered suggest that although some of the inventors of EBM, at least Gordon Guyatt, wish to incorporate core principles of biomedical ethics into their concept (ie, non-malevolence, beneficence and maybe to a lesser extent respect for autonomy, and justice), some clarifications are still necessary in order to better understand how they intend to more explicitly incorporate bioethical values into their concept and, perhaps more importantly, into evidence-based CPGs.
Doc 383 : Changing constructions of informed consent: qualitative research and complex social worlds.
Informed consent is a concept which attempts to capture and convey what is regarded as the appropriate relationship between researcher and research participant. Definitions have traditionally emphasised respect for autonomy and the right to self-determination of the individual. However, the meaning of informed consent and the values on which it is based are grounded in society and the practicalities of social relationships. As society changes, so too do the meaning and practice of informed consent. In this paper, we trace the ways in which the meaning and practice of informed consent has changed over the last 35 years with reference to four qualitative studies of parenting and children in the UK which we have undertaken at different points in our research careers. We focus in particular on the shifting boundaries between the professional and personal, and changing expressions of agency and power in a context of heightened perceptions of risk in everyday life. We also discuss developments in information and communication technologies as a factor in changing both the formal requirements for and the situated practicalities of obtaining informed consent. We conclude by considering the implications for informed consent of both increasing bureaucratic regulation and increasingly sophisticated information and communication technologies and suggest strategies for rethinking and managing ‘consent’ in qualitative research practice.
Doc 385 : Ethical Dilemmas in Research on Internet Communities
There has been a rapid growth in the number of articles using Internet data sources to illuminate health behavior. However, little has been written about the ethical considerations of online research, especially studies involving data from Internet discussion boards. Guidelines are needed to ensure ethical conduct. In this article, the authors examine how a youth-focused research program negotiated ethical practices in the creation of its comprehensive health site and online message board. They address three situations in which ethical predicaments arose: (a) enrolling research participants, (b) protecting participants from risk or harm, and (c) linking public and private data. Drawing on the ethical principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, justice, and beneficence, the authors present practical guidelines for resolving ethical dilemmas in research on Internet communities.
Doc 392 : Bringing oversight review in line with online research
The purpose of an oversight structure or institution is to protect human subjects from research that would pose unacceptable dangers or deny human rights. Review boards provide an independent assessment of research proposals. This additional level of scrutiny is meant to provide an additional level of protection for human subjects. However, oversight of human subject research, as currently carried out in the bureaucratic, rule‐based, clinically‐biased American system, is too cumbersome with regard to online research. In addition, it is not conducive to the training of ethical Internet researchers. Internet research differs from traditional human subject research in many ways, and the oversight rules governing traditional research do not easily relate to the complexities of conducting research online. Online researchers do not oppose the foundational principles of non‐maleficence (avoiding harm) and autonomy, nor do they reject the ideals of informed consent and confidentiality, nevertheless, they face practical dilemmas in attempting to follow these principles and apply these ideals in the various Internet domains. The current oversight system is ill‐equipped to assist. A conservative response to this problem of fit might entail adjustments to the oversight system that, in the case of the American system, would entail modifications to the Common Rule and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). I will argue in this paper, instead, that re‐structuring is needed to allow more oversight authority for Internet researchers. I will utilize Consequentialism and Virtue Ethics in making this case.
Doc 395 : Safeguarding donors’ personal rights and biobank autonomy in biobank networks: the CRIP privacy regime
Governance, underlying general ICT (Information and Communication Technology) architecture, and workflow of the Central Research Infrastructure for molecular Pathology (CRIP) are discussed as a model enabling biobank networks to form operational “meta biobanks” whilst respecting the donors’ privacy, biobank autonomy and confidentiality, and the researchers’ needs for appropriate biospecimens and information, as well as confidentiality. Tailored to these needs, CRIP efficiently accelerates and facilitates research with human biospecimens and data.
Doc 404 : The Global Superorganism: An Evolutionary-cybernetic Model of the Emerging Network Society
The organicist view of society is updated by incorporating concepts from cybernetics, evolutionary theory, and complex adaptive systems. Global society can be seen as an autopoietic network of self-producing components, and therefore as a living system or ‘superorganism’. Miller’s living systems theory suggests a list of functional components for society’s metabolism and nervous system. Powers’ perceptual control theory suggests a model for a distributed control system implemented through the market mechanism. An analysis of the evolution of complex, networked systems points to the general trends of increasing efficiency, differentiation and integration. In society these trends are realized as increasing productivity, decreasing friction, increasing division of labor and outsourcing, and increasing cooperativity, transnational mergers and global institutions. This is accompanied by increasing functional autonomy of individuals and organisations and the decline of hierarchies. The increasing complexity of interactions and instability of certain processes caused by reduced friction necessitate a strengthening of society’s capacity for information processing and control, i.e. its nervous system. This is realized by the creation of an intelligent global computer network, capable of sensing, interpreting, learning, thinking, deciding and initiating actions: the ‘global brain’. Individuals are being integrated ever more tightly into this collective intelligence. Although this image may raise worries about a totalitarian system that restricts individual initia
Doc 407 : Regional, Communal, and Organizational Transformations in Las Cañadas:
The Las Cafiadas region of the Lacand6n forest, Chiapas-the heartland of the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberaci6n Nacional (Zapatista Army of National Liberation-EZLN) and now a central part of the so-called conflict zonehas experienced transformations over the past three decades that have reshaped both political practices and consciousness. There have been changes in the composition of both the region and its component municipios,1 and these have led to a loss of political unity, the transformation of the dominant role of the comon or community,2 the incorporation of new actors at the local level, and local participation in universally shared discourses. My interest in these changes dates to January 1994, when the EZLN and the Mexican government became involved in a political and armed confrontation. On February 16, 1996, the two sides signed their first agreement (known as the San Andres Accords), in which indigenous autonomy occupies a central role and is presented as inextricably linked to the concepts of democracy, justice, and pluralism.3 These are, however, very general postulates that need to be examined in the light of regionally distinct realities and the particular histories of the various indigenous communities living in Chiapas and in Mexico more broadly. Unfortunately, negotiations between the EZLN and the government came to a halt at the end of 1996, when it had become clear to the EZLN that the government was not honoring its promise to respect the concessions it had negotiated. From that time until the present (spring 2000), the national and international media have strongly emphasized the necessity of reinitiating formal negotiations and dialogue on the national level-that is, between the major parties, the EZLN and the federal government. However, this focus on high-level talks has obscured the fact that on a regional level local actors have been engaged in dialogue all along.4 Not surprisingly, these negotiations are neither documented on the Internet
Doc 422 : ACTIVE ethics: an information systems ethics for the internet age
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a novel mnemonic, ACTIVE, inspired by Mason’s 1985 PAPA mnemonic, which will help researchers and IT professionals develop an understanding of the major issues in information ethics. Design/methodology/approach – Theoretical foundations are developed for each element of the mnemonic by reference to philosophical definitions of the terms used and to virtue ethics, particularly MacIntyrean virtue ethics. The paper starts with a critique of the elements of the PAPA mnemonic and then proceeds to develop an understanding of each of the elements of ACTIVE ethics, via a discussion of the underpinning virtue ethics. Findings – This paper identifies six issues, described by the mnemonic, ACTIVE. ACTIVE stands for: autonomy, the ability of the individual to manage their own information and make choice; community, the ethical effect of an information systems on the community which it supports; transparency, the extent to which the derivation of content and process in…
Doc 424 : La autonomía de la voluntad y el pluralismo jurídico en nuestros días
Autonomy of will - that beautiful matrix of classic liberal private law (he who says contractual, says fair) is currently an important instrument for regulating social relations. Observation of real - effective - functioning of that legal tool reveals in a paradigmatic way the identity of the social post-modern individual whose freedom is both immense and insignificant, an unlimited source of power and servile subjection to directives by public and private organizations which establish what we should want in order to want effectively. Exercising that prerogative means adhering to norms that really impose themselves regardless of their sources, but at a degree that can be determined. Such degree - sociologically interesting and politically useful - implies a broad definition of normative and legal pluralism, as Gurvitch proposed. That definition, without exclusions and quite inaccurate, has the advantage (as well as the inconvenience) of warranting men of Law as the new professionals of certain domains that recently used to be strange to them. To those who question the opportunity of such interventions, it could be answered that in practice they are often effective guarantees against arbitrariness. Therefore, this work presents examples of that recent development within the field of sports Law and the protection of privacy (especially on the Internet). In any case, those new spaces have been conquered by literate people and thus Legal sociologists have no other option than taking an interest in them if they want to be professionally faithful to phenomena within their field.
Doc 427 : A technology roadmap of assistive technologies for dementia care in Japan
The number of elderly people in Japan is growing, which raises the issue of dementia, as the probability of becoming cognitively impaired increases with age. There is an increasing need for caregivers, who are well-trained, experienced and can pay special attention to the needs of people with dementia. Technology can play an important role in helping such people and their caregivers. A lack of mutual understanding between caregivers and researchers regarding the appropriate uses of assistive technologies is another problem. A vision of person-centred care based on the use of information and communication technology to maintain residents’ autonomy and continuity in their lives is presented. Based on this vision, a roadmap and a list of challenges to realizing assistive technologies have been developed. The roadmap facilitates mutual understanding between caregivers and researchers, resulting in appropriate technologies to enhance the quality of life of people with dementia.
Doc 430 : The Internet Citizenry: Access and Participation
By drawing attention to estates in governance and politics, especially the role of the scientific estate, Price has provided a model of what ought to be, as well as a way of studying what is. It is significant that scientists’ most important resources in public engagement are their specialized expertise, and the perception that they are apolitical in their policy stances. These are resources they must use carefully if they wish to protect their autonomy as well as their influence. The interaction of science, technology, and public policy is emerging again as an important sub ject of action and analysis given today’s public agenda. In observing and comprehending issues associated with the subject, it is useful to recall Price’s still relevant book.
Doc 431 : Personal autonomy in the travel panopticon
I argue in this paper that the development and convergence of information and communication technologies (ICT) is creating a global network of surveillance capabilities which affect the traveler. These surveillance capabilities are reminiscent of 18th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon, and as such the emerging global surveillance network has been referred to as the travel panopticon. I argue that the travel panopticon is corrosive of personal autonomy, and in doing so I describe and analyse various philosophical approaches to personal autonomy.
Doc 435 : Young people’s experiences of mobile phone text counselling: Balancing connection and control☆
Abstract Mobile phone text counselling offers an opportunity to engage young people via a familiar and accessible medium. Interviews conducted with young people highlighted aspects of text counselling they perceived as valuable including privacy and autonomy, having control over the counselling process and maintaining anonymity. Participants appreciated the accessibility of text counselling and felt comfortable communicating through text. Despite the anonymity, they also felt they got to know the counsellor as a ‘real person’ and experienced a relational connection with them. Text counselling may help young people balance their contradictory needs for autonomy and connection and facilitate their engagement with counselling support.
Doc 437 : A City of Ten Years: Public/Private Internet Development in Nanhai
Does the Internet, a key technological infrastructure in contemporary urban China, facilitate the emergence of entrepreneurs and autonomous citizens? Who deserves the credit? Chinese national leaders answered yes to the first question and pointed to themselves as the answer to the second. This essay maintains, however, that local state actors played the central and effectively centralizing role in (xinxihua) projects in Nanhai City, Guangdong province. Through local e-government projects and a series of policies regarding land use, financing, and personnel training, the Nanhai government was able to shape the emerging local economy in a way that limited entrepreneurial autonomy for small-scale start-ups in the Internet industry. The highly centralized campaign fundamentally reversed Nanhai’s renowned decentralized model of rural industrialization. Through this process, a fractured system emerged for the and meanings attached to and to the city itself. This was manifested in everyday practice and discourse among local policymakers, entrepreneurs in both new and old economies, and average residents with different (mis)perceptions of the Internet influenced by their gender. At the formal policy level, the trend toward centralization was most obvious, revolving around the formation of a nebulous public network space being constructed by the city using technological, administrative, and rhetorical devices. Yet the private practices and perceptions of Internet that defined Nanhai’s informational landscape persisted in a fractured manner at the same time, leading to major corruption scandals and the implosion of the grandiose technology campaign. To understand such a paradoxical process, this article examines the contextual and internal factors for Nanhai’s Internet buildup. From a critical and historical perspective, it highlights a long-term seesaw battle along the problematic public-private borderline regarding issues of urbanization and in contemporary Chinese cities. This article reflects on the restructuring of local power relations and the role of informatization policy discourse therein. A crucial, yet often overlooked, dimension of reform in China today is the migration and subsequent transformation of technosocial meaning across different scales of and operations. The discursive process often has a transnational reach and tends to follow a political logic that usually only makes sense against the backdrop of the local history.
Doc 440 : Electronic administration in Spain: from its beginnings to the present
This study presents the basic lines of electronic administration in Spain. The complexity of the Spanish political-administrative system makes such a study challenging, in view of the considerable degree of autonomy and competences of the regional administrative bodies and local agencies with respect to the central government, the former being more visible in the 17 regions of Spain. Nonetheless, the central government maintains a series of legal instruments that allow a certain common framework of action to be imposed, aside from what is put into effect through diverse programs aimed precisely to develop common tools for the regions and municipalities of Spain. After an introduction that provides some necessary background, this study describes the legislative framework in which Spain’s electronic administrative system has developed. The data included in the study refer to investment in information and communication technologies (ICT) and the services offered by the different Administrations on the internet; internet access by citizens, homes, businesses, and employees, as well as the interactivity existing with administrations by means of the internet; the origins and rise of various political initiatives of the Central Government involving electronic administration; and finally, the situation of civil service personnel, as catalysts of the success of Information Society in the Public Administration within Spain.
Doc 441 : Electronic Records Management and Public Accountability: Beyond an Instrumental Approach
In evaluating government actions, accountability fora depend public records. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) candepending how they are usedpositively or negatively affect the availability of records for accountability. Dominant trends in the effect of ICTs records management are (1) the mixing of on the record and off the record communication, (2) the shift of control over information to the individual, (3) the focus present rather than historic information, (4) the interlinking of information managed by several organizations, and (5) the integration of procedures into computer systems. These trends indicate that the introduction of ICTs challenges the existing balance between organizational values (e.g., formality and informality, central control and individual autonomy). Electronic records management is therefore about finding an organizational design that balances values to fit the organization’s accountability situation.
Doc 449 : The moral value of informational privacy in cyberspace
Solutions to the problem of protecting informational privacy in cyberspace tend to fall into one of three categories: technological solutions, self-regulatory solutions, and legislative solutions. In this paper, I suggest that the legal protection of the right to online privacy within the US should be strengthened. Traditionally, in identifying where support can be found in the US Constitution for a right to informational privacy, the point of focus has been on the Fourth Amendments protection in this context finds its moral basis in personal liberty, personal dignity, self-esteem, and other values. On the other hand, the constitutional right to privacy first established by Griswold v. Connecticut finds its moral basis largely in a single value, the value of autonomy of decision-making. I propose that an expanded constitutional right to informational privacy, responsive to the escalating threats posed to online privacy by developments in informational technology, would be more likely to find a solid moral basis in the value of autonomy associated with the constitutional right to privacy found in Griswold than in the variety of values forming the moral basis for the right to privacy backed by the Fourth Amendment.
Doc 460 : Social Networking: Anybody is a Data Controller
This paper will look at the definition of a data within the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and consider whether the phenomenom of social networking (through Facebook (FB), MySpace and Bebo) has produced unintended consequences in the interpretation and application of the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC to the online environment. The Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC defines a data broadly to refer to the ‘natural or legal person, public authority, agency or any other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of processing are determined by national or Community laws or regulations, the controller or the specific criteria for his nomination may be designated by national or Community law.’ If the definition of the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (DPD) is applied literally to social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, arguably, not only organisations such as FB and MySpace are regarded as data controllers (through Art. 4 of the DPD), but individuals who posted information about others (friends or work colleagues etc.) would also be regarded as data controllers and thus have to adhere to the legal rules laid down under the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (ie. Art. 7 of the DPD fair and lawful processing; not excessive etc) unless it could be shown that the exemptions under Art. 9 that processing was intended for journalistic, artistic and literary purposes or that Art. 13 exceptions apply. As identified in an earlier paper, Art. 3.2 DPD (Wong and Savirimuthu, Art. 3(2) All or Nothing: This is the Question? The Application of Art. 3(2) Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC to the Internet) is unlikely to apply whereby processing was carried out for private and domestic purposes. This paper is an attempt to address a definitional difficulty that the legislatures did not anticipate. In attempting to protect the privacy of individuals, it is now possible to argue that it is becoming easier for individuals (and not merely organisations) to be brought within the scope of the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC in a social networking environment.
Doc 462 : Contemporary Greedy Institutions: An Essay on Lewis Coser’s Concept in Times of the ‘Hive Mind’
Lewis Coser perennially discussed various forms and facets of ‘greedy institutions’ with their total grasp on the individual. Coser’s ‘greedy institutions’ demand undivided time and loyalty from the individual who will voluntarily devote him/herself for exclusive benefi ts only granted to loyal followers. Although the ancient authorities have vanished—princes with their court Jews, masters with their servants, or religious and political missionar- ies—one can argue that the idea of the greedy institution is far from obsolete today. Management consultants, 24/7 old-age carers from Eastern Europe and particularly the ‘hive mind’ of new social media show that a revisiting of Coser’s theory can help in understanding modern forms of greed in institu- tions. This awareness may enhance vigilance against intrusions into personal autonomy.
Current debates over the autonomy of virtual worlds have an eerie similarity to discussions about the independence of cyberspace two decades ago. The history of the Internet offers some important lessons for how the law will affect virtual worlds, and how it should do so.
Doc 465 : Institution Design and the Separatist Impulse: Quebec and the Antebellum American South
Regional autonomy and separatist movements severely test the conflict management capacities of a nation’s political system. Following Calhoun, a series of institutional arrangements and political practices which depart from majority rule decision making have been identified in the literature as contributing to the peaceful management of subcultural cleavages. Such arrangements provide minority subcultures with institutionalized means of self-protection and guarantees against stable unrepresentation and official cultural stigmatization. But, as Schattsneider pointed out, conflicts are best regulated before they start and institutional arrangements such as those above must be made before regional cleavages become too politicized. At a certain stage of conflict, peaceable partition may be the only solution. In Canada and the antebellum U.S., failure to set up formal modes of sectional self protection led to conflict regulation failure and the emergence of separatist movements in Quebec and the South. Witho…
Doc 472 : A survey of privacy in multi-agent systems
Abstract Privacy has been a concern for humans long before the explosive growth of the Internet. The advances in information technologies have further increased these concerns. This is because the increasing power and sophistication of computer applications offers both tremendous opportunities for individuals, but also significant threats to personal privacy. Autonomous agents and multi-agent systems are examples of the level of sophistication of computer applications. Autonomous agents usually encapsulate personal information describing their principals, and therefore they play a crucial role in preserving privacy. Moreover, autonomous agents themselves can be used to increase the privacy of computer applications by taking advantage of the intrinsic features they provide, such as artificial intelligence, pro-activeness, autonomy, and the like. This article introduces the problem of preserving privacy in computer applications and its relation to autonomous agents and multi-agent systems. It also surveys privacy-related studies in the field of multi-agent systems and identifies open challenges to be addressed by future research.
Doc 481 : From the Wright Brothers to Microsoft: Issues in the Moral Grounding of Intellectual Property Rights
This paper considers the arguments that could support the proposition that intellectual property rights as applied to software have a moral basis. Undeniably, ownership rights were first applied to chattels and land and so we begin by considering the moral basis of these nghts. We then consider if these arguments make moral sense when they are extended to intellectual phenomenon. We identified two principal moral defenses: one based on utilitarian concerns relating to human welfare, the other appeals to issues of individual autonomy and private control. We conclude that intellectual property rights could not be defended from a moral perspective that emphasizes autonomy and individual control because copyright and patent restrict fundamental freedoms to transfer and redistribute one’s property. We also find it difficult to defend intellectual property in software from a utilitarian perspective because of the current structure of the market. We menH tion two characteristics of the software market that make it distinct and promote monopolistic conditions and excessive profit taking: the facility of replication, and the need for compatibility in operatirlg systems. We conclude that there are good reasons to reverse the current market’s structure. We suggest three possible remedies. The government could ngorously enforce antitrust legislation, impose greater monitoring and pnce controls, or obviate the commercial aspect altogether by denying the application of intellectual property rights to software.
Doc 482 : The embeddedness of transnational corporations in Chinese cities: Strategic coupling in global production networks?
The embeddedness of transnational corporations (TNCs) in metropolitan economies has become a central issue in the research on globalization and local development. This paper attempts to enhance understanding of FDI embeddedness by assessing TNCs’ backward and technological linkages with domestic firms. Through a case study of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Suzhou, a frontier globalizing city in the Yangtze River Delta in China, it was found that strategic coupling between TNCs and domestic Chinese firms rarely exists and global production networks (GPN) have not brought substantial benefits to the development of domestic firms in the region. Regression analysis further reveals that TNCs’ backward and technological linkages with domestic firms are highly selective and contingent upon market potential in the host region, TNCs’ research and development (R&D) orientation and to a lesser extent subsidiary autonomy. It is also found that the booming and sizable domestic market and the development of domestic firms have potential to pave the way for upgrading. These findings suggest that there is a need to develop a broader conceptualization of the upgrading pathways of local firms beyond the notion of strategic coupling in the GPN perspective.
Doc 483 : The Influence of Elite Philanthropy on NGO Development in China
AbstractScholars have explained the rise of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in China since the period of reform and opening in terms of a changing political and economic environment, NGO policy, international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), and the influence of communications media and the Internet. This article proposes a new explanatory factor: the philanthropy of China’s new wealthy. Four cases are used to analyse the influences of the philanthropy of the wealthy on NGO development. The article proposes not only that the philanthropy of the wealthy provides funding and intellectual support for NGOs but also that the wealthy use their influence and social networks to increase the autonomy, capacity, sustainability and impact of NGOs in China.
Doc 489 : Organising Co-Existence in Cyberspace: Content Regulation and Privacy Compared
The Internet globalizes the world. National regulatory autonomy shrinks. Transferring data from one country to another is almost costless. Foreign content is just a click away. Why is it that states have been able to re-install co-existence in some policy areas, and not in others? In data protection, the safe-harbour compromise between the US and the EU found a way out. In the area of content regulation, transnational conflict is no less pronounced. The Europeans are preoccupied with Nazi publications, that are constitutionally protected in the US. The US public dislikes portrayals of nudity, that most Europeans find inoffensive. Yet no attempts at organizing co-existence are within sight. This paper develops a rational choice model to explain the difference. States are modelled as actors. The good is the degree of protection accorded to a value. Nations evaluate such protection differently. Moreover, rational nations are aware of the opportunity cost involved in any activity to protect local values. To a degree, the inability of organizing co-existence stems from a difference in preferences. If so, there is no room for a win-win solution. But typically, one nation does not positively want some content to be accessible that the other nation dislikes fervently. Usually, the first nation is just indifferent, or the opportunity cost seems too high. The more important difference between data protection and content regulation thus turns out to be strategic. Organizing co-existence in both areas presupposes overcoming a strategic conflict. But in data protection, this typically is a one-to-one conflict, while in content regulation the typical conflict is of a one-to-many nature. In public goods terminology, co-existence is a weaker-link good with a very high threshold. This difference might make it advisable for countries with a strong preference for protection to shift from mitigation to adaptation. Practically speaking, they would push, perhaps even subsidize, the development of powerful filtering technologies. And they would strengthen their social norms ostracizing access to outrageous content.
Doc 492 : Authority and liquid religion in cyber-space: the new territories of religious communication
This article considers three case studies of forms of authority within new cyber-territories. We first deal with the example of a traditional religion, Islam, by exploring new social issues that this religious system encounters in cyber-space. Second, we turn to a social movement that is by definition less traditional and less established, namely neo-paganism; and finally, we examine the new phenomenon of hyper-real religion (Possamai 2005b, 2012) to discover whether, even in free-floating religions where in principle everything is permitted and where the individual has full autonomy to decide on the specific constructions of his/her religion, forms of authority and social/religious distinctions are paradoxically present.
Doc 494 : If the Supreme Court Were on Facebook: Evaluating the Reasonable Expectation of Privacy Test from a Social Perspective
This article examines the Supreme Court of Canada’s position that reasonable expectations of privacy in informational spaces can be protected by focusing on the protection of the information itself. It then measures this position against the findings of social science research studies that have examined the behaviour of young people in online spaces. The author argues that the legal test being advanced by the Court is out of step with what we know about people’s online experiences and expectations. As such, the test may limit the Court’s ability to protect us from surveillance technologies that negatively affect our dignity, autonomy, and social freedom. Especially as more of our public and private lives migrate to virtual spaces, it is essential that the courts begin to pay attention to the lessons to be gleaned from the social sciences research on privacy and reinvigorate the legal protection of privacy as a social value.
Doc 495 : Tecnología asistencial móvil, con realidad aumentada, para las personas mayores
Modern technology offers many facilities, but elderly people are often unable to enjoy them fully because they feel discouraged or intimidated by modern devices, and hus become progressively isolated in a society where Internet communication and ICT knowledge are essential. In this paper we present a study performed during the Nacodeal Project, which aims to offer a technological solution that may improve elderly people’s every day autonomy and life quality through the integration of ICTs. In order to achieve this goal, state-of-art Augmented Reality technology was developed along with carefully designed Internet services and interfaces for mobile devices. Such technology only requires the infrastructure which already exists in most residences and health-care centres. We present the design of a prototypical system consisting of a tablet and a wearable AR system, and the evaluation of its impact on the social interaction of its users as well its acceptance and usability. This evaluation was performed, through focus groups and individual pilot tests, on 48 participants that included elderly people, caregivers and experts. Their feedback leads us to the conclusion that there are significant benefits to be gained and much interest among the elderly in assistive AR-based ICTs, particularly in relation to the communication and autonomy that they may provide.
Doc 498 : Conceptualizing time, space and computing for work and organizing
Through this article we draw on concepts of time and space to help us theorize on the uses of information and communication technologies in work and for organizing. We do so because many of the contemporary discussions regarding work and organization are usually, and too often implicitly, drawing on rudimentary understandings of these concepts. Our focus here is to advance beyond simplistic articulations and to provide a more conceptually sound approach to address time, space and the uses of information and communication technologies in work. We do this focusing on temporal and spatial relations as a means to depict time and space at work. We characterize work as varying by two characteristics: the degree of interaction and the level of individual autonomy. We then develop a functional view of information and communication technologies relative to their uses for production, control, coordination, access and enjoyment. We conclude by integrating these concepts into an initial framework which allows us to theorize that new forms of work are moving towards four distinct forms of organizing. We further argue that each of these four forms has particular spatial and temporal characteristics that have distinct and different needs for information and communication technologies.
Doc 500 : Ethical practice for the playwork practitioner
This paper discusses the importance of ethics for play and playwork practitioners as the sector and work force move towards becoming a recognised profession within the United Kingdom. Exactly what is meant by the term ethics is defined, before moving on to a discussion of two key areas. First, the ethical framework known as F.A.I.R. (this mnemonic stands for Fairness, respect for Autonomy, Integrity, and to seek the most beneficial and least harmful consequences or Results) devised by Rowson [2006. Working ethics: How to be fair in a culturally complex world. London: Jessica Kingsley) and second, the four ethical principles of Beauchamp and Childress (2013. Principles of biomedical ethics (7th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press]. Throughout links are made to the eight Playwork Principles developed by the Playwork Principles Scrutiny Group, Cardiff in 2005 and endorsed by SkillsActive (2013a. Playwork principles [Internet]. Retrieved August 26, 2015, from http://www.skillsactive.com/PDF/sectors/Playwork…
Doc 502 : Reflecting on English educational accountability
The English education system offers meaningful examples of how some aspects of education reforms concerning school autonomy develop and what their implications are. In a way it provides a test bench for many ideas which policy makers are trying to introduce in many other systems. It is therefore interesting to consider it, in order to gain a broader perspective from which to frame Italian school autonomy. This paper focuses on the complex scenario of English educational accountability, one which attracts the interest of researchers from all over the world and originates a continuous debate among practitioners, researchers and policy makers. The broad literature concerning English educational accountability makes available a variety of interpretations, reflections and points of view. The paper intends to consider this scenario mainly from the perspective of English headteachers. The objects of the analysis are the voices of headteachers and policy advisers, collected through interviews where they have been asked to report on their experiences and perceptions or, in the case of policy advisers, to put themselves in the headteachers’ shoes. It is argued that while policy makers from many countries look at the English accountability framework with interest, ready to borrow hints and tools from the orderly atmosphere of regulation it performs, English educational professionals experience strong contradictions and struggle with the hardness and the sharpness of the system. Key-words: Accountability, Educational Leadership, Education Policy _____________________________________________________ 1 Fellow at the Institute of Education, University of London. Email: dott.giovanna.barzano@gmail.com. Italian Journal of Sociology of Education, 3, 2009.
Doc 503 : Using TEALE Learning Methodology to Promote Portable Interdisciplinary Accountability in Engineering Education
Research suggests that an increase in learner mobility across formal and informal jurisdictions is a positive response to an integrated global economy and workforce. To facilitate ebbs and flows of maintaining a mobile global workforce, the literature suggests that engineering education should promote methodology and learning mechanisms that personalize accountability of mobile learners’ content knowledge across jurisdictions. In addition, data from the literature shows that mobile or cyber-learning is generating massive amounts of data which could inform engineering educators in their response to a mobile and constantly changing workforce. This paper reviews data from a pilot study of Technology-Enhanced Autonomous Learning Environment (TEALE). TEALE is a framework for mobile learning environments that afford accountability of personalized evidence-based content across learning jurisdictions. Prelimary data from this third pilot report suggests that TEALE promotes accountability of content knowledge across learning jurisdictions: both among formal disciplines in the academy, as well as between the academy, informal learning and workplace requirements. However, the data also suggests that seamless mobility across these academic and social jurisdictions involves issues far beyond technology. These issues, which include adjudicating relevance and value among academic cultures, incentives for motivation, authority and autonomy should be accounted for when using TEALE. Attention to these issues could prevent engineering educators from viewing potential opportunities for inter-jurisdictional collaborations as encroachments and avert the specter of unintended social-dramas.
Doc 504 : Analisis Pola Partnership Dalam Pengelolaan Agrowisata Pagilaran Kabupaten Batang
ABSTRACT Cooperation in the management of Pagilaran tourism is an implementation of Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia Number 32 of 2004 regarding regional autonomy. This law requires local governments to organize and manage the potential that exists in the region. One of the potential tourism that Batang regency has is Pagilaran. Besides that, the purpose of such cooperation is to realize good governance in Batang. This study was conducted to describe the patterns of cooperation in managing Pagilaran between PT Pagilaran and the Department of Culture and Tourism in Batang Regency. It also explains about the difficulties in such cooperation. This study used qualitative research methods. Data triangulation technique is also used to obtain more accurate data validity. Sources of primary data obtained through interviews with relevant informants and secondary data obtained from documents, records, internet, and other sources which are related to this research. This study was conducted in Pagilaran Tourism Object. Results of this study illustrate a pattern of cooperation in managing Pagilaran. The patterns of cooperation not only done by the government and private sector but also community had. Community was given a role to managing Pagilaran. Community had opportunity to participate in managing Pagilaran which is helping the government to achieve a good governance in Batang Regency and in this case, community participate in public services in the tourism sector. Good cooperation indicators was taken from the efficiency and quality, organization dynamics, effectiveness, and also share risks and benefits. In this study, three of the four indicators which are the efficiency and quality, organizational dynamics, share risks and benefits have been implemented properly. The effectiveness indicator has not done well yet because the government has not implement the obligation yet to take care the facilities that have been agreed in advance. In addition, results also explain the difficulties that exist in this cooperation. Recommendation can be given for stakeholders to coordinate better so that the management of Pagilaran can evolve in the future. Also expected to every party to comply the obligations which have been agreed by both parties in advance. Keywords: Regional Autonomy, Cooperation, Good Governance, Tourism
Doc 516 : The Cloud: Boundless Digital Potential or Enclosure 3.0?
The Cloud presents enormous potential for users to have access to facilities such as vast data storage and infinite computing capacity. Yet the Cloud, taken from the perspective of the average user, does have a dark side. I agree with a number of writers and the concerns that they raise about privacy and personal autonomy on the internet and the Cloud. However, I wish to voice concern over another change. From the perspective of users, the Cloud might also reduce the range of user possibilities for robust interaction with the internet/Cloud in a manner which then prevents users from participating in the internet as creators, collaborators, and sharers. The Cloud is “manageable” in a way the internet was not, and with users increasingly interacting with the internet with relatively less powerful devices than computers – smartphones, tablets and the like – this ability for Cloud service providers to control or manage users is enhanced. We owe the vocabulary of “enclosure” to Hungarian-Canadian political economist Karl Polanyi. In his seminal work, The Great Transformation, Polanyi described the enclosure movement in England in which communally integrated and collective farming practices on common lands were suppressed by authorities of the state, forcefully and sometimes brutally, in order to privatize land resources and create the conditions for a market economy in both agriculture as well as other sectors. More recently, the term “enclosure” has been used effectively by American intellectual property scholars such as James Boyle to describe the manner in which intellectual property rules and the concurrent practices of IP rights holders (for copyright, often large corporate interests) in the age of the internet were being used to restrict access to the public domain of ideas or the information commons.I argue that the Cloud, unless monitored and possibly directed, has the potential to go beyond undermining copyright and the public domain – Enclosure 2.0 – and to go beyond weakening privacy. This round, which I call “Enclosure 3.0”, has the potential to disempower internet users and conversely empower a very small group of gatekeepers. Put bluntly, it has the potential to relegate internet users to the status of digital sheep.By focusing on the entities that provide Cloud services, I argue that we might take steps to encourage or, if necessary, force private entities to keep the Cloud open and accessible in the long term. I also posit the desirability of a publicly-held Cloud to achieve this same end.
Doc 518 : The Potential of Digital Technologies for Transforming Informed Consent Practices with Children and Young People in Social Research
How children and young people understand and exercise their autonomy, engagement and decision-making is fundamental to learning how to become active and engaged citizens, and to be socially included. Digital technologies are increasingly an integral part of children’s everyday lives and, therefore, valuable tools for supporting social inclusion. This paper discusses how digital technologies might positively support autonomy, engagement and decision-making through the lens of informed consent practices within social research. Current research practices are dominated by paper-based methods for obtaining informed consent which could be exclusionary for children and young people generally, and children with additional learning and support needs in particular. Digital technologies (laptops, PCs, tablet devices, smartphones) offer the potential to support accessibility and understanding of ideas and activities, as well as engagement with and autonomy in decision-making and participation. This paper explores this potential as well as the challenges that researchers may face in this context.
Doc 519 : АСИММЕТРИЯ ВИРТУАЛЬНОГО ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОГО ПРОСТРАНСТВА. РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ СРАВНИТЕЛЬНОГО АНАЛИЗА ДАННЫХ 255 НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫХ ДОМЕНОВ ИНТЕРНЕТА
Abstract: The article examines interrelationship between traditional national sovereignty and autonomy in Internet reflected in the presence of the national domain. Moreover the author analyses existing misbalances in substantive filling of national domains, testifying various levels of stateness in virtual political space.
Doc 520 : The Triple Dilemma of Human Dignity: A Case Study
In a case decided in 2008 (K.U. v. Finland - 2872/02), the European Court of Human Rights was confronted with the case of a boy whose photo had been posted on the internet and used for a sexual advertisement by a third person without knowledge or consent. The service provider denied the police access feeling itself bound to national rules of data protection. The ECHR, finally, held that under Art. 8 of the Convention, the right to privacy and family life, Finland was obliged to identify and sanction the wrongdoer. The decision refers to different problems that are regularly addressed under the heading of human dignity: sexual autonomy and communicative privacy. The case will serve as an example for three conceptual conflicts in the notion of human dignity: The conflict between a sphere of protected privacy and the development of a social personality, the conflict between individual autonomy and the protection by public authorities, and the conflict between general normative demands and case specific criteria. While human dignity might be a useful theoretical concept to depict these conflicts it cannot provide criteria to solve them.
The developpment of the Internet of Things (IoT) concept revives Responsive Environments (RE) technologies. Nowadays, the idea of a permanent connection between physical and digital world is technologically possible. The capillar Internet relates to the Internet extension into daily appliances such as they become actors of Internet like any hu-man. The parallel development of Machine-to-Machine communications and Arti cial Intelligence (AI) technics start a new area of cybernetic. This paper presents an approach for Cybernetic Organism (Cyborg) for RE based on Organic Computing (OC). In such approach, each appli-ance is a part of an autonomic system in order to control a physical environment. The underlying idea is that such systems must have self-x properties in order to adapt their behavior to external disturbances with a high-degree of autonomy.
Doc 531 : Information and communication technology solutions for outdoor navigation in dementia.
Abstract Introduction Information and communication technology (ICT) is potentially mature enough to empower outdoor and social activities in dementia. However, actual ICT-based devices have limited functionality and impact, mainly limited to safety. What is an ideal operational framework to enhance this field to support outdoor and social activities? Methods Review of literature and cross-disciplinary expert discussion. Results A situation-aware ICT requires a flexible fine-tuning by stakeholders of system usability and complexity of function, and of user safety and autonomy. It should operate by artificial intelligence/machine learning and should reflect harmonized stakeholder values, social context, and user residual cognitive functions. ICT services should be proposed at the prodromal stage of dementia and should be carefully validated within the life space of users in terms of quality of life, social activities, and costs. Discussion The operational framework has the potential to produce ICT and services with high clinical impact but requires substantial investment.
Doc 533 : The Janus face of ‘New Ways of Work’: rise, risks and regulation of nomadic work
The Internet and the use of portable computers, mobile phones and tablets have increased the importance of ‘new ways of work’. This work, which is place- and time-independent, can lead to more autonomy and greater flexibility for workers, but it also carries serious physical as well as psychosocial risks according to this working paper. The author of this report focuses on the hidden dangers of these new ways of working: techno-stress, techno-addiction, the blurring of boundaries between work and private life, burn-outs and overtiredness, safety risks and ergonomic problems. The paper analyses the European legislation on safe and healthy working conditions and how it can be applied to this new way of working. Last, but not least, it underlines the importance of this new societal issue for workers’ representatives.
Doc 534 : A Reflexive Law Approach and Accessibility Rights of Persons with Disabilities to the Virtual World: Seeking the Midas Touch of Corporations
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities undeniably made a paradigm shift in the discourse and construction of ‘disability’. It seeks to recognise the inherent dignity, value and autonomy of persons with disabilities as members of human society and their right to live in the world in an inclusive and participatory manner on an equal basis with others. The right to live in the world encompasses the right to live in the virtual world. This necessitates ensuring accessibility to the Internet. Whereas international human rights law recognises the state as directly responsible for ensuring accessibility, it is private corporations that effectively function as the gatekeepers of the Internet. Unless corporations are proactively engaged, the virtual world cannot be made inclusive for persons with disabilities. The complexity of this issue requires looking beyond conventional forms of command-control anti-discrimination laws. This article explores a reflexive law approach to create a dialogic web between seemingly differentiated subsystems in society (with their own norms and values) in order to attain accessibility rights for persons with disabilities.
Doc 537 : International copyright treaties and digital works: Implementation issues in Canada and Mexico
This article examines the 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization ‘Internet treaties’ in Canada and Mexico to ascertain whether smaller countries can sustain policy autonomy within international copyright treaties, and in response to lobbying by larger states. Treaty implementation in the two countries reflects domestic institutional, economic, and political actors and ideas. Even though Mexico and Canada are highly interdependent with the United States (the main proponent of the Internet treaties), they do have some influence in determining whether and how to implement the treaties. While the United States influences copyright reform in its neighbours, both countries’ policies continue to be shaped significantly by domestic factors. These two cases suggest that domestic circumstances partly shapes the implementation of copyright laws in smaller countries.
Doc 538 : Sociology of the Transcendental Delirium World
The author analyses the individual-empire relationship in the Soviet Union. The literary work Moscow–Pietushki, by Venedikt Yerofeyev, is treated as a superb instantiation of Soviet interaction rituals. The author rejects the Homo sovieticus model, the orthodox implementation of which leads to a recognition of individuals as puppets of the system. The analysis, inspired by Goffman’s and Collins’ findings, shows the social mechanisms which make possible the construction of a temporary world of transcendental delirium, located on the borderline of system reality. The constitution and duration of this anti-utopia system inside society reveal the relative autonomy of Soviet social actors: their conduct within this world is conditioned mainly by the availability of alcohol and the capability to play the ‘parlour game’. Such analysis, which surveys the universal logic of interaction rituals, facilitates a reasonable comparison of the practices of Soviet actors with the practices of actors located on the ‘friendly’ peripheries of the system, and with the relevancy systems and the actions of the CEE and the Western bourgeoisie. Sociologický casopis/Czech Sociological Review, 2002, Vol. 38, No. 3: 297-309 Introductory Remarks The aim of this paper is to attempt to employ interaction theory in order to characterise and explain the individual–empire relationship. By ‘explanation’ I mean the disclosure of mechanisms that underlie the behaviour of social actors, and the construction and maintenance of interaction orders and social structures. Taking up a tentative attempt at such an explanation, I shall here be using the concrete example of the literary work Moscow–Pietushki, by Venedikt Yerofeyev [1994] (MP hereafter), which is situated in the historical realities of the period of the duration and transformations of the Soviet empire. I treat literary works as the products of the activities of social actors in relation to and within society. From my point of view they are social facts, just like other products and domains of social actors’ activities. In this sense, persistence in the thesis that literary descriptions are fictitious is heuristically fruitless. This thesis is as equally idle or fruitless as statements about the fictitiousness of expectations that a ‘full-blooded’ actor will have a date with a virtual cyber-beauty or will discuss theological issues with a living St. Thomas Aquinas. I agree with Thomas J. Scheff [1997: 157ff] that, for example, the world of Shakespearean drama reveals, in an unmatched way, tensions and conflicts, and shame and 297 * I would like to express my gratitude to Alina Szulzycka for her help in improving the English style of this paper and to Henryk Domanski, Janusz Gockowski, Hanna Świda-Ziemba for their com-
Extracted from text … Editorial Voices in this issue Yusef Waghid University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch, South Africa Email: yw@sun.ac.za This issue of the journal is prefaced by a moment in the Council of Higher Education’s research agenda on the involvement of government in higher education institutions, particularly focusing on academic freedom, institutional autonomy and public accountability. Hall’s article and responses from Divala and me offer some pathways as to how universities can begin to reflect on notions of academic freedom and individual autonomy constitutive of higher education in South Africa. At least three themes seem to unfold in the articles compiled for this issue ..
Networks of private actors develop and administer rules to regulate the conduct of their members. These private regimes enjoy varying degrees of autonomy from states and from international law. Some, such as the private norms related to lex mercatoria, the Internet, sports, and finance, have gained importance and density. These private legal networks can aid in the enforcement of state law but also can work independently of or even against it. This paper analyses the rationale of some private legal regimes and reveals their differences from state law. It shows that a significant number of actors are regulated by private legal norms that often ignore domestic legal systems. Some authors believe that private legal regimes have already eclipsed state law in importance. Also presented are thoughts on how legal theory might best approach private legal regimes.
Doc 545 : Institutional capacity building of the load despatch centres in India
In India there are close to forty (40) Load Despatch Centres (control centres) for power system and electricity market operation. In order to assess capabilities of these Load Despatch Centres (LDCs), a nationwide survey was conducted with the help of a questionnaire. This paper draws inferences from the findings of the survey. It emphasizes that institutional capacity building of the LDCs in India is highly relevant in view of the ongoing reforms and restructuring, increasing vulnerabilities of the interconnected grid, rapid growth in the interconnection size, generation capacity addition, equipment/human failure, cyber attacks, environmental threats and fast changing regulatory framework in India. The paper argues that the effective coordination amongst the system operators can come by establishing functional and financial autonomy of the LDCs as well as by strengthening the capabilities of the human resource working in the LDC.
Doc 546 : A RISK OF USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES: INFORMATION PRIVACY IN PUBLIC OPINION AND IN THE PRESS IN HUNGARY
I. Székely
Societal risks of the new information and communication technologies including information privacy issues, have not yet been sufficiently recognized in the former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Newly introduced data protection legislation is an important step in this process, but in the highly politicized environment the problem often appears to be primarily a legal and political issue. The first Hungarian research on public opinion and mass communication in relation to information privacy shows a measurable desire for information autonomy and a considerable mistrust of information authorities, but nevertheless a genera! obedience in providing personal data. The stratum which exhibits a heightened data protection consciousness, higher sensitivity to privacy and increased distrust of computerized data processing comprises 16 per cent of the total sample. The research also shows that the desire for information privacy in the society is not adequately manifested in the press, nor in the awareness of political and professional circles. International cooperation is needed in research activity.
Doc 557 : The Persistence of the Confederate Narrative
Ever since the United States was reconstituted after the Civil War, a Confederate narrative of states’ rights has undermined the Reconstruction Amendments’ design for the protection of civil rights. The Confederate narrative’s diminishment of civil rights has been regularly challenged, but it stubbornly persists. Today the narrative survives in imprecise and unquestioning odes to state sovereignty. That appreciation of the doctrines of federalism and separation of powers should govern adjudication of the Constitution’s meaning is unarguable. That it should preclude national responsibility for the protection of human rights is, however, unacceptable. We analyze the relationship, over time, between assertions of civil rights and calls for the protection of local autonomy and control. This analysis reveals a troubling sequence: The Confederate narrative was shamefully intertwined with the defense of American chattel slavery. It survived profound challenges raised by post-Reconstruction civil rights claimants, and by mid-Twentieth century civil rights movements, and it reemerges regularly to pose questionable but unanswered challenges to calls for national protection of civil rights. Our close examination of the Confederate narrative’s jurisprudential effects exposes an urgent need to address the consequential but under-recognized tension between human and civil rights in the United States on the one hand and local autonomy on the other.
Doc 561 : Medical ethics challenges in the information societies
Information is the symbol of the present age due to the significant development in accessing, processing, storage and transferring information. Information societies have been formed by the widespread utilization of information and communication technologies in human social life and generally focus on the computer systems and information networks. Nowadays, various technologies of medical informatics comprise an important component of the management infrastructures of health care systems. Medical informatics is the development and assessment of specific methods and systems for acquisition, processing and analyzing patients’ data with the help of knowledge and information from scientific researches. Moreover, it intends to increase access, improve quality and decrease the costs of care through decreasing chronological and geographical limitations. On the other hand, ethics have been always considered as a basic component of these systems. The increasing development of digital technologies and their application in health information management provides numerous benefits; however, it encounters health care managers with new challenges in the information societies. These challenges may has been mainly caused by the conflicts among ethical principles by themselves or disregarding them in the field of medical informatics. Therefore, careful consideration of info ethics as well as beneficence, autonomy, fidelity and justice is essential to overcome those conflicts in the information societies.
Doc 566 : Justifications for our free speech: Examining the role of autonomous agency in Scanlon’s moral theory
In two influential articles setting forth his arguments against restrictions on free expression in the 1970s, Harvard philosopher T. M. Scanlon suggested and later rejected the notion that autonomous agency ought to be a primary constraint on most justifications used to restrict speech. The concept of autonomy, he said, was notoriously vague and slippery as a basis for judging free-speech restrictions. Instead, Scanlon argued that free expression- and proposed restrictions on it- should be justified in terms of our various interests in speech as participants and as audience members. Reliance on autonomy does not provide the justificatory force for a theory of free expression, he said. However, in his landmark 1998 book, What We Owe to Each Other, Scanlon relies heavily on autonomous agency as the foundation of several of his key claims. Scanlon’s claims that our interests to protect free expression conflict with his reliance on autonomous agency in What We Owe to Each Other and have important implications for efforts both to cultivate a healthy public sphere and protect the open architecture of the Internet within an increasingly global media culture.
Doc 573 : Valuing the Media: Access and Autonomy as Functions of Legitimacy for Journalists
Sports reporters depend on access to events and sources as much or more than any other news professional. Over the past few years, some sports organizations have attempted to restrict such access, as well as what reporters can publish via social media. In the digital era, access and publishing autonomy, as institutionalized concepts, are evolving rapidly. Hypotheses tying access and work practices to reporters’ perceptions of the legitimacy they experience are developed and tested via a structural equation model, using responses to a survey of journalists in American intercollegiate athletics and observed dimensions of access and autonomy to measure a latent variable of legitimacy. The model suggests that reporters have mixed views about whether they possess the legitimacy they need to do their jobs.
Doc 576 : Cabs, community, and control: Mobile communication among Chicago’s taxi drivers:
Today’s mobile technology and mobile professions mean that people are nearly always either in, or connected to someone who is in motion. And yet, communities persist in the face of this constant motion. This is a qualitative study of a mobile labor group—taxi drivers in Chicago. Similar to Wallis’s (2011) conclusions, I found that access to and use of a mobile phone does not automatically imbue taxi drivers with power and autonomy from forces that seem to be working against them. However, access to mobile phones does help to shake up the hierarchy of control in the taxi industry. This study has also identified another type of community where the theory of polymedia (Madianou & Miller, 2012) applies, that is, labor communities, and has shown that while choice of technology may offer some sense of power, access to mobile communication technology does not necessarily result in significant changes in power structures within and surrounding a community.
Doc 583 : The extended ‘chilling’ effect of Facebook
Prior research has established the phenomenon of the ‘Chilling Effect’ where people constrain the self they present online due to peer-to-peer surveillance on Social Network Sites (SNS). However currently uninvestigated is the possibility that the threat of such surveillance on these sites might constrain the self presented offline in ‘reality’, known here as ‘the extended chilling effect’. The purpose of this study is to examine the existence of this ‘extended chilling effect’. Drawing on theories of self-awareness and self-presentation, the impact of surveillance in SNS is theorized to lead to an awareness of online audiences in offline domains, stimulating a self-comparison process that results in impression management. A mixed methods study of semi-structured interviews (n?=?28) and a 2?×?2 between-subjects experiment (n?=?80), provides support for offline impression management in order to avoid an undesired image being projected to online audiences. The novel finding that the chilling effect has extended highlights the potential dangers of online peer-to-peer surveillance for autonomy and freedom of expression in our offline lives. Accounts provided of ‘chilled’ behavior offline due to online surveillance.Model tested for the process underlying the ‘chilling’ of behavior offline.Saliency of Facebook offline increases public self-awareness.Support provided for the ‘extended chilling’ effect of Social Network Sites.
Doc 585 : The Development of the Real Right Guaranteed Institution and the Draft Law of Property Right of PRC
With the development of the market-directed economy, the chattel mortgage and the right guarantee are attached more importance;invisible property,future property and collective property can become the guaranteed property;the advertisement of security interest is enriched;every party’s autonomy of the will is enlarged;the forms of the nontypical guarantee develop continuously;the disposal on the use of guaranteed property also has been appreciated.For adapting to the trend of security interest in our country,the draft law of property right of PRC has added some new kinds of real right guaranteed, but there are still some problems which need further research.
Doc 590 : Study of Actualization Management in Network Virtual Society
Characteristics of the Internet virtual space makes the activity of network application show a high degree of openness and interaction;the uniqueness of the user group structure and autonomy of management,the freedom and immediacy of network behavior and such on distinctive character,bring a lot of influence and impact for reality society.Aiming at management issues from internet virtual properties aroused the issue of virtual society actualization management strategy.This paper deeply analyzes the main factors of virtual society actualization management,proposes views and insights to solve the issue of virtual society actualization management,and so it will have some reference value for improving the virtual society actualization management.
Doc 593 : An Analysis of Ethical Bewilderment of Network
While the rapidly developing network technology provides the mankind with happiness and many opportunities, it has brought about an impact and challenges on social ethics. There exist a lot of ethical bewilderment and moral conflicts in dealing with the relationships between cyberspace and real society, information sharing and intellectual property protection, personal privacy and social supervision, communication freedom and moral responsibility, globalization and national characteristics. It is necessary to strengthen researches into network moral construction, in order to help the people make correct behavior choice. At present, it is very important to establish and emphasize the ethical principles as follows: principle for mankind’s common benefits, principle of caring the humanity, principle of justice, principle of autonomy, principle of responsibility and principle of self-discipline.
Doc 595 : The De-administrative Reform and the Perfection of Legal System of the Autonomy in Colleges and Universities
In the context of de-administrative reform,it has important realistic significance to perfect the legal system of autonomy in colleges and universities.China’s Higher Education Act is the basic legal form to guarantee the autonomy in colleges and universities,and makes main stipulation about it,but related legislation still remains some defects.In order to protect the autonomy in colleges and universities and implement it effectively,and then to promote the de-administrative reform in colleges and universities,Higher Education Act should establish the ideal of law system to control the authority of government and protect the rights of colleges and universities,clearly define the legal nature of autonomy in colleges and universities,perfect the system of protecting and restraining the autonomy,and improve the system of controlling the government’s power of intervention and then construct the system of ensuring social mediation to participate in running school.
Doc 596 : Predicament and Deconstruction of Jurisdiction of Cybercrime
There are two views on the jurisdiction of cybercrime in theoretical field.Some hold that cyberspace has independent autonomy.The others agree that the traditional jurisdiction can be adopted in cybercrime.The latter view has practical significance because of the particularity of cybercrime and the stability of law.Based on the present jurisdiction system,we need adjust the personal jurisdiction,territorial jurisdiction,and protective jurisdiction;clarify the meaning of cybercrime by judicial interpretation,and strengthen the judicial cooperation among countries.
Doc 598 : A Study on How to Apply Internet Resources to the Teaching and Learning of Secretarial English
Making use of the internet resources effectively in the secretary English course is in accordance with the development of the society.Regarding the decision of the action field,study scope and the curriculum of secretary English,Internet resources play a helpful role in it,which make it more scientific.Seeking some educational project via Internet contributes to the construction of secretary English course as well.Students who make use of the internet in their study will foster their autonomy study.
Doc 600 : Analysis of Network Security Management Structure Based on Dynamic Autonomy
Along with the computer technology matures. Network security management system as information dynamic autonomous safety management representative. Whether people’s life,or production fields are already tied to the Internet,therefore,how to network security management has been paid more attention to. In order to ensure that the information of the network spread according to law,the information of the effective in management and control,this paper through the structure new dynamic autonomy network security management system,this paper analyzes the network security management and autonomy network technology,and the system architecture and realize the security incident and dynamic access,and the application of autonomy security management model.
Doc 614 : The Status Quo and Future Development of the Digitalization of China Sci-tech Journals
Digitalization wave is unprecedentedly bringing both opportunities and challenges to Chinese sci-tech journal development.Getting off to a late start though rapidly developing,the digitalization of sci-tech journals in China needs to be constantly perfected in editing and publishing mode,information renewing management,web design,extension and development of content,etc.For example,the journals which own self-built webs take shortage of necessary human,financial and material resources;the journals which are connected to the Internet with the help of sci-tech information network or data base are restricted with fixed model and lack of independence and autonomy.Moreover,the digitalization of the sci-tech journals in China has difficulties in development.For example,there have been no unified standards or regulation yet;it is getting harder and harder to protect copyright;and preserving and copying the back issues of a journal becomes fragile.It is suggested that impetus be given to the digitalization of the sci-tech journals in China by pushing on innovations in journal system and mechanism,carrying out digitalized editing and publishing modes,exploring for successful commercialized operation modes,and practicing internationalized academic regulations.
Doc 622 : Party Autonomy of Private International Law under the Internet Circumstances
The development of network technique has exerted extensive and far-reaching influences upon social life.In response to these influences,private international law is incessantly making self-regulation and self-transformation and has formed a number of theories.On basis of the three traditional areas of private international law,jurisdiction,choice of law and the dispute settlement of foreign-related issues,objective responses of real life are analyzed to point out the inadequacies of them.Then,subjective responses are put forward to resolve the problem and the rule of autonomy will is proposed to be the first principle of private international law under the internet circumstances.
Doc 628 : Model and Implementation of Registry for Autonomy Oriented Web Services
In response to the openness and dynamics of the internet environment and in order to enhance the management of Web services posture and support the development of autonomy-oriented Web service(AOWS)application,we extended the traditional SOA,and proposed a model of Registry for autonomy-oriented Web services in this article.This Registry not only supports the basic register function,but also provides the functionality of managing posture of Web services.We introduced the model of lifecycle and description for AOWS,described the key technology of Registry for AOWS,and finally studied a case to validate the feasibility of models and implementation technologies.
Doc 630 : The Meager Opinion on the Legal Applicability to the Internet Consumer Contract
the internet trade mode has get into the field of people’s production and life.At the same time of enjoying its convenient service,we should also face the disadvantage brought by internet businessmen who took avail of their predominant station.This is especially obvious in the law terms which applied to the internet consumer contract.On the basis of analyzing the issue of the legal applicability to the internet consumer contract,this paper emphasizes on the thee aspects of the limit of principle of autonomy of the will, the introduction of principle of most in favor of protection and the thinning of choice of the most close tie,and expresses the author’s meager opinion to the issue of the legal applicability to the internet consumer contract,and expects valuable suggestions and opinions.
Doc 641 : The Conflict of Values and the Teaching of the “Two Courses”
The value conflict is an objective reality,and has a great influence on the formation of the values of the young students.The two courses in colleges and universities should,therefore,attach importance to this phenomenon.The conflict takes shape and adopts various forms because of the social transformation,the economic globalization and the cyberization of life style.To cope with the conflict of values,we should,in the teaching of the two courses,stick to the inculcation of the dominant values,adroitly guide the students’ actions according to circumstances and train them to adapt to the changing world,give full play to the autonomy of the students to choose values,improve the teaching content,and innovate teaching methods.
Doc 642 : A Study of Impedance of Mobile Phone for People’s All-round Development
A double-edged sword,with its artificial intelligence,much information and convenient communication,mobile phone provides conditions and opportunities for the survival and development of people at the same time,also creates certain impedance on the overall development of people,namely,the weakening independence of human autonomy and the lack of subjectivity,and interpersonal desalination. To eliminate these negative factors,we need correct understanding of man-mobile relationship,and enhancing the development of virtual information discrimination ability,coordination of the overall development of mobile phone to promote its rational use.
Doc 648 : On Legitimacy and Its Legal Regulation of the “Cyber Manhunt”
The manhunt is a kind of new network phenomenon,is a large number of Internet users participation,interactive information search.The network is a double-edged sword.On one hand, cyber manhunt a certain social significance of public opinion and let the virtual network in the world more real change,to crack down on illegal and criminal,supervision of government officials,strengthening moral pressure and exclude the difficulty and anxiety for the people ’s positive role.On the other hand,it is usually a moral trials for group of individuals,often involving violations of individual privacy and other legal issues,but also the existence of violence risk.The cyber manhunt as the period of social transformation in China is a specific product of many defects,but the maintenance of justice and public welfare nature of its own provide a broad development space.At present our country to cyber manhunt has no clear legislation,therefore it should be a great practical significance in rational law and moral considerations.The legal control means to cyber manhunt ,can avoid the possible risks,to play its positive effect,promote its health develop.The outlet of cyber manhunt on one hand is improve Internetautonomy,on the other hand it depends on our existing legal system be explained,and improve the regulate and guide in the network laws to cyber manhunt.
Doc 649 : About the CPPCC’s Role in Construction of Civil Society
With the Reform Opening-up,the popularization of Internet,the rise of non-governmental organizations,the vigorous development of autonomy at basic level,and the formation of public space on the Internet,the modern civil society has sprouted and developed.The growth of civil society helps to accelerate the construction of the harmonious society,the socialist market economy and the democratic system.Therefore,the CPPCC need to adapt itself to such situation,promote the development of social society through its pertinent self-reform,thus performing the role of bridge between the civil society,the government and the market.
Doc 652 : The Market-like Environment of the Internet and the Spontaneous Generation of Morality
Both history and facts have shown that morality,to a great extent,develops along an autogenetic road.The practice of the internet has obviously brought with it the automony and freedom of the individuals,among which the automony in culture has special value.Internet environment has market-like nature which will gradually awaken the sense of automony of the numerous netizens.This will further promote the position of the individual as the subject of responsibility and morality,which will eventually help the growth of individual morality.The market-like environment of the internet is not only favorable for the ontogenetic growth of morality,but also accidentally helps the three elements of freedom,automony and morality to form a mutual promoting and complementary relationship.All the existing facts show that such an environment has ensured an unparalleled space for the development of individual freedom,autonomy and morality.Moral factors have been playing an increasingly important and powerful role in the world of the internet and have been effecting the current society.All these give us confidence in the morality of the information age.
Doc 653 : Analysis on the causes of national separatism in west frontier ethnic regions of China and its countermeasures
This paper considers that the national separatism in the western region of our country is the result of structural interaction between multiple factors such as the greenhouse effect due to national social division,the lingering of ethnic nationalism,the deficiency in popularization of national regional autonomy institution,globalization of internet politics and literature,double standards of western countries on human rights and so on,at last a number of countermeasures have been recommended after a detailed analysis.
Doc 657 : Research on the Management System of Cyber Society from the Perspective of Ecosystem
The cyber society is comprised of several subsystems and multiple elements that are a complex co-evolution ecosystem by itself.The most fundamental condition of its ecological balance system is the co-evolution system with the development of spontaneous expansion order.The origin of the problems of cyber society emerges from the above-mentioned opposite condition leading eco-system out of balance.Therefore,the cyber society management system must follow the law of co-evolution of social-ecological system,play the main autonomy function,improve cyber society management system,which can impel the network autonomy logic and cyber law regulatory logic mutually paralleling to form an effective guide measures.
Doc 664 : Analysis of Network Security Management Structure Based on Dynamic Autonomy
Along with the computer technology matures.Network security management system as information dynamic autonomous safety management representative.Whether people’s life,or production fields are already tied to the Internet,therefore,how to network security management has been paid more attention to.In order to ensure that the information of the network spread according to law,the information of the effective in management and control,this paper through the structure new dynamic autonomy network security management system,this paper analyzes the network security management and autonomy network technology,and then the system architecture and realize the security incident and dynamic access,and the application of autonomy security management model.
Doc 667 : The Obstacle for the All-sided Development of Individual in Internet
Internet is a kopis.On the one hand,it greatly promote the development of society and human;On the other hand,it,in a way,counteract the all-sided development of human.In internet,the development of individual is not free and self-conscious,in a sense.Internet to a certain extent result in the vanish of autonomy,the deficiency of dynamic role and the frustration of creativity.Virtual contact in internet lead to the crisis of trust and the alienation of emotion,to some extent.This paper only analyse potential and negative effect of internet,so that we avoid its harm and utilize its benefit.
The principles for the internet ethics are important base for building the system of internet ethics. In this article , we will propose four principles autonomy, nonmaleficence, informed consent and justice as the basic principles . We will talk about their meanings and working styles .We will also explain why they should be considered as the basic principles of internet ethics system.
Doc 683 : The Rules of Agreement Jurisdiction on Internet-Related Civil Cases
As we know,the features of Internet such as fiction and no territory have brought impact on the civil cases of Internet——related,traditional methods to determine jurisdiction which take the district as conjunctive factor have encountered difficulty in the Internet-related cases.The factors to determine the jurisdiction such as forum rei,lex loci contractus,lex loci delicti become indefinite in the Internet surrounding.As one of methods to choose jurisdiction,agreement jurisdiction manifests gigantic adaptation ability,because it embodies sufficiently the autonomy of will doctrine,and become the most available and direct mode to determine the jurisdiction.But in the Internet surrounding,the research emphasis of agreement jurisdiction in the Internet-related cases become how to make the agreement jurisdiction much more lawful and justified.
Doc 687 : Study on applicable laws to online consumption contract
The ever-changing network era and its rapid growth in popularity bring forth new challenges to consumer protection.But traditional rules of private international law is still applicable to Internet consumption fields.As to online consumption contract,the limited autonomy principle, the most significant relationship principle and characteristic performing principle are applicable.Different legislation and practice in nations of the world is continuously developing and perfecting the rules about applicable laws to Internet consumption in order to protect the legitimate interests of parties involved and promote international protection of consumers.As for the form of the contract for Internet consumption,the contract requirements applicable should be advocated;As far as the substance of online consumption contract is concerned,the principle of the most significant relationship should be adopted flexibly to seek for principles of law application with greater flexibility,diversity and pertinence.
Doc 692 : Federated identity management in e-government: lessons learned and the path forward
Management of digital identity involves every company and institution, not only in the internet world. Among different identity management models, only the federated one is able to ensure a strong protection in terms of trust and privacy. In fact, the participants in the federation decide to trust each other about which information can be exchanged in the processes of authentication and authorisation, based on established policies to manage relationships of trust. According to this, it has been widely adopted during the last years. In particular, its adoption in Public Administration allows a proper organisation autonomy, supporting access to the services offered by the institution. This process is going to quickly raise with the progressive adoption of cloud computing by Public Administrations. In the paper, two projects accomplishing federated digital identity in Italian Public Administrations are presented. Starting from lessons learned, authors highlight a path forward for Public Administration toward federated digital identity in cloud computing scenario.
This chapter examines the Internet’s origins and development as a ‘freedom-enhancing’ tool, alongside the contemporaneous evolution of EU law and regulation governing private economic power. The concept linking these two streams of discussion is that of ‘user autonomy’, which is implicated by the Internet’s affordances for individuals, and which, it is argued, should also be the legal and regulatory framework’s goal when governing Internet matters. However, the trends influencing EU law and regulation from the 1980s, especially neoliberalism, have resulted in these frameworks - competition law, sector-specific regulation, data protection and fundamental rights - not being well-equipped to advance user autonomy in the Internet sphere.
Doc 701 : “Privacy by default” and active “informed consent” by layers: Essential measures to protect ICT users’ privacy
The purpose of this paper is to lay out an approach to addressing the problem of privacy protection in the global digital environment based on the importance that information has to improve users’ informational self-determination. Following this reasoning, this paper focuses on the suitable way to provide user with the correct amount of information they may need to maintain a desirable grade of autonomy as far as their privacy protection is concerned and decide whether or not to put their personal data on the internet.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors arrive at this point in their analysis by qualitative discourse analysis of the most relevant scientific papers and dossiers relating to privacy protection.
Findings
The goal of this paper is twofold. The first is to illustrate the importance of privacy by default and informed consent working together to protect information and communication technology (ICT) users’ privacy. The second goal is to develop a suitable way to administrate the mentioned “informed consent” to users.
Originality/value
To fulfil this purpose, the authors present a new concept of informed consent: active “informed consent” or “Opt-in” model by layers. “Opt-in” regimens have already been used with cookies but never with 2.0 applications, as, for instance, social network sites (SNS).
Doc 703 : Information and Communication Technology Still a Force for Good?
ABSTRACTFrom the beginning of the computer age in 1936, information and communication technology (ICT) has been a force for good. Business capacities were increased. Networks allowed the multinational enterprise to operate globally. The Internet improved scientific collaboration, fueled e-commerce, and connected seven billion persons around the world with Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC) and gaming. But there is a dark side to ICT. Employment is destroyed. Artificial intelligence (AI) is replacing humans in white collar jobs and being deployed in warfare. The “Dark Web” is facilitating criminal syndicates and terrorism. Privacy and individual autonomy has been lost forever. An accelerating cyber arms race threatens transportation, finance, electricity, and communication infrastructures. Further growth of ICT will not stop. We will see both good and bad consequences downstream.
Doc 707 : [Assistive communication devices improve life management].
The development of information technology has enabled communication for severely disabled persons who previously were isolated even from their immediate neighborhood. Applications of information technology, particularly the Internet, make contacts possible even when spoken communication is impossible. Successful communication will support the personal autonomy of a severely disabled person and also relieves the anxiety of the family members, especially at the final stage of a progressive disease. Thorough elucidation of the user’s needs and finding the most appropriate solution for communication and association is essential.
Doc 708 : Apps. Accessibility and Usability by People with Visual Disabilities.
The increasing use of ICT devices, such as smartphones and tablets, needs development of properly software or apps to facilitate socio-educative life of citizens in smart cities: Adaptive educational resources, leisure and entertainment facilities or mobile payment services, among others. Undoubtedly, all that is opening a new age with more information and autonomy for each individual, but the point is if these apps are accessible for the whole population. And when we talk about accessibility in an App, we are not only considering if the user is able to switch it on or unfold it main menu, we consider interface aspects that can present difficulties for some users. This study analyzes accessibility and usability of 15 Apps for people with visual dysfunction, because this difficulty has the greatest influence on the effective and efficient use of them. Data are collected through a descriptive scale made by a deductive-inductive process on four categories with a wide use of Apps. Social and specifically social-networking category is the largest consider accessibility on their apps, being highly demand by users and cost-effective for companies. Other categories are evaluated as completely inaccessible by users.
Doc 711 : OTHERING PROCESSES AMONG BRAZILIAN INTERACTANTS ON THE INTERNET
The article focuses on the process of othering as it is embodied in linguistic interactions among Brazilians on the Internet during the last decade, when socioeconomic mobility expanded the access and the adherence to practices involving digital technological resources by different social Brazilian groups. By othering, it means any linguistic-discursive action by which an individual or group is classified as “not one of us” (difference and strangeness). Considering that the construction of the Other is made up of social action; has an ideological component; and that an exercise of power is always present, the aim herewith is to show that othering processes in focused interactions instantiate overlaps, interceptions and tangencies between different space-temporal scales which constitute the contemporary Brazilian “reality”. Observational data from a research project carried out since 2005 about internet-mediated interactions among Brazilians will be used to illustrate the contentions put forth in this paper. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License .
Doc 723 : Constantly online and the fantasy of ‘work–life balance’: Reinterpreting work-connectivity as cynical practice and fetishism
ABSTRACTSmartphones and other mobile communication devices are promoted with promises of enhancing professional competence and individual freedom in working life, and in work–life balance. However, an emerging stream of research demonstrates that the adoption of such technologies is accompanied by increasing stress, collective control and work intensification. This article provides a discussion of recent research on the effects of smartphone usage in contemporary organizational life. Generally, this research presents a contradiction between, on the one hand, the discourse on technologies as a means to enhance individual autonomy and competence and, on the other hand, the de facto incorporation of technology users in networks of control and an unhealthy work culture of permanent connectivity. Finding inspiration in the work of Slavoj Žižek and his development of psychoanalytical concepts, this article offers an alternative approach to this issue. It does so by reconsidering how to understand employee subje…
Doc 725 : Cyber China: Upgrading Propaganda, Public Opinion Work and Social Management for the Twenty-First Century
The first two years of the Xi Jinping administration saw a thorough reconfiguration of Internet governance. This reconfiguration created a centralized and integrated institutional framework for information technologies, in support of an ambitious agenda to place digital technologies at the heart of propaganda, public opinion and social control work. Conversely, the autonomy and spontaneity of China’s online sphere was vastly reduced, as the leadership closed channels for public deliberation. This article reviews the institutional and regulatory changes that have taken place between 2012 and 2014, and analyses the methods and purposes of control they imply.
Doc 727 : Are all “research fields” equal? Rethinking practice for the use of data from crowdsourcing market places
New technologies like large-scale social media sites (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) and crowdsourcing services (e.g., Amazon Mechanical Turk, Crowdflower, Clickworker) are impacting social science research and providing many new and interesting avenues for research. The use of these new technologies for research has not been without challenges, and a recently published psychological study on Facebook has led to a widespread discussion of the ethics of conducting large-scale experiments online. Surprisingly little has been said about the ethics of conducting research using commercial crowdsourcing marketplaces. In this article, I focus on the question of which ethical questions are raised by data collection with crowdsourcing tools. I briefly draw on the implications of Internet research more generally, and then focus on the specific challenges that research with crowdsourcing tools faces. I identify fair pay and the related issue of respect for autonomy, as well as problems with the power dynamic between researcher and participant, which has implications for withdrawal without prejudice, as the major ethical challenges of crowdsourced data. Furthermore, I wish to draw attention to how we can develop a “best practice” for researchers using crowdsourcing tools.
Doc 729 : A SECURED SOA MODEL FOR DECENTRALIZED PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: APPLICATION ON FAIRGROUND COURT IN CAMEROON
During the last decade, the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has led the world into a new era of innovative technologies that can provide effective responses to human concerns. In developed countries, the profitability motivation has imposed Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) in enterprises as a better way to design information systems capable of taking into account inter-organizational cooperation mechanisms while preserving autonomy of the latter. Those Service-Oriented Architectures did not stop at the doors of public administrations. Thus, several specifications have been made to adapt them to the peculiarities of public governance. But these models are not always able to respond effectively to the concerns of governments in developing countries particularly when they are structurally and territorially decentralized. Therefore, we propose a more suitable model to this type of e-governance. We will later see how our model can be more suitable for the organization of remote and secured fairground courts in Cameroon to address constraints related to finance, time and security that these courts currently impose.
Doc 742 : Mapping Online Creation Communities for the Building of Digital Commons: Models of Infrastructure Governance of Collective Action and Its Effects on Participation Size and Complexity of Collaboration Achieved
Previous literature on democratic quality of political actors website and on the governance of online communities did not take attention to the role of infrastructure for collective action online.This paper presents an empirical analysis (based on 50 cases of online creation communities) on how infrastructure governance shape the community generated. First, the paper presents a mapping of online creation communities according to their infrastructure governance. The main axes of order in the infrastructure governance are open versus closes to community involvement in the provision organizing. Then, the other significant axes is knowledge policy which in term of infrastructure governance influences the level of freedom and autonomy of the collective action in regards to the infrastructure. According to these two axes five models of infrastructure governance resulted: corporate service, university network, representative foundations, mission oriented enterprises, and assamblearian selfprovision.Second, the research provides an empirical explanation of the governance models which are most likely to succeed in creating large-size collective action in terms of the dimensions of participation and complexity of collaboration.Infrastructure governance based on closeness to community involvement in the platform provision and for profit strategies generates bigger communities. Instead, open to community involvement and nonprofit generates smaller communities, even smaller if they are informal. Conditions which favor community freedom and autonomy generate smaller communities also, but interestingly, they resulted to be the conditions that increase collaboration among the participants.
IBM Internet of Things (IoT) research focuses on three components to address the multiple challenges of a scalable, secure and efficient IoT: Technology strategy, business and economic insights, and product and user experience design. By merging these three streams of research, IBM developed a tangible vision of the connected future and findings that can guide executives in making strategic IoT decisions and investments. As the IoT scales exponentially, decentralized networks have the potential to reduce infrastructure and maintenance costs to manufacturers. Decentralization also promise increased robustness by removing single points of failure that could exists in traditional centralized networks. By shifting the power in the network from the center to the edges, devices gain greater autonomy and can become points of transactions and economic value creation for owners and users.
Doc 752 : U.K. cybersecurity strategy and active cyber defence – issues and risks
ABSTRACTAmongst other issues, forthcoming cybersecurity policy and strategy will need to explain how the U.K. will use active cyber defence (ACD), a capability that has been highlighted in recent government discourse but about which few details are currently available to the public. This paper considers the implications of ACD from a cybersecurity and wider, national strategy perspective in the securitised environment prevailing in the U.K., wherein incidents in cyberspace are regarded as existential threats to the economy, society and national security. It examines risks and issues associated with: the circumstances in which active measures may be used; autonomy, decision-making and accountability; operationally related issues; the potential use of the private sector to perform functions critical to national security, including deployment of cyberweapons; and the hazards inherent in a developing ‘cyber-industrial complex’. It identifies unanswered questions, unresolved contentious issues and apparent par…
Doc 760 : Privacy, autonomy, and public policy: French and North American perspectives.
This article raises the question of whether in both the United States and in France, an individual’s autonomy and private decision-making right(s) in matters of health care and access to reproductive technologies can be conciliated with the general interest, and more specifically, the role of the State. Can a full-fledged right to privacy, the ability to exercise one’s autonomy, exist alongside the general interest, and depend neither on financial resources like in the United States nor on centralised government decisions or the medical hierarchy like in France? The contrast between these two modern democracies justify the importance of comparing them. I will demonstrate that overlaps do exist: the free exercise of religion and opinion, freedom of expression, the inherent value of each individual. What differs, however, are the institutions and how they provide, protect, promote, or frame access to and expressions of these democratic principles. The impact of the global economy, the exposure of people around the world to each other via the internet, and the mirror effects of social media, blogs, and other such forums, have created new perspectives that countries project onto one another. For example, does France now seem to tout ‘autonomy’ as a new and important value because it appears to be an ‘American success story’? Does the United States now seem to value human rights and a social-democratic approach because of the ‘French model’? There seems to be some truth behind these assertions, but as this article will demonstrate, the portrayals of what the ‘right to privacy’ is in the United States and what ‘socialised medicine’ is in France are not necessarily fully accurate.
Doc 761 : Law encoded: Towards a free speech policy model based on decentralized architectures
The free exchange of data between many interconnected nodes, in the absence of a central point of control, has been at the heart of the Internet’s architecture since its inception. For its engineering architects “if the Web was to be a universal resource, it had to grow in an unlimited way”, thus “its being ‘out of control’ was very important” (Berners-Lee and Fischetti, 1999). Yet, this simple deign choice has had a serious impact on conventional legal thinking. This paper highlights the importance of online decentralized architecture as the perfect substantiation of the autonomy rational underpinning the right to free speech.In doing so the paper analyses the core principles supporting the Internet’s architecture on their merit to the promote the user’s autonomy and self-realisation through speech. Following the free speech rationale for autonomy, it is observed how some simple engineering decisions for an open decentralised communicatory platform can build a user-centric ecology for speech. To validate this hypothesis two main architectural choices are examined as to the potential they hold for free speech: the principles of Modularity and End-to-End (E2E).The paper concludes that in terms of free speech, law and net architecture should be seen as complementing factors instead of opposite controlling deities. In this respect, Lessig’s mantra that “code is law” is paraphrased to read as “law encoded”, meaning that the law should strive to maintain the core architectural Internet values promoting human rights, and free speech in particular.
Doc 764 : African Traditional Religion and National Development in Nigeria
There is a general misconception that religion and development do not mix, and a strong belief that religion has a negative effect on development. Against this background, this paper showed that African traditional religion can aid national development in Nigeria. This it does through its traditional ethical principles based on the communal concern for the well-being of all, principles founded not on the ethics of individualism, human autonomy and selfishness, but on a common unity-centered. These traditional ethical principles, sanctions and eschatological beliefs regulated the behaviour, conduct, and actions of individuals in African society. Ethical principles, sanctions and eschatological concepts were the factors that kept individuals and government in check. The paper also x-rayed how African traditional religion can play a vital role in the national development of contemporary Nigerian society through its ethical principles and practices. This argued that the moral salvation of Nigerians lie in their immediate and conscious return to traditional socio-religious values and morals system which is the foundation for genuine conscience and national development. Keywords: African Traditional Religion; National development in Nigeria; Religious Ethics
Doc 766 : Using augmented reality and Internet of things to improve accessibility of people with motor disabilities in the context of smart cities
Abstract Smart Cities need to be designed to allow the inclusion of all kinds of citizens. For instance, motor disabled people like wheelchair users may have problems to interact with the city. Internet of Things (IoT) technologies provide the tools to include all citizens in the Smart City context. For example, wheelchair users may not be able to reach items placed beyond their arm’s length, limiting their independence in everyday activities like shopping, or visiting libraries. We have developed a system that enables wheelchair users to interact with items placed beyond their arm’s length, with the help of Augmented Reality (AR) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies. Our proposed system is an interactive AR application that runs on different interfaces, allowing the user to digitally interact with the physical items on the shelf, thanks to an updated inventory provided by an RFID system. The resulting experience is close to being able to browse a shelf, clicking on it and obtaining information about the items it contains, allowing wheelchair users to shop independently, and providing autonomy in their everyday activities. Fourteen wheelchair users with different degrees of impairment have participated in the study and development of the system. The evaluation results show promising results towards more independence of wheelchair users, providing an opportunity for equality improvement.
Doc 771 : Values, ethics and participatory policymaking in online communities
Drawing upon principles and lessons of technology law and policy, value-centered design, anticipatory design ethics, and information policy literatures this research seeks to contribute to understandings of the ways in which platform design, practice, and policymaking intersect on the social media site Reddit. This research explores how Reddit’s users, moderators, and administrators surface values (like free speech, privacy, dignity, and autonomy), hint at ethical principles (what content, speech, behavior ought to be restricted and under what conditions), through a continuous process of (re)negotiating expectations and norms around values, ethics, and power on the site. Central to this research are questions such as: Who or what influences and/or determines social practice on Reddit? Who participates in decision-making and using what processes and mechanisms? Where do controversies arise and how are they resolved? Generating findings from a particular controversy surrounding the subreddit /r/jailbait, the author illustrates the complexities inherent in these questions and suggests that a participatory policymaking approach might contribute to future research and practice in this area.
Doc 777 : Cyberethics: Morality and Law in Cyberspace
Cyberethics: Morality and Law in Cyberspace Richard Spinello. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2000. i65 pp. ISBN 0-7637-i269-8.Deregulation and the Internet’s expansion have brought with them decentralized control in communications and publishing. Individuals have gained extraordinary power in exercising free speech and, if they so choose, encrypting that speech to protect it. As this virtual space becomes a greater part of our lives, society is faced with readdressing the social issues of free speech, privacy, intellectual property, and security issues in the context of cyberspace.Cyberethics does not profess to have the answers. It presents issues as a starting point for discussion. There is a need to go beyond law, norms, market place, and software code to find answers for regulating behavior in this new medium called cyberspace. We must also consider the fundamental principles of ethics, principles with a universal quality that transcend space and time. We must be cautious in our decisions to ensure that we do not sacrifice justice and human rights for the sake of the majority. Regulating through external forces can be e∂ective to some degree, but there is greater value in having fixed ethical values as the constraining force, values that promote an atmosphere where individuals can pursue their own well-being, a place where they can flourish. With this premise in mind (the need for an ethical groundwork when addressing the social issues surrounding the Internet), Spinello’s work explores how the basic values of autonomy and privacy should be the core for those who would regulate cyberspace to ensure that decisions made will be fair and just.Utilitarian rights promulgated by Mill and Bentham; the contractual rights of Locke, Rousseau, and Rawls; the natural rights of Aquinas and Finnis; the pluralism of Kant: each philosophy contributes possibilities for approaches to an ethical backbone for cyberspace. From utilitarianism comes cost benefit analysis with its inherent flaw of possibly subverting human rights if it benefits a majority. Spinello uses the monitoring of corporate email as an example of weighing the benefit versus the cost for such behavior. In the contractual discussion, i.e., the implicit social contract between an individual and society, property and privacy rights are used to illustrate that although the premise is appealing, utilitarianism gives no guidelines for choosing one right over another when each is valued. Spamming is used to illustrate the complexity of this need to have guidelines for selection when one value interferes with another. Marketers consider mass e-mailings as a right under free speech, while the recipients take issue with invasion of privacy and misuse of valuable resources (employee time and computer storage). Natural rights look at the individual’s right to flourish, the right to truth in communication, the right not to be falsely accused, etc. Policies for cybercommunication should support this right to flourish. Introducing Kant’s concept of a universal principle into the discussion of online provision o∂ers a basis for fair service. Proposed services should be examined in light of whether expanding the service will be acceptable as a universal principle and not just expedient for the individual creating it. Are all treated with the respect that one would expect for oneself if the service is initiated? The flaw in this comes with its lack of flexibility for competing values. Using these guiding principles for cyberspace, we must first judge whether any policy imposed is partial, and second, whether it is fair and just, not for a majority, but for all.Spinello challenges the reader to give thought to best solutions for very di[double dagger]cult questions. …
Doc 779 : Electronic government and online tasks: Towards the autonomy and empowerment of senior citizens
The use of the Internet by the senior citizens in order to manage operations with the government and companies requires further study. The objective of this work is to take a close look at the reasons why older people make limited use of e-administration and online procedures. Using a qualitative methodology, based on four focus groups, we analyze the motivations and problems they find when using such procedures. The results indicate acceptance of electronic resources for simple and routine tasks due to the speed and convenience they offer, which simultaneously promotes the independence and empowerment of older people. However, there is a series of factors which have a negative effect on their use, and these must be dealt with in order to favor greater digital inclusion of this age demographic.
In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Bitcoin emerged as an alternative monetary system that could circumvent political and financial authorities. A practice in libertarian prefigurative politics, Bitcoin demonstrates the capacity for online subgroups to creatively appropriate internet-based technologies to enact alternative futures. Andrew Feenberg’s critical theory of technology clarifies this capacity and outlines the significance of agency in technical action. As technology mediates many social relations, it has a significant role in the reproduction of social power. Technological agency is therefore a crucial site of resistance in which users can form alternative, democratic rationalizations of technology. Yet are such instances of agency intrinsically democratic? In analysing this aspect of Feenberg’s theory, this article argues that Bitcoin represents a ‘popular rationalization’ of technology – a creative appropriation of technology that empowers some groups while lacking the ethical justification necessary to be considered democratic.
Doc 791 : Care respite: taking care of the caregivers
Introduction : With an ageing population, the issue of care provision is becoming increasingly critical. Since the aspiration of the majority of older people is to live safely and well at home, housing monitoring will be part of health & care integration in the next decades. As a consequence, a higher proportion of people will have to rely on family, friends or neighbours as their informal caregivers, providing that this group already count as around 80% of all caregivers in the EU). The varied and cumulative problems that this caregivers face include loss of personal opportunities and self-esteem, financial problems or physical and emotional problems. Several strategies need to be enforced to prevent the burnout and improve the quality of life of these informal caregivers, such as the possibility of providing them with useful and reliable monitoring tools that can help reduce the exhausting and continuous supervision activity they have to perform, reduce their stress, and increase their leisure time while improving the autonomy and wellness of the dependent people. The technological solutions currently in use are invasive (wearable sensors) or require actions difficult to perform by the elder (call or press the button), in critical situations (e.g. falling or fainting situations, where the elder is not able to give any response). As an alternative to these solutions, this paper describes Care Respite, a novel non-invasive, real-time and privacy-preserving monitoring technology conceived for the first time as a real respite for those taking care of others and describes the results of the case studies. Short description : The Care Respite technology is composed of an ambient intelligent device (AID) and a remote receiver. The AID device includes a Microsoft Kinect multi-modal sensor and a computer unit. The sensor captures audio and depth maps from around 25 m2 (thanks to its infrared structured light technology) to be processed in a computer unit by an advanced generation of Computer Vision software. This software is able to recognize specific events like: leaving the environment, falling/fainting, high agitation, etc. Monitoring can be done in dark environments thanks to the infrared technology of the sensor, therefore the appearance of the person is not used at all. The alert is transmitted to a receiver, any smartphone with Internet connection. With our smartphone application, different caregivers can share the monitoring task of a single person, and a single caregiver can monitor multiple dependent people at the same time. Key findings : The innovative aspect of Care Respite relies on (i) the benefits of the incorporation and exploitation of novel computer vision technologies now available thanks to the use of low-cost depth cameras, and (ii) on the feedback provided by informal and professional caregivers during these last two years. No other monitoring system in the market addressed to the caregivers is comparable in terms of safety, relief, autonomy, satisfaction, intimacy and cost reduction. The system does not require a fixed installation point, therefore the monitoring camera can be placed anywhere inside a home or a retirement house. Highlights : Low cost RGB-D cameras are completely changing the computer vision world, as they are being successfully used in several applications and research areas. Following this trend, the first users of Care Respite liked the idea of exploiting depth data (not the appearance) recorded at the older person’s homes to send alarms and information to their caregivers, who are connected using smartphone. An additional feature that liked the first users of Care Respite is its personalization aspect: the remote smartphone application allows the professionals or family carers to choose which risky events to monitor. Another lesson learnt during implementation is that the remote visualization and communication via image and audio is an essential and supporting tool for fast responses in case of risk, while improving the autonomy and life quality of both the elderly and their caregivers. Conclusion : This project aims at ensuring that all disabled or chronically ill people can get the help they need without overburdening their families. Improving carers’ quality of life and preventing their burnout require new solutions that are affordable and user friendly for families and caregivers. In this context, Care Respite represents a technological solution for the automatic detection of events like falling down, not moving during a period of time, receiving an unexpected visit or being absent from a room. The intelligent software is able to send an alert to the mobile device of the caregivers allowing real time response.
Doc 794 : PREVENTION OF DIGITAL VIOLENCE IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Rapid development of information technology makes life easier; however, negative aspects of its influence can be recognized as well. Using Internet provides series of opportunities for better communication, higher quality education and great fun but involves a lot of risk. Young people spend majority of their time using digital technologies, therefore becoming key actors in creating good or bad peer communication. The young/adolescents are also exposed to the highest level of risk on the net because they have high level of autonomy and independence, because Internet erases social brakes, gives them fake feeling of safety and power, allows users say and do things they couldn’t do in face-to-face communication. The young have the feeling they aren’t responsible for that kind of behavior in a way they would normally be responsible, they are sure that on the net they won’t be judged by their looks; relations on the net seem safer than real relations, there are nosocial boundaries; two lonely souls can communicate without being watched. Among the most mentioned risks are various forms of digital violence, from disturbing to most severe forms of violence, exposure to inappropriate content, exposure to political, economic and religious propaganda, disinformation, privacy threat, soliciting gambling and illegal activities. One way of protection on the net in order to prevent unwanted communication is to educate students, parents and teachers about the risks of digital technology and digital literacy.Parents consider that they are sufficiently informed about what their children do online, but think they need more information and education. The role of schools in preventing digital violence is very important because it is the place where children in an organized way spend most time during th e day. The educational mission of school is to promote social relationships with students, colleagues and parents, and educational task is to teach about the use of modern media and technology, with special emphasis on digital literacy. Therefore, the school and its employees have an extremely important role in the prevention of abuse of digital technology.
Doc 797 : Oversight of EU medical data transfers – an administrative law perspective on cross-border biomedical research administration
The notion of privacy has long had a central role in human rights law, not least in connection to health and medicine. International, regional and national bodies have enacted a number of binding and non-binding document for physicians and researchers to adhere to, in order to protect the autonomy, dignity and privacy of patients and research subjects. With the development of new technologies, the right to privacy has gained a new perspective; the right to protection of personal data within information and communication technologies. The right to data protection has been attributed an increasing importance within EU law. Accordingly, the use of health data in medical research in general and in biobank-related medical research in particular, has made data protection law highly relevant. In medical research involving biobanks, transferring human biological samples and/or individual health data is taking place on a daily basis. These transfers involve several oversight bodies, institutional review boards (IRBs), research ethics committees, or even data protection authorities. This article investigates the role of these national oversight bodies in the transfer of health data in cross-border research, from an EU law point of view. A special focus is laid on transfer of health data for research purposes from the EU to the US, in the light of the recently enacted EU-US Privacy Shield. The main question posed is how American oversight bodies for medical research can be expected to handle the increasingly strict EU requirements for the processing of health data in medical research review.
Doc 803 : Post-mortem privacy and informational self-determination
Post-mortem privacy is becoming a vital topic of public and scholarly legal concern. Post-mortem privacy is understood as the right of a person to preserve and control what becomes of his reputation and dignity after death. The assumption that the deceased does not qualify for privacy rights, because his bodily presence has been terminated, no longer holds in our networked society. In the digital age, the phenomenon of the digital legacy that an Internet user leaves behind after his demise, has led to new challenges for the legal system. The deceased is no longer in a position to exercise human autonomy as an active agent. The article reconsiders the notion of human autonomy with regard to these digital representations. Taking the point of view that the control over personal information (also known as informational self-determination) is essential in protecting one’s privacy in the antemortem life, the article explores whether this principle may have validity in the postmortem context. Legal philosophical arguments are advanced in a discourse about the quandary if digital personae of deceased persons can be bestowed with a legal basis of personality rights and concomitantly privacy rights. Therefore much attention is given to the problem of the subject, which does not seem to be functioning in the case of the absence of a living subject. Briefly referring to novel personae, it is argued that fundamental human rights need not be limited to the rights of living human beings.
Doc 806 : Evolution of Activities of Daily Living using Inertia Measurements: The Lunch and Dinner Activities
In the context of designing eHealth services for fragile people, we propose to monitor Activities of Daily Living (ADL) in order to anticipate the potential loss of autonomy by behaviour changes. Nowadays, the availability of non-stigmatising sensors such as inertial sensors embedded on Smartphones allows the estimation of people’s postures in real time in order to evaluate their autonomy in daily life. Our aim is to propose an unconstrained and non-intrusive method based on inertial sensors, which gives an indicator about a person’s autonomy. This method determines the correlation between people’s postures and activities over time in order to compute an index of ADL ( IndexADL ), specific to each person. The IndexADL variation over time is then a useful feature for positively or negatively evaluating people’s autonomy. Our experiment, based on data collection of eight elderly people over a 3-month period, analyses the Lunch and Dinner activities with promising performances.
Doc 811 : Freedom of racist speech: Ego and expressive threats.
Do claims of “free speech” provide cover for prejudice? We investigate whether this defense of racist or hate speech serves as a justification for prejudice. In a series of 8 studies (N = 1,624), we found that explicit racial prejudice is a reliable predictor of the “free speech defense” of racist expression. Participants endorsed free speech values for singing racists songs or posting racist comments on social media; people high in prejudice endorsed free speech more than people low in prejudice (meta-analytic r = .43). This endorsement was not principled-high levels of prejudice did not predict endorsement of free speech values when identical speech was directed at coworkers or the police. Participants low in explicit racial prejudice actively avoided endorsing free speech values in racialized conditions compared to nonracial conditions, but participants high in racial prejudice increased their endorsement of free speech values in racialized conditions. Three experiments failed to find evidence that defense of racist speech by the highly prejudiced was based in self-relevant or self-protective motives. Two experiments found evidence that the free speech argument protected participants’ own freedom to express their attitudes; the defense of other’s racist speech seems motivated more by threats to autonomy than threats to self-regard. These studies serve as an elaboration of the Justification-Suppression Model (Crandall & Eshleman, 2003) of prejudice expression. The justification of racist speech by endorsing fundamental political values can serve to buffer racial and hate speech from normative disapproval. (PsycINFO Database Record
Doc 816 : Early Latency and the Impact of the Digital World: Exploring the Effect of Technological Games on Evolving Ego Capacities, Superego Development, and Peer Relationships
ABSTRACTThis paper explores the potential effects of digital games on the early latency phase, a period marked by foundational cognitive, social, and self-regulatory developments as well as by a unique set of vulnerabilities. Although research in this area is relatively scarce, recent studies suggest that rising numbers of five- to eight-year-olds engage in the use of digital devices and that Internet games are increasingly targeted to younger audiences. Some theorists caution about the impact of violent imagery and unrealistic media-based depictions of people and relationships, whereas others propose that digital technologies offer new opportunities for autonomy, personal expression, and community with online peers. The following questions arise: as the boundary between real and virtual play grows porous, do digital games fall within the realm of make-believe play and serve the developmental functions of solitary and shared pretense? Might the highly stimulating, fast-paced, and immediately gratifying na…
Doc 821 : E-Government and Malaysia: A Theoretical Consideration
ABSTRACT : This paper does not try to paint a bleak picture of e-Government initiative in developing countries or Malaysia in particular. Nonetheless, such limitations, if any, must not be left unnoticed. Indisputably, notions of “success” and “failure” are indeed highly subjective issues. The outcome of something as difficult and complex to achieve as government reform, or higher levels of civic engagement by means of electronic medium, may not be sensed immediately. These agencies must also be ready to transform mindsets, systems, and processes even if this may decrease their autonomy. Boundaries, silos, and counters will have to be torn down and done away as clients move online. Communications with the government via e-mails and other electronic channels will be made a mere routine norm, delivered to the public clients any time of the day across any time zone and in any continent. The implementation of a fully connected Malaysian government also requires empowering the government workforce. Bureaucratic agencies must focus their interest to empowering employees by providing them the tools to perform and deliver their duties better and from any workspace. Therefore, there is an urgent need to make human capital planning a strategic element in the agencies’ initiatives. An effective and fully connected Malaysian e-Government initiative poses challenges on how they might devise policies to spur and inspire local innovation and on how they might integrate which technology to achieve their objectives to a greater degree. Key words: e-Government, Malaysian nation-state, Information and Communication Technology, bureaucratic reform, and effective management. About the Authors: Azizan H. Morshidi is a Lecturer at the Industrial Relations Program, School of Social Sciences UMS (Malaysia University of Sabah). Fazli Abd Hamid is a Senior Lecturer at the Industrial Relations Program, School of Social Sciences UMS (Malaysia University of Sabah). For academic purposes, they can be duly contacted at : azizanm@gmail.com and ag4477@msn.com How to cite this article? Morshidi, Azizan H. & Fazli Abd Hamid. (2010). “E-Government and Malaysia: A Theoretical Consideration” in SOSIOHUMANIKA: Jurnal Pendidikan Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan , Vol.3, No.2 [November], pp.305-324. Bandung, Indonesia: Minda Masagi Press, UNIPA Surabaya, and UMS Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, ISSN 1979-0112. Chronicle of article: Accepted (September 10, 2010); Revised (October 15, 2010); and Published (November 20, 2010).
Doc 827 : Sentido das mudanças: economia criativa e implicações sociais em Porto Alegre
Creative economy has been the subject of a recent and successful academic production of different specialties in different countries, recording social, political and cultural changes involved in it. This article addresses the sense of the changes, recognized in international experience, in our context, centrally inquiring about: what kind of social implications takes place due to the growth of activities in companies in the sectors of creative economy? It starts from the recognition that economic action finds itself immersed in a set of mechanisms of social mediation. Data were obtained on a purposeful sample of fourteen small enterprises belonging to this economy in the city of Porto Alegre, complementing with documentary sources. The study suggests that this type of business tends to be guided by the pursuit of novelty, complementarity of knowledge, professional autonomy and responsibility with the environment, within the limits of the social and institutional conditions in which they take part. Keywords: creative economy, Porto Alegre city, sociology of markets.
Doc 830 : The Covenant Conundrum: How Affirming an Eschatological Ecclesiology Could Help the Anglican Communion
This article argues that it is insufficient to ask merely whether proposed Anglican Covenant is confessional, contractual, conservative, centralizing, or punitive, themes currently to fore in debate. Instead, Communion must ask what quality of intra- and inter-ecclesial relationality is appropriate for Christian community and measure against it. An ecclesiology founded upon an anticipated eschatology, an approach familiar to Anglican theology and practice, provides a framework for this assessment. Five characteristics of eschatological ecclesiology and quality of relationality it promotes are advanced. Aided by Inter-Anglican Theological and Doctrinal Commission’s report Communion, Conflict and Hope and work of Bruce Kaye, it is shown that ecclesiological values of Windsor Report and its resultant are at odds with those that arise from an eschatological ecclesiology, providing an opening for Communion to resolve its covenant conundrum. Being a global family of autonomous churches, not a worldwide church itself, Anglican Communion does not have a central figure or body that makes decisions or promulgates doctrine for all Anglican churches. It is not hierarchical authority that unifies Anglican Communion, but of that derive from a shared history and identity and that grow from inter-ecclesial fellowship and partnerships, common life and witness, and Communion-wide gatherings, formal and informal, on multiple levels. Recent events in Communion stemming from fierce disagreements over role of same-gender sexuality in determining eligibility for ordination have greatly strained those bonds of affection, raising issues of provincial autonomy and interdependence, proper exercise of theological and ecclesia! authority, and appropriate levels of diversity within Communion. Central to each of these issues is question of relationship. The present crisis is fundamentally about how relational bonds of affection uniting churches of Anglican Communion are to be understood and lived. Perceiving this, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, convened Lambeth Commission on Communion in 2003 and charged it with reporting back to him on the canonical understandings of communion, impaired and broken communion, and ways in which provinces of Anglican Communion may relate to one another in situations where ecclesiastical authorities of one province feel unable to maintain fullness of communion with another part of Anglican Communion.1 The result was Windsor Report, and one of its key practical recommendations was development of an Anglican Communion that would outline Anglican identity and make explicit and forceful loyalty and bonds of affection which govern relationships between churches of Communion.2 Championed by Archbishop, a Communion- wide process was launched,3 producing a series of draft covenants and extensive debate about them in provincial and Communion bodies, parish and diocesan meetings, journal articles and books, and Anglican blogosphere. As a relational response to a relational crisis, it is not surprising that supporters and opponents of version of now before member churches of Communion for adoption tend to debate advisability of endorsing it in relational terms.4 Thematically, five broad questions with relational implications appear to dominate discourse around covenant: extent to which it is confessional, contractual, conservative, centralizing, and punitive. An honest appraisal reveals a degree of truth on both sides of each question: is and is not confessional, contractual, conservative, centralizing, and punitive. This ambivalence means that answering these extremely important questions cannot be decisive test for whether to adopt covenant. …
Doc 838 : Model Penguatan Kapasitas Pemerintah Desa dalam Menjalankan Fungsi Pemerintahan Berbasis Electronic Government (E-Government) menuju Pembangunan Desa Berdaya Saing
One aspect that needs to be studied more deeply about the village administration in the era of village autonomy is the ability of the human resources in the management of village government in accordance village governance objectives and the demands of, “Undang – undang no 06 Tahun 2014 about the village. The capacity of the village government deemed not qualified to run the authority possessed by law the village. Weak capacity of rural government impact on law implementation failure that led to the poor rural village development. This study examines these issues. This study used qualitative research methods. The unit of analysis of this research that the village government Landungsari Dau District of Malang, East Java. This study was conducted over three years (2016, 2017, 2018). The findings of the research during the last four months in the first year of the study is Landungsari village administration showed a good performance in governance at the village of village autonomy era (the era of the Village Law. The village government is able to carry out rural development planning, village administrative governance, and the financial management of the village properly. Nevertheless, the village government also faces serious problems is the lack of human resource capacity of the village administration, village very less quantity, and village officials do not understand the duties of each. To address these issues, the village government seeks to organize village governance based on information technology (e-government), but the effort has not worked well because the village government does not have a human resources professional in the field of information technology and the village government does not have enough budget to develop the e-government program. Therefore, the research team conducting FGD on the development of e-government program. FGD village government resulted in an agreement in cooperation with governmental science labs and e-government program APBDes budgeted in fiscal year 2017. Step next phase is the research team conducting FGD Phase II to design e-government as a means of governance villages effective and efficient, to disseminate the e-government, and publishes scientific articles on the model of governance based rural e-government in the Journal of Politics and Government Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta. Our advice as a researcher is a village government should make regulations governing Internet-based mechanism of public services (e-government). The regulation is to encourage villagers Landungsari to get used to using services based on the Internet, the district government of Malang should provide support to the village government to make innovations in governance, and the central government should support the village government to strengthen rural government institutions such as the addition of the village
Doc 840 : Crossing boundaries of state and religious power: Reproductive mobilities in Singapore
Singapore has one of the tightest regulations over assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) in Asia, a consequence of Singapore’s strong state, the priority it gives to reproduction, and the numerous religious groups in the country and their direct and indirect influence on the Bioethics Advisory Committee, which recommends ART regulations for the country. Together, these key actors give shape to the ‘local moral worlds’, which undergird ART governance in the country. Drawing on in-depth interviews and data from online forums, we illustrate Singaporean fertility seekers’ attempts to juggle myriad and sometimes confusing obligations to the state, society and religion in making reproductive choices. We then explore the limits and possibilities for fertility seekers to circumvent the restrictive rules and ‘moral safety valves’ set in place in their home country simply by stepping out to another jurisdiction across national borders. The paper goes on to show how the Internet communities serve as a bridgespace, propelling fertility mobilities by enabling Singaporeans to see creative possibilities in patchwork regulations. At the edges of state and religious power, fertility-seeking subjects take advantage of liminal spaces, grey areas, or permissive regimes to gain several degrees of freedom to practise adaptive fertility strategies that may be ‘unofficial’ but ‘licit’ or ‘socially acceptable’.
Doc 847 : The Internet of Automotive Things: vulnerabilities, risks and policy implications
ABSTRACTThe global automotive industry is undergoing rapid, multi-faceted change, brought about by the introduction of connectivity and the move towards autonomy. The benefits of these changes have to be balanced against the risks involved. In particular, the cybersecurity risks must be acknowledged. The UK is at the forefront of many of these changes, and the stated intention of the UK government is to continue to lead the way. This will require a sophisticated and intentional cyber posture. This article offers insight into the cyber policy issues surrounding the Internet of Automotive Things.
Doc 849 : IMPLEMENTASI KEBIJAKAN PEMBANGUNAN DAERAH PROVINSI BENGKULU BERDASARKAN ILMU PENGETAHUAN DAN TEKNOLOGI
To achieve national aspirations to protect the whole Indonesian and the entire country of Indonesia, promote the commonweal, and educate the nation, the unitary state of Indonesia is divided into small government that has freedom to run the regional autonomy, including in the development of science and technology. Unfortunately, the development of science and technology has not run optimally, as happened in Bengkulu province. This research was a qualitative descriptive study which wanted to see the agenda of Bengkulu’s Government in relation to regional policy framework for science and technology. Data were collected through interviews, observation and documentation. Data was analyzed by using qualitative data analysis Spradley models which was brought into line to the data analysis techniques in the research stage. The results showed that the regional development of science and technology policy for Bengkulu Province has two agenda namely science and technology to pave the backwardness and science and technology for prosperity. Those agendas were focused on the field of food security, energy, technology and transportation management, information and communication technology, security and defense technology, medical technology and medicine, and technology management of natural resources and the environment.Keywords: Autonomy, National Aspirations, Science And Technology Development, Indonesia
Doc 861 : Privacidade, ética e informação: uma reflexão filosófica sobre os dilemas no contexto das redes sociais
This article aims to reflect on the dilemmas of the right to privacy in the context of social networks regarding the experience of democracy in cyberspace, by problematizing the effectiveness of guaranteeing the protection of the privacy of Internet users, in the appreciation of the principles of freedom and autonomy in the Internet environment. It indicates the various national and international legislation that guarantee the citizens’ right to privacy and protection of personal data. It reviews the literature of informational ethics, associating this domain of knowledge with the concept of privacy and the context of social networks, discussing the construction of concepts that guide and are directly involved with the domains of informational ethics. Critically considers that the customization of content operated by digital companies, in exchange for the broad freedom of access to the personal data of its users, threatens the principles of autonomy and freedom in cyberspace. It notices that the investigation of personal data is also done among individuals themselves, as a reflection of the current culture of transparency. Highlights of the need for ethical and legal protection of the digital data of Internet users, aiming at the autonomous safeguarding of their digital identity.
Doc 862 : Participation and Autonomy for Users with ABI Through Easy Social Media Access.
The Mediata app is a mobile application providing easy access to internet and social media for persons with acquired brain injury. This paper presents design, working hypotheses and expected results of a participative user experience study to evaluate the impact of the Mediata application on participation and autonomy of users with acquired brain injury.
Doc 873 : A mulher bioquímica: invenções do feminino a partir de discursos sobre a pílula anticoncepcional
The contraceptive pill, the most used reversible contraceptive in Brazil, becomes, in the media, motivation for the production of discourses about women. If its invention allowed the dissociation between sexual practice and motherhood, the drug is currently considered harmful in some contexts. From the theoretical perspective of genealogy, we analyze which inventions of the feminine are possible base on the discourses on the pill today. As methodology, we used the analysis of the discourse of reports of Veja magazine and of posts from non-hormonal contraception groups on the social network siteFacebook. The results show that, in the reports, the drug appears as the motor of emancipation of the woman; while in the groups new activisms raise the flag of body without pill as a political action for the conquest of freedom. We conclude that, in the regime of contemporary knowledge-power, the rescue of the natural female body reconfigures itself as a device of freedom against the control of medicalization.
Doc 877 : Universal Broadband: Option, Right or Obligation?
Efforts to encourage universal access to information and communication technologies have run into the problem that some individuals, for reasons of affordability, lack of awareness or preference, continue to be without subscriptions. This article examines the arguments commonly put forward in support of promoting broadband access, to determine whether they can justify universalizing access. It examines the ethical limits of government actions that encourage, enforce or coerce participation in socially beneficial programmes, while potentially overlooking consumer sovereignty and human autonomy. The conclusions address how policymakers can encourage universal access to broadband, while respecting the rights of citizens.
Doc 878 : Freedom and the Internet: empowering citizens and addressing the transparency gap in search engines
This work contemplates the limits and possibilities of exercising the right to freedom through the use of the Internet. Freedom can be defined as the preservation of the right of autonomy in the daily life of citizens or members of social and political organisations, whilst respecting the utilisation of this right, by oneself, or by one or more persons or citizens. A number of strengths and weaknesses are identified in this regard. The paper examines the way in which search engines like Google exemplify restrictions on freedom: they are enhanced by the use of technical resources that are aimed at the most efficient exploitation of the information available on the Internet; the resources are not utilised to reinforce the rights of the users. Finally, it is argued that the limits imposed on freedom can be overcome with the aid of technical tools such as thesauri that can produce a positive relationship between freedom and Internet. Keywords: freedom; autonomy; rights; the Internet; open data; search engines; thesaurus
Doc 883 : The Test We Can””and Should””Run on Facebook
In 1959, the sociologist Edward Shils wrote an influential essay called “Social Inquiry and The Autonomy of the Individual.” He discussed the nature of studying humans with new techniques—which, for him, included concealed cameras, microphones, and forms of “chemical and psychological manipulation.” These could be powerful tools, but they came at a great cost: There is no doubt that some social scientists, with their zeal for novelty, will be attracted by the possibilities offered by these means of manipulating the external and internal lives of other persons. It is all the more necessary therefore, that the leading persons in these fields should declare themselves as strenuously and decisively opposed to such tampering with human autonomy. Shils expresses many of the anxieties and conundrums we’ve heard this week about massive human studies on networked platforms.
Doc 884 : THE IMPORTANCE OF AUTONOMY AND RESOURCES FOR SUPPORTING THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY
Normal 0 21 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 In the public sector the running of administration process at the level of administrative-territorial units has always sought and today too aims to ensure the management efficiency of public affairs in the service of the local community. From such a direction, in the space of this article we intend to analyze the significance of the local autonomy and its manifestation in local public resources plan to highlight their importance for the efficiency of public administration in territorial-administrative units. The approach carried out in the pages of this paper showed that the local autonomy, understood as democracy at local level, on the one hand, and the financial, human, material and information resources, on the other hand, are of paramount importance for the good functioning of the local administrative mechanism. Without these resources the autonomy can not fully manifest, the local public administrative authorities being unable to fulfill their responsibilities, situation that endangers the functioning of local administrative system as a whole and that, finally, generates the inefficiency of the administration process from administrative-territorial units. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:Table Normal; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
Doc 886 : Using Smartphones to Assist People with Down Syndrome in Their Labour Training and Integration: A Case Study
This article describes a proposal and case study based on mobile phones and QR Codes to assist individuals with cognitive disabilities in their labour training and integration. This proposal, named AssisT-Task, is a full functional mobile application for Android smartphones and offers step-by-step guidance, establishing a learning method through task sequencing. It has been tested with a group of 10 users and 2 types of labour tasks. Through 7 recorded sessions, we compared the performance and the learning progress with the tool against the traditional assisting method, based on paper instructions. The results show that people with cognitive disabilities learnt and performed better and faster when using AssisT-Task than the traditional method, particularly on tasks that require cognitive effort rather than manual skills. This learning has proved to be essential to obtain an adequate degree of personal autonomy for people with cognitive impairment.
Science – research transformation of the Internet of Things (IoT) has a number of colours and shadows, many dimensions including technical, social, community, financial, economic and civilization. This transformation has many wide development roads but also numerable pitfalls and traps. It does not take place solely at the level of scientific and technical progress and innovation. It preliminarily takes place in a complex socio-political-economic context, narrowed for simplification as social acceptance and education only. Such acceptance, for example expressed simply by demand and market popularity, for simple items supplemented by useful functions, such as an iron that recognizes the type of fabric and matches its work accordingly, a completely autonomous vacuum cleaner, etc., is trivial. We aim at much deeper relations of IoT with society. If IoT were only adding such functionalities, it would not be worth the time to consider it here. IoT causes a lot of confusion for much more important reasons in many areas of life. Somewhere further on the potential paths of IoT development, it has been noted with interest, but also with anxiety, the possibility of its empowerment as local but also global, superintendent surveillance system, gathering enormous amounts of information, creating knowledge and making autonomous decisions. Potential subjectivity must include such attributes as acquiting from the creator, autonomy, consciousness, morality and further building by the society the whole legal system around the new entity. It will not be a single entity, it will be a whole virtual society, with electronic people. The consequences can be far-reaching and appear as an inevitable option on such a scale for the first time in the history of our human society. Overcoming certain barriers recognized by us may mean that the intelligence and consciousness are not only attributes of the human biological mind. Such reasoning, not without a reason, encounters strong resistance. However, there is a fundamental difference between the opposition to some genetic research and the potential modification of man himself, and the opposition to machine building, a system of superintendence that far exceeds the possibilities of a single man and of entire societies.
Doc 900 : Repenser le temps et l’espace, du wampum au selfie
This article considers the way certain Indigenous artists are reviving conceptions of territory and history that are anchored in secular epistemologies and the construction of knowledge. Such conceptions provide a way for these artists to respond to colonial appropriation, reactivate interrupted dialogues, engender new forms of territorialization, and create places of commemoration and memory preservation. Similar to the historiographical deconstruction performed by thinkers and activists such as Vine Deloria Jr. and Taiaiake Alfred, these artists’ works offer a model of autonomy and environmental balance. While some are reviving mnemonic practices, such as the making of wampum, which traditionally preserve memories of alliances and conflicts, others have embraced Internet and selfie technologies as a means of creating new spaces for speech and recognition.
Doc 901 : Ethical and Regulatory Considerations on Biobanking in the Republic of Korea
Korean biobanks are now adapting to integrate the new paradigm of precision medicine into their fundamental role of promoting health technology. Since the enactment of Bioethics and Safety Act in 2004, the Republic of Korea has developed a regulatory framework that reflects ethical principles. However, the existing regulation of biobanks has recently proven to be limited in responding to newer ethical and legal issues that have arisen. First, as there is an emerging trend for human biospecimens to be stored, managed and distributed as digitalized data, the current role of the Distributive Review Committee may become less important compared to the Data Access Committee. Second, even if public health data is anonymized, the risk of identifiability is growing. This makes a third point relevant, informed consent is crucial to respect the autonomy of patients and research subjects, but current consent rules need to change to reflect the interactive and dynamic communication process, in which information and communication technology (ICT) plays an increasingly prominent role. Fourth, even though data sharing for research is expected to be altruistic and the sale of human biospecimens and genome data remains prohibited, data sharing practices have become more complicated and are closer to commercial use and commercialization. Given these challenges, there is a pressing need for continuing and deeper deliberation in order to develop a more comprehensive and responsive governance framework.
Doc 902 : PENERAPAN LAYANAN E-GOVERNMENT DALAM PERWUJUDAN GOOD GOVERNANCE DI PEMERINTAH KOTA MALANG
Implementation of E-Government in Indonesia and that has been achieved to date, the implementation strategy and E-Government concepts that inevitably require improvements on all sides. The delay in E-Government in development will only make this country away from the ideals of reform, improve the quality of public services to the whole society and ultimately can offend the welfare of society. Implementation of information and communication technology in government and development has become a demand, sooner or later in the era of globalization and regional autonomy that has led to a spirit of openness and empowerment of community potential, the emergence of public expectations of community needs. excellent service and speed Implementation of E-Government in Indonesia, especially in Malang City and the results that have been achieved to date and obstacles that hinder the implementation so that inevitably implementation strategy and E-Government concepts need improvement on all sides should be done as a motivation to build better. The E-Government’s delay in development will only keep the country away from reform ideas, improve the quality of public services to the rest of society and ultimately improve welfare.
Doc 910 : Liberdade e anonimato no contexto da cibercultura
The development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has facilitated the emergence of Cyberculture. With it, the debate about the dissolution of the border between the public and the private approached the concepts of anonymity and privacy. This article attempts to evaluate under what conditions it is possible (or not) to accept this approach and to consider anonymity as a(n) (i)legitimate practice in the field of social relations mediated by ICTs. Developed from a bibliographical review, the work was structured in two parts. The first, part deals with the concept of freedom as an expression of individual autonomy and addresses the question of the name as a constituent element of existence in society. The second, part explores the concept of cyberculture and the various manifestations and motivations related to anonymity.
Doc 915 : Fundações partidárias e processos de politização no Brasil: domínio de atuação, amálgamas e ambivalências
The article analyzes the space of party foundations in Brazil. This field of action is perceived as a vehicle and a reflection of processes of politicization.The work is based on two axis: 1) the (structural and sociographic) configuration of these party sectors and its relative autonomy or dependence according to the party organizations; 2) the possible intersections between political logic and domain and intellectuals from the exploitation of this specific area. It presents data on the creation and the creation chronology of party foundations, its organizational structure (websites, offices, sectors, tasks/roles divisions; requirements of various experts, products such as books, magazines, courses, incomes; etc.) from information available on the internet as well as the social, political and cultural profiles of its presidents and former presidents. It was also examined the case of the Perseu Abramo Foundation of the Workers Party.
Doc 918 : Review: Local Government in England: Centralisation, Autonomy and Control by Colin Corpus, Mark Roberts, Rachel Wall
Local Government in England: Centralisation, Autonomy and Control is a serious book and an important contribution to the scholarship around local government. It opens however, with a pleasingly comic tableau as academics from England, Portugal and Poland bicker amiably at a conference and on Twitter about whose country is really the most centralised. The rest of the book is devoted to showing why the English academics were right, why it matters and what should be done about it.
The main thrust of the text is an analysis of the impact of the dominant policy narratives around centralism and localism. The argument that Copus, Wall and Roberts put forward could be boiled down to the assertion that the problem with local government in England is that it is neither local nor government. But to make this case they first helpfully unpack several sets of concepts that are all too often elided together.
Doc 919 : THE INTERNET: INSTRUMENT OF SOCIALIZATION AND PROMOTION OF THE DECISIONAL AUTONOMY
This article aims to inquire if the internet can serve as mean of socialization, through the promotion of the individuals’ decisional autonomy, despite much talking about its influence in the social isolation. It has as problem the questioning about if the internet can serve as instrument of socialization and as a way of promoting the decisional autonomy of individuals, its users. To reach the purpose, it was done a bibliographical exploratory-explanatory search, qualitative, using the deductive method. As a search result, in summary, it has that, therefore in certain and specific situations, surely, the internet can favor the social isolation, since used according with the dictates recommended by common sense, with parsimony and respecting the limits of legality, can favor the socialization of individuals, and promote the improvement of their decisional autonomy. Concluding, therefore, that, the positive consequences related to the use of internet are really important, even in relation to the aspect of sociability and autonomous development. Keywords: Internet; Decisional Autonomy; Socialization; Social Isolation.
Moral critiques of computational algorithms seem divided between two paradigms. One seeks to demonstrate how an opaque and unruly algorithmic power violates moral values and harms users’ autonomy; the other underlines the systematicity of such power, deflating concerns about opacity and unruliness. While the second paradigm makes it possible to think of end users of algorithmic systems as moral agents, the consequences of this possibility remain unexplored. This article proposes one way of tackling this problem. Employing Michel Foucault’s version of virtue ethics, I examine how perceptions of Facebook’s normative regulation of visibility have transformed non-expert end users’ ethical selves (i.e., their character) in the current political crisis in Brazil. The article builds on this analysis to advance algorithmic ethical subjectivation as a concept to make sense of these processes of ethical becoming. I define them as plural (encompassing various types of actions and values, and resulting in no determinate subject), contextual (demanding not only sociomaterial but also epistemological and ethical conditions), and potentially harmful (eventually structuring harms that are not externally inflicted by algorithms, but by users, upon themselves and others, in response to how they perceive the normativity of algorithmic decisions). By researching which model(s) of ethical subjectivation specific algorithmic social platforms instantiate, critical scholars might be able to better understand the normative consequences of these platforms’ power.
Doc 925 : Mobile Love in China: The Cultural Meaning and Social Implications of Mobile Communications in Romantic Relationships among Young Chinese Adults
The current study takes a qualitative approach to examining the unique use of mobile communications in romantic relationships among young Chinese adults, a research field few scholars have evinced interest in at this point in time (Lim & Soriano, 2016: p. 4). The overarching question “What is the ‘Chinese-ness’ of the mobile phone user culture of young romantic couples regarding perpetual contact, boundary maintenance, and the connectedness-autonomy tension?” was answered by 15 semi-structured individual interviews. The findings suggest that 1) WeChat messaging was the most prominent mobile media platform used by the respondents to stay in “perpetual contact”, i.e., defined as a continuous conversation through frequent short messages between individuals not physically in the same location (Katz & Aakhus, 2002: p. 2). The interviewees wished to protect their relationship a couple by not disclosing too much or by preventing others from prying too far into it. 3) Respondents resolved the tension between the needs to connect with each other and to remain independent individuals by adopting the former approach. Respondents frequently practiced perpetual contact, supporting the Apparatgeist theory, which views mobile phones as mystical devices that allow constant communication with unseen others, combined with the collective construction of meaning (Katz & Aakhus, 2002). This current study further discusses relevant theoretical and social implications.
Doc 927 : Design and construction of a quantitative model for the management of technology transfer at the Mexican ele-mentary school system
Nowadays, schools in Mexico have financial autonomy to invest in infrastructure, although they must adjust their spending to national education projects. This represents a challenge, since it is complex to predict the effectiveness that an ICT (Information and Communication Technology) project will have in certain areas of the country that do not even have the necessary infrastructure to start up. To address this problem, it is important to provide schools with a System for Technological Management (STM), that allows them to identify, select, acquire, adopt and assimilate technologies. In this paper, the implementation of a quantitative model applied to a STM is presented. The quantitative model employs parameters of schools, regarding basic infrastructure such as essential services, computer devices, and connectivity, among others. The results of the proposed system are presented, where from the 5 possible points for the correct transfer, only 3.07 are obtained, where the highest is close to 0.88 with the availability of electric energy and the lowest is with the internet connectivity and availability with a 0.36 and 0.39 respectively which can strongly condition the success of the program.
Doc 934 : Medicine, market and communication: ethical considerations in regard to persuasive communication in direct-to-consumer genetic testing services
Commercial genetic testing offered over the internet, known as direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC GT), currently is under ethical attack. A common critique aims at the limited validation of the tests as well as the risk of psycho-social stress or adaption of incorrect behavior by users triggered by misleading health information. Here, we examine in detail the specific role of advertising communication of DTC GT companies from a medical ethical perspective. Our argumentative analysis departs from the starting point that DTC GT operates at the intersection of two different contexts: medicine on the one hand and the market on the other. Both fields differ strongly with regard to their standards of communication practices and the underlying normative assumptions regarding autonomy and responsibility. Following a short review of the ethical contexts of medical and commercial communication, we provide case examples for persuasive messages of DTC GT websites and briefly analyze their design with a multi-modal approach to illustrate some of their problematic implications. We observe three main aspects in DTC GT advertising communication: (1) the use of material suggesting medical professional legitimacy as a trust-establishing tool, (2) the suggestion of empowerment as a benefit of using DTC GT services and (3) the narrative of responsibility as a persuasive appeal to a moral self-conception. While strengthening and respecting the autonomy of a patient is the focus in medical communication, specifically genetic counselling, persuasive communication is the normal mode in marketing of consumer goods, presuming an autonomous, rational, independent consumer. This creates tension in the context of DTC GT regarding the expectation and normative assessment of communication strategies. Our analysis can even the ground for a better understanding of ethical problems associated with intersections of medical and commercial communication and point to perspectives of analysis of DTC GT advertising.
Doc 936 : Digital economy: backgrounds, main drivers and new challenges
The industry development over the last hundred years has had a huge impact on the development of technological infrastructure and life change. Three main components of this development are related to personalization: a car as a personal vehicle and greater personal freedom; a personal computer as a means of intellectual autonomy; a personal phone as a means of freedom of communication and access to information. These three development factors significantly changed the employee psychology and created the conditions for diffusion of qualitatively new, synthesized (cyber-physical) technologies that became the basis of the Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things – two main working concepts of industrial and infrastructural development for the next 20 years. The conventional or classical industrial systems that are dominant to the present day have mainly been based on the principles of human muscle energy replacement, but the technological changes of our days raise the question of the substantial scale of displacement of the living manpower both in production and in management and services. The process of technological and industrial transformation that has already begun will inevitably lead to the transformation of social and economic systems, and here the key problem will not only be the provision of a new quality of economic growth, but also the solution of the employment problem interfacing a new technological platform, the information and social infrastructure of society.
Doc 937 : “Strongly Recommended” Revisiting Decisional Privacy to Judge Hypernudging in Self-Tracking Technologies
This paper explores and rehabilitates the value of decisional privacy as a conceptual tool, complementary to informational privacy, for critiquing personalized choice architectures employed by self-tracking technologies. Self-tracking technologies are promoted and used as a means to self-improvement. Based on large aggregates of personal data and the data of other users, self-tracking technologies offer personalized feedback that nudges the user into behavioral change. The real-time personalization of choice architectures requires continuous surveillance and is a very powerful technology, recently coined as “hypernudging.” While users celebrate the increased personalization of their coaching devices, “hypernudging” technologies raise concerns about manipulation. This paper addresses that intuition by claiming that decisional privacy is at stake. It thus counters the trend to solely focus on informational privacy when evaluating information and communication technologies. It proposes that decisional privacy and informational privacy are often part of a mutually reinforcing dynamic. Hypernudging is used as a key example to illustrate that the two dimensions should not be treated separately. Hypernudging self-tracking technologies compromise autonomy because they violate informational and decisional privacy. In order to effectively judge whether technologies that use hypernudges empower users, we need both privacy dimensions as conceptual tools.
Doc 943 : Toward an Ethics of AI Assistants: an Initial Framework
Personal AI assistants are now nearly ubiquitous. Every leading smartphone operating system comes with a personal AI assistant that promises to help you with basic cognitive tasks: searching, planning, messaging, scheduling and so on. Usage of such devices is effectively a form of algorithmic outsourcing: getting a smart algorithm to do something on your behalf. Many have expressed concerns about this algorithmic outsourcing. They claim that it is dehumanising, leads to cognitive degeneration, and robs us of our freedom and autonomy. Some people have a more subtle view, arguing that it is problematic in those cases where its use may degrade important interpersonal virtues. In this article, I assess these objections to the use of AI assistants. I will argue that the ethics of their use is complex. There are no quick fixes or knockdown objections to the practice, but there are some legitimate concerns. By carefully analysing and evaluating the objections that have been lodged to date, we can begin to articulate an ethics of personal AI use that navigates those concerns. In the process, we can locate some paradoxes in our thinking about outsourcing and technological dependence, and we can think more clearly about what it means to live a good life in the age of smart machines.
Doc 949 : Escaping the Interpersonal Power Game: Online Shopping in China
The increasing popularity of online shopping is now a global phenomenon, and China has become the largest internet market in the world. The reasons behind this preference for online shopping are examined in this study through 63 in-depth interviews and five years of virtual ethnography of a major online shopping website— Taobao.com —in China. Chinese customers prefer Taobao not only because of price and convenience, but also because they enjoy the interactional process, during which they obtain more information, feel less pressured to put on a status performance in comparison to physical stores, and pay less affective labor. Chinese customers tend to believe that interaction with sales clerks in physical shops is a burden, and try to avoid this form of contact. This is related to the fact that consensus on status hierarchy is still yet to be established in a society that is undergoing rapid transition. Consequently, online shopping entails social interaction that attributes more power, autonomy and freedom to customers than otherwise possible in brick-and-mortar shopping. This study shows how both the online interactional environments afforded by technology and the broader social contexts (the service quality and related aspects of status competition among different social groups in contemporary China) affect interpersonal interaction.
Doc 951 : The adapt European project: The transdisciplinary development of assistive technology for the benefit of the disabled people
Ageing societies and the increase in chronic disabilities are irrevocable trends in the EU which usually result in a loss of autonomy and increased social isolation. Many people with complex disabilities face increased isolation due to loss of independent mobility because of difficulties of meeting the criteria for the provision of an Electric Powered Wheelchair (EPW) and the availability of an appropriate EPW. Several studies highlight the key role of innovative Assistive Technologies and smart EPW as effective tools to empower disabled people and improve social inclusion. Nevertheless, standardization, interoperability, limited involvement of users, lack of specialist training for health professionals and funding models are which impede the uptake of such innovations. Within this framework, a transdisciplinary consortium of French and English partners formed the 4 year ADAPT project, starting in May 2017. The aim of ADAPT is to overcome the barriers to the uptake of assistive technology. The ADAPT project aims to: - Develop two technologically mature innovative assistive technologies: * A smart EPW with driving assistance to compensate for user disabilities, to monitor and report changes users’ health through the internet. * A Virtual Reality EPW simulator platform. This will give the user an immersive experience of the smart EPW and train them to drive in everyday life. Professionals will assess the suitability of the EPW for particular patients and environments and gain understanding from the user perspective. - Develop training programs for healthcare professionals about innovative assistive technologies. - Formalize agreements between research institutions and companies ranging from local to international meetings, so as to boost R&D and facilitate the uptake of the ADAPT’s results by the market. This presentation will provide an opportunity to share an overview of the ADAPT project: context, objectives and results.
Doc 952 : Rusa in Higher Education in West Bengal- A Study
Sushovan Koner Saswati Mishra
The last decade has witnessed that education sector has dominated economic planning in all over developing countries of the world. During this time, the countries transformed from developing to advanced economies due to strategic planning and a larger vision that correlated economic development to transformation in the education sector, in particular Higher Education and Research, to become globally competitive. Despite many new National Missions/Programs and reforms agenda, by both the central and state governments with private sector intervention, the higher education sector is in a state of complete flux in India. While we have tremendously enhanced capacity, we lag in quality, given inadequate autonomy to our Universities. Centralized control and a standardized approach remains at the heart of regulations (FICCI, 2013). This paper, newly explains about the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)/National Higher Education Mission, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for reforming the State Higher Education System in India. The end part of the title also portrays the economic impact of the scheme on the current Higher Education System of WEST BENGAL in the Eastern States of India.
Doc 956 : Towards a framework for ICT-based entrepreneurship development through business incubation processes: case study of a techno park
Information and communication technologies have emerged as valuable business tools for entrepreneurs. This research is aimed towards providing a framework for the development of entrepreneurship based on ICT with a particular focus on Indonesia as a developing country by exploring business incubation processes in a techno park. The research used a qualitative method. The data are gathered through in-depth interviews based on a purposive sampling by including actors who have been involved in business incubations in a techno park in Indonesia. The results show that the techno park may have generally had limitations, including its process, tools, a low efficiency and a lack of financial autonomy. Still, the incubation process has been proven to have a role in increasing the work performance of start-ups, market expansion, and improving accessibility to funding sources. This research offers theoretical and empirical implications towards the development of business incubation processes in entrepreneurship activity.
Doc 957 : Apps and Autonomy: Perceived Interactivity and Autonomous Regulation in mHealth Applications
Thousands of smartphone apps geared toward monitoring health behaviors are released regularly. Even as developers flood the market with mHealth apps, consumers seem overwhelmed with choices and rep…
Doc 958 : SWOT ANALYSIS AND TOWS MATRIX E-GOVERNMENT ON TANA TIDUNG CITY OF KALIMANTAN UTARA
ABSTRAct Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can improve the speed of information delivery, efficiency, global reach and transparency. One of the efforts to realize good corporate governance (GCG) governance in the era of regional autonomy is to use information and communication technology or popularly called e-Government. The implementation of e-Government the need for master plan information technology as a guide in the integration of information technology in Local Government, e-Government implementation is expected to help improve interaction between government, community and business, so as to encourage political and economic development. In this paper presents the determination of e-Government policy strategy using SWOT analysis method which is considered capable to analyze the relationship or interaction between internal elements, namely strengths and weaknesses, as well as against the external elements of opportunities and threats. Keywords: ICT, SWOT, e-Government.
Doc 970 : Regulating Disruption: Blockchain, GDPR, and Questions of Data Sovereignty
The article discusses the nature of law in cyberspace. Topics discussed include distinction between regulation as infringement of private autonomy and regulation as a collaborative enterprise; blockchain regulatory conundrum; and neoliberal market-complementing regulation. Also being discussed is the regulation for economic efficiency and consumer choice.
Doc 971 : Transatlantic security relations since the European security strategy: what role for the EU in its pursuit of strategic autonomy?
Transatlantic security cooperation entered a new era after the 9/11 attacks in America, the launch of EU crisis management/security assistance operations, and the release of the European Security Strategy (ESS) in 2003. Since then, years of practical experience have inspired the EU to enhance its ambitions in this realm by developing a Cybersecurity Strategy, a Maritime Security Strategy, and most recently, the 2016 EU Global Strategy (EUGS). As these efforts respect NATO’s primary role in European defence, there is more scope for practical EU-US collaboration regarding crisis management and security assistance operations. However, although there have been some clear successes here, the EU is also increasingly willing to forge its own path in this realm and possibly diverge with US priorities. This article evaluates the recent record of, and prospects for, EU-US security collaboration regarding various problems mentioned as strategic priorities in the ESS, EUGS, and related documents
Doc 973 : Tracking human routines towards adaptive monitoring: the MOVIDA.domus platform
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2018.10.007 Gonçalo Gordalina João Figueiredo Ricardo Martinho Rui Rijo Pedro Correia Pedro Assuncao Alexandra Seco Gabriel Pires Luis M. L. Oliveira Rui Fonseca-Pinto
Abstract According to estimates by the World Health Organization, the average life expectancy will continue to rise. This indicator, being a measure of success in terms of healthcare, is not synonymous with quality of life and will increase healthcare costs. Associated with this problem are also the changes in terms of the organization of society, which has not been able to solve these constraints of functional limitations, dementia, social isolation, and loneliness. This paper presents the concept of adaptive surveillance based on mobile technology and artificial intelligence, presented in the context of a global physical activity monitoring program (MOVIDA), in his domus dimension designed to the elderly people with some functional limitation or dementia. The proposed solution for an adaptive surveillance is thus to conduct direct supervision programs, to enroll persons who live alone or in nursing homes who need supervision without limiting their individual autonomy. The preliminary results show that it is possible to use the data obtained from a mobile smartphone to identify routines and use this information to identify daily patterns. Changes to these routine patterns can be used to generate alarms for caregivers.
Doc 974 : Sou o que eu Consumo? Smartphones e o Self Estendido a Luz de Paradoxos Tecnológicos
Purpose: Investigate the involvement of users with respect to the possession of smartphone and check whether it represents an extension of the self of its user. We also sought to identify the paradoxical perceptions regarding this mobile technology. Method: The research was based on a qualitative methodology, with the conducting in-depth interviews with 12 users, using the technique of content analysis. Results: It was verified that certain smartphone users have strong emotional attachment to your device, considering it as an extension of your own identity. Were also highlighted four technological paradoxes in the behavior of use: Dependency x independence, Observed by discomfort in the absence of the appliance and at the same time the mobility that the smartphone delivers bringing greater independence; Autonomy x addiction; Satisfaction x Creation of needs; New x obsolete. Theoretical contributions: This research opens lines of research covering aspects linked to areas of consumer behavior and information systems regarding the use of smartphones. Originality / relevance: Due to the fact of the smartphones being considered a recent technology, the relationship about self extended on the use of the smartphone still was slightly raised, both in national and international literature. This research is based on an integrated vision of consumer behavior, psychology and information systems. The propositions of this study assume that the Blackberry smartphone can be considered an extension of the identity of the user, due to the degree of involvement between both and, as a result of this involvement, can emerge paradoxes technology, i.e., the opposing perceptions about the use of the smartphone.
Swaths of personal and nonpersonal information collected online about Internet users are increasingly being used in sophisticated ways for online political manipulation. This represents a new trend in the exploitation of data, where instead of pursuing direct financial gain based on the face value of the data, actors engage in data analytics using advanced artificial intelligence technologies that allow them to more easily access individuals’ cognition and future behavior. Although in recent years the concept of online manipulation has received some academic and policy attention, the desirable relationship between cybersecurity law and online manipulation is not yet fully explored. In other words, regulators and courts have yet to realize the importance of linking cybersecurity law to individual autonomy, privacy, and democracy.
This Article provides an account of the desirable relationship between cybersecurity law and other values, such as autonomy, privacy, and democracy, by looking at the phenomenon of online manipulation achieved through psychographic profiling. It argues that the volume, efficacy, and sophistication of present online manipulation techniques pose a considerable and immediate danger to autonomy, privacy, and democracy. Internet actors, political entities, and foreign adversaries carefully study the personality traits and vulnerabilities of Internet users and, increasingly, target each such user with an individually tailored stream of information or misinformation with the intent of exploiting the weaknesses of these individuals. This Article makes a broader argument about cybersecurity law and its narrow focus on identity theft and financial fraud. Primarily, this Article looks at data-breach notification law, a subset of cybersecurity law, as reflective of that limited scope. It argues that data-breach notification law could provide a much-needed backdrop for the challenges presented by online manipulation, while alleviating the sense of lawlessness engulfing current misuses of personal and nonpersonal data. At the heart of this Article is an inquiry into the expansion of dated notions of cybersecurity law.
Presently, cybersecurity law’s narrow approach seeks to remedy materialized harms such as identity theft or fraud. This approach contravenes the purpose of cybersecurity law—to create legal norms protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of computer systems and networks. If cybersecurity law seeks to protect individuals from the externalities of certain cyber risks, it needs to recognize emerging threats targeting computer systems and networks, and subsequently, individual autonomy, privacy, and democracy.
Doc 981 : The privacy paradox in the context of online social networking: A self‐identity perspective
Drawing on identity theory and privacy research, this article argues that the need for self‐identity is a key factor affecting people’s privacy behavior in social networking sites. I first unpack the mainstream, autonomy‐centric discourse of privacy, and then present a research model that illustrates a possible new theorization of the relationship between self‐identity and information privacy. An empirical study with Facebook users confirms the main hypotheses. In particular, the data show that the need for self‐identity is positively related to privacy management behaviors, which in turn result in increased self‐disclosure in online social networks. I subsequently argue that the so‐called “privacy paradox” is not a paradox per se in the context of online social networking; rather, privacy concerns reflect the ideology of an autonomous self, whereas social construction of self‐identity explains voluntary self‐disclosure.
Doc 983 : Consensual Sex Work: An Overview of Sex-Workers’ Human Dignity in Law, Philosophy, and Abrahamic Religions
This article explores the dignity of consensual sex-workers through multiple prisms, namely: comparative law, philosophy, and Abrahamic religions. A deontological multidisciplinary approach becomes indispensable for discussing a multi-faceted phenomenon such as sex-work.
In discussing the legal aspect of the sex workers’ dignity, this article analyzes two notable Supreme Court decisions that focus on the human dignity issues associated with sex work: Bedford decision of the Canadian Supreme Court and Jordan decision of the Supreme Court of South Africa.
Further, this paper examines the sex workers’ case, philosophically, in light of Malby’s working model of human dignity. It adopts Malby’s model to assess the dignity of sex workers through examining sex-workers’ autonomy in their relationships with clients, pimps, brothels, and authorities.
This research also provides an overview of the human dignity of sex-workers in Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Finally, it compares sex work to same sex marriage and dwarf tossing as types of victimless crimes to emphasize the leading role of human dignity in carrying out ethical transformation.
This article is restricted to consensual sex work and it draws many information from interviews with sex workers available on YouTube and Social Media. It aims at emphasizing the distinction between the dignity of the profession (sex work) and the dignity of the professionals (sex workers) throughout the multiple prisms. This distinction shows that consensual sex work does not necessarily deprive sex workers of their inherent human dignity and autonomy, and thus does not deprive them of their basic human rights.
Doc 986 : Sustainability as business strategy in community supported agriculture
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how sustainability integrates the business strategy of Brazilian community supported agriculture (CSA) initiatives, and to understand the social, environmental and economic benefits to producers and consumers. Design/methodology/approach A case study was carried out through participant observation, using the techniques of ethnography, in addition to in-depth interviews and access to secondary data. Follow-up was carried out over two years and six months with two CSA initiatives. Findings The results indicated that the analyzed CSA activities address, in an integrated way, the social, environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability by promoting healthy diet, sustainable agriculture and social transformation to producers and consumers. Producers have their sales guaranteed due to previous consumers’ association; they also receive higher incomes, avoiding the rural exodus. In addition, their work conditions do not harm their health and the diversified production meets the consumption of their family group, increasing farmers’ autonomy. Regarding consumers, there is a strong emphasis on education for sustainability. It occurs primarily through face-to-face contact among participants, at times of basket withdrawal, follow-up visits to production and interaction events at farmers’ place. Exchanges of information, recipes, cooking classes, newsletters and internet interactions are also important. As these outputs, verified in a real situation, integrate the mission and the business proposal of these CSAs initiatives, it is possible to conclude that, in these analyzed situations, sustainability is incorporated into a business strategy. Sustainability is a structural component of the strategy, with practices in different levels of the business activity. Research limitations/implications As an exploratory study, the findings cannot be extrapolated to broader populations. To improve generalization, it would be beneficial to broaden the sample and pursue comparative research between countries and regions. Also, studies should examine which incentive structures and programs would relate more to better outcomes in education for sustainability and behavior chances. Practical implications From a managerial point of view, this study contributes by presenting emerging businesses in Brazil, which incorporated sustainability in their strategy, contributing with the need pointed out by Robinson (2004) to provide innovative and creative solutions toward sustainability. It also presents some alternatives to achieve objectives of the 2030 Agenda, especially objective 2 (related to food security) and 12 (improve sustainable production and consumption systems). This study also contributes by elucidating alternatives to promote education for sustainable consumption, presenting cases where consumers reported a more sustainable behavior. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by filling the gap pointed out by Arzu and Erkan (2010), Nakamba, Chan and Sharmina (2017), Rossi et al. (2017) and Searcy (2016) about addressing all three dimensions of sustainability in an integrated way, by analyzing CSA initiatives (a need indicated by Brown and Miller, 2008), especially evaluating empirical cases of sustainability insertion in the business strategy, as proposed by Claro, Claro and Amâncio (2008) and Franceschelli, Santoro and Candelo (2018). This study also responded to the need pointed out by Benites Lázaro and Gremaud (2016) to further understand the insertion of sustainability in the context of Latin America.
Doc 991 : Evolutionary Entry of Information Technology in Universities: Key Findings and Research
Although universities are one of the founders of modern information and communication technologies, their widespread penetration in various aspects of their lagging behind the corporate sector. Among the main reasons we can cite as diverse nature of the activities carried out, the priority of academic over administrative activities, low level of centralization of management of the institution (as a result of academic autonomy), and the lack of a direct and visible financial incentive from the implementation of information technology (as opposed to the corporate sector).
Doc 1002 : Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Canada and Reproductive Justice Organizations’ Responses
The spread of crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) has become an alarming issue in the fields of public health and reproductive justice (RJ) as they impede women’s fully-informed decisions and threaten women’s reproductive autonomy. However, most existing scholarship has only focused on CPCs within the United States; hardly any literature has been devoted to anti-CPC activism. This study contributes to addressing these gaps by adopting a mixed method. The paper first reviews the status quo of U.S. and Canadian CPCs through the existing literature to contextualize my investigation. Then it explores the establishment of individual Canadian CPCs to evaluate whether they are gaining more influence. It also analyzes the presence and absence of information on Canadian anti-CPC activism in the social media of RJ organizations. Finally, it examines the interviews I conducted with Canadian RJ activists to identify the ongoing anti-CPC activism and why some groups do not regard it central to their agenda. Results of this research reveal that CPCs have been continuously expanding in Canada during the past 35 years. Despite realizing their threat, most Canadian RJ groups do not focus their activism on CPCs and instead, concern themselves more with such issues as abortion access owing to their political engagement restriction, as well as their viewpoint that variation among Canadian CPCs and the Canadian liberal political context lessen CPCs’ overall threat. The limited ongoing activism includes lobbying for halting funding for CPCs, revoking their charitable statuses, banning their advertisements, and removing their biased sex education from public schools.
Doc 1007 : How Fashion Travels: The Fashionable Ideal in the Age of Instagram
Despite the many transformations in aesthetics and technologies that fashion photography has undergone since its spread as an influential cultural form in the early twentieth century, one constant has always held fast: that the imagery depicts a fashionable ideal. The look of the fashionable ideal is, of course, ever subject to change. However, there are qualities that are always present: the body is subject to the authority of fashion, limitations to the autonomy of the body such as gravity or ageing are absent, and the figure is imbued with possibility and mutability, even as it freezes a momentary state of perfection.
These qualities become particularly marked in the present era, in which digital influencers simultaneously assume the roles of cultural producer, model and consumer while implicitly embodying the fashionable ideal. At the moment of their publication, the labor of producing these images seems to evaporate, as bodies with no material limitation are presented with immediacy, and figure, commodity and surrounds collapse into one.
This article interrogates how we can conceive of the labor of appearance and being in the fashion image, and considers how this style of fashion imagery draws on visual rhetoric of prior eras of fashion photography and is structured by the existing power relations of capitalism and the human and non-human actors of media technologies. In so doing, the concept of the fashionable ideal is explored in one of its contemporary iterations as fluid, aspirational, global, simultaneously embodied and disembodied.
Doc 1010 : Inference of User Qualities in Shared Control of CPHS: A Contrast in Users
Abstract Most cyber-physical human systems (CPHS) rely on users learning how to interact with the system. Rather, a collaborative CPHS should learn from the user and adapt to them in a way that improves holistic system performance. Accomplishing this requires collaboration between the human-robot/human-computer interaction and the cyber-physical system communities in order to feed back knowledge about users into the design of the CPHS. The requisite user studies, however, are difficult, time consuming, and must be carefully designed. Furthermore, as humans are complex in their interactions with autonomy it is difficult to know, a priori, how many users must participate to attain conclusive results. In this paper we elaborate on our work to infer intrinsic user qualities through human-robot interactions correlated with robot performance in order to adapt the autonomy and improve holistic CPHS performance. We first demonstrate through a study that this idea is feasible. Next, we demonstrate that significant differences between groups of users can impact conclusions particularly where different autonomies are involved. Finally, we also provide our rich, extensive corpus of user study data to the wider community to aid researchers in designing better CPHS.
Doc 1019 : Digitizing Galicia: Cultural Policies and Trends in Cultural Heritage Management.
Cultural policies have developed in Galicia significantly since the establishment of the 1981 Statute of Galician Autonomy. The Galician government has played a key role in the Galician cultural scene. However, the civil and, especially, private sectors have made a substantial contribution to the promotion of different areas of Galician culture. This article presents an overview of Galician cultural policies focusing on the area of cultural heritage management in the global era, particularly on the uses of new information and communication technologies and digitization.
Doc 1023 : Adoption and Use of Mobile Learning in Continuing Professional Development by Health and Human Services Professionals
Health and human services professionals are increasingly using mobile devices to support clinical decision-making and evidence-based practice. However, research on self-directed learning in an era of growing digital technology utilization is underdeveloped. This study explored the adoption and use of mobile learning as a continuing professional development (CPD) activity.A mixed-methods case study using semistructured interviews and a web-based questionnaire was conducted with health and human services professionals in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.Respondents reported using a smartphone (53.8%), tablets (50.4%), YouTube (43.0%), and mobile apps (35.8%) for CPD. The highest-rated benefits of mobile learning included improved access to information (M = 3.51); potential for enhanced knowledge acquisition (M = 3.45); staying up to date (M = 3.44); and verifying information (M = 3.40). The greatest barriers included cost of some apps and resources (M = 3.07); websites/programs not functional on mobile devices (M = 2.84); workplace barriers preventing access to digital resources (M = 2.82); and social media use linked to negative perceptions of professionalism (M = 2.65). Interview respondents described the flexibility and convenience of mobile learning, the level of autonomy it offered, and the advantages of learning on their own time. Technical issues, particularly for rural and remote practitioners, and digital professionalism also emerged as potential barriers.A systems model organizes the factors influencing the adoption and use of mobile devices and resources to support “just-in-time” learning. Addressing policies, practices, and regulations that enable or inhibit adoption of mobile learning for CPD may foster enhanced use to support better clinical decision-making, improved accuracy, and greater patient safety.
Doc 1025 : Interactive learning media innovation: utilization of augmented reality and pop-up book to improve user’s learning autonomy
This study discusses the design of innovative learning media based on Augmented Reality (AR) and its development for students of Higher Education. Innovative Learning Media is now an important part of improving the quality of learning. Utilization of mobile device technologies such as android tablets and smartphones with camera features to run AR technology is the main point. Several students and expert of learning media were involved in this research and development. Questionnaires are used as measuring instruments. The results of this study are AR-based interactive learning media to improve user’s learning autonomy and recommendations for further development.
Doc 1030 : La educación que limita es la que libera
Today it is more common to find the concept of education linked to terms such as emancipation, autonomy, or freedom, than to norms, discipline, authority, submission or boundaries. This article sets out to show that limits, norms, rules, and even physical limitations are fundamental in education because they are an essential part of human reality and the human condition. Its main thesis is that rules not only regulate human activities from outside, but they also operate from the root of the activity itself as an expression of the peculiar rationality of human beings and their way of being in the world. The article firstly demonstrates this thesis by examining certain physical limitations that are approached educationally, and then in various other human areas, such as language, play, ecology, the Internet, and sexuality. It also shows how rules, by limiting the possibilities for how certain actions will develop, allow us to intuit or glimpse other types of limits and other possibilities —not always better ones— for human development and its standards. From an anthropological perspective, this has led us to suggest how an individual’s future possibilities expand, increase, and develop if her family, school and social settings for growth are spaces bounded by limits and norms. These allow her to feel safe enough to begin a process of critical assimilation of her received inheritance. The subject better understands reality, and the different possibilities for evaluating that reality, when the process of evaluation starts from a relatively enclosed perspective (with limits and norms) on the received tradition.
Doc 1031 : Toward a Sociable and Dependable Elderly Care Robot: Design, Implementation and User Study
A critical demand for innovation in elderly care, especially in delivering the quality of service to elderlies, arises as many parts of the world are rapidly in transition to an elderly society. The advancement of robotic technologies, especially, in cognitive robotics and sociable human-robot interaction offers a great opportunity for meeting such demand. This paper presents the design and implementation of a next generation of elderly care robot, named as “HomeMate,” based on an innovative undertaking in its sociability and dependability with extensive user studies. The elderlies taken care of by Senior Welfare Centers are chosen as the target sector, for which the following five service scenarios are designed: infotainment, video chatting, game playing, medicine alarm and, in particular, errand services. Unlike conventional approaches, the scenarios are designed here to ensure the overall quality of service by maximizing the synergy under an elderly-caregiver-service robot ecosystem. The unique features implemented in HomeMate include 1) the principle of affordance in appearance design by matching functionality and anthropomorphism indices, 2) the sociability implemented by balancing between autonomy and user controllability as well as by integrating multimodal interactions into HomeMate avatar, and 3) the emphasis on dependability to inspire confidence on HomeMate as a trusted assistant, for which the principle of dependability is proposed and implemented with a cognitive framework. Experiments and user studies strongly support the proposed design principles and verify the dependability in performance.
Doc 1045 : Cybersecurity in health – disentangling value tensions
Cybersecurity in healthcare has become an urgent matter in recent years due to various malicious attacks on hospitals and other parts of the healthcare infrastructure. The purpose of this paper is to provide an outline of how core values of the health systems, such as the principles of biomedical ethics, are in a supportive or conflicting relation to cybersecurity.,This paper claims that it is possible to map the desiderata relevant to cybersecurity onto the four principles of medical ethics, i.e. beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy and justice, and explore value conflicts in that way.,With respect to the question of how these principles should be balanced, there are reasons to think that the priority of autonomy relative to beneficence and non-maleficence in contemporary medical ethics could be extended to value conflicts in health-related cybersecurity.,However, the tension between autonomy and justice, which relates to the desideratum of usability of information and communication technology systems, cannot be ignored even if one assumes that respect for autonomy should take priority over other moral concerns.,In terms of value conflicts, most discussions in healthcare deal with the conflict of balancing efficiency and privacy given the sensible nature of health information. In this paper, the authors provide a broader and more detailed outline.
Doc 1052 : Development of a Methodology for Building an Information Security System in the Corporate Research and Education System in the Context of University Autonomy
The development of computing tools and technologies of corporate networks has expanded the range of educational and information services in corporate research and education networks (CRES). CRES belong to critical cybernetic information systems (CCIS) built on the basis of open network models. In the early 80s of the 20th century, this approach did not consider the need to build a security system, which does not allow it to provide the required level of protection against modern hybrid threats. The transition to autonomy in decision-making, education and university management all over the world places requirements to ensuring the required quality of service (QoS) of CRES clients. CRES users include university administration, faculty, students and support personnel of educational services in higher education institutions. One of the main criteria for QoS is information security. However, there is no general approach to building integrated information security in CRES, which would provide the required level of security. The methodology is based on the concept of synthesizing a synergistic model of threats to CCIS, improved models of CRES infrastructure, an intruder, assessing the current state of information security (IS) and improved method of investment in the CRES IS. It is shown that the basis of the synergistic model is a three-level model of strategic security management, which provides a synergistic effect in the context of simultaneous threats to information security, cybersecurity and security of information. In contrast to the known, such an approach provides for the determination of qualitatively new and previously unknown emergent properties of the information security system, taking into account the means used to create it. The application of the methodology in practice through the development and implementation of new solutions to provide security services allows for the required level of information security in CRES. The proposed information security service mechanisms are built on hybrid cryptosystems based on crypto-code structures with flawed codes.
Since 2016, when the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal began to emerge, public concern has grown around the threat of “online manipulation”. While these worries are familiar to privacy researchers, this paper aims to make them more salient to policymakers—first, by defining “online manipulation”, thus enabling identification of manipulative practices; and second, by drawing attention to the specific harms online manipulation threatens. We argue that online manipulation is the use of information technology to covertly influence another person’s decision-making, by targeting and exploiting their decision-making vulnerabilities. Engaging in such practices can harm individuals by diminishing their economic interests, but its deeper, more insidious harm is its challenge to individual autonomy. We explore this autonomy harm, emphasising its implications for both individuals and society, and we briefly outline some strategies for combating online manipulation and strengthening autonomy in an increasingly digital world.
Doc 1054 : Taking the Sting Out of Revenge Porn: Using Criminal Statutes to Safeguard Sexual Autonomy in the Digital Age
We live in a digital age. While increased channels of communication and worldwide access have their benefits, there are also risks and problems associated with a virtual platform that gives instant access to information. This Article centers on “revenge porn,” one problem associated with online communications that has drawn the attention of both the media and the legal community. Revenge porn is the practice of distributing nude or sexually explicit photos or videos of an individual without his or her consent. It is usually posted by a former lover in order to harm, humiliate, or otherwise seek revenge upon the subject of the material after the relationship has ended. This issue implicates principles of sexual autonomy, particularly for women: if we want to encourage sexual freedom, we must protect people from others’ abuse of that freedom. Legal actors are divided on how best to approach the revenge porn problem. Some advocate for civil action in order to compensate victims, while others believe that drafting new criminal laws and punishing offenders is the correct answer. Still others believe that no action is required at all, blaming the victims of revenge porn instead of the distributors. This Article addresses the legal possibilities, weighing their benefits and detractors in order to decide the proper solution for revenge porn in the U.S. It concludes that, while the criminal law is the appropriate forum for revenge porn litigation, new statues are both problematic and unnecessary. Instead of drafting targeted revenge porn legislation, police and prosecutors should pursue offenders utilizing existing laws, such as harassment, extortion, and cyber-stalking.
Doc 1064 : The Consent Myth: Improving Choice for Patients of the Future
Consent has enjoyed a prominent position in the American privacy system since at least 1970, though historically, consent emerged from traditional notions of tort and contract. Largely because consent has an almost deferential power as a proxy for consumer choice, organizations increasingly use consent as a de facto standard for demonstrating privacy commitments. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Trade Commission have integrated the concept of consent into health care, research, and general commercial activities. Despite consent’s prominence in U.S. law, this article seeks to understand, more fully, consent’s origins and development, then applies a philosophical-legal lens to clearly identify problems with consent in its current use. Jurgen Habermas’ theory of communicative action as it applies to private and public spheres and Helen Nissenbaum’s model for contextual inquiry provide useful lenses for understanding the impact of consent on human autonomy. This article suggests five resulting problems for human autonomy, the “consent myth,” and four principles for addressing these problems in contemporary health technologies, such as Internet of Health Things (IoHT) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Doc 1066 : An Investigation of the Current Autonomy Status of the Malaysian Public and Private Universities: An Empirical Result
The benefits and importance of university autonomy for facilitating and accelerating higher education transformation have been broadly agreed by many higher education stakeholders. This paper aims to investigate the Malaysian public and private universities degree of independence and autonomy from the government and other external forces. The extent of an institute’s autonomy is measured based on their independent in appointive, academic, administrative, and financial matters. An emailed survey has been sent to top-level management of 28 public and private universities in Malaysia, resulting in 126 respondents. The respondents for the survey consisted of vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors, deans, directors, and deputy deans. Using SPSS statistical software, data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. The results demonstrate that the majority of the components under academic matters, administrative and financial matters are considered high autonomy, with less interference of the government over those institutions. With some reason, autonomy related to the appointment of the vice-chancellors and dismissals of rectors and vice-chancellors is still under government control. However, based on the findings, autonomy development at public and private universities in Malaysia has been engaged in a long journey that enabled it to compete and to progress well at the global level.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of of science(academic freedom)for the advancement of society and mankind, which, however, is permanently endangered by powerful organisations, groups and individuals, who in pursuit of their one-sided interests are seeking to constrain information about the truth. As a broad term, of science embraces in research, learning, teachingand publication. All of these activities should be dedicated to identifying the truth and learning about the truth. Design/methodology/approach – Three theoretical approaches are of importance for framing issues related to of science, which in this paper are integrated into the framework of mindset agency theory: is a value; is claimed by agents who pursue specific interests (goals), which might constrain others; and individuals are agents who are interacting with each other within a social system–cooperation, ignorance or conflict. Findings – Freedom as a value is at the core of intellectual autonomy. Intellectual autonomy is a necessarycondition for innovation and advancement of knowledge. The observable modes of interaction/coexistenceamong researchers are influenced by individual research goals and by the researchers’ access to resources, which may be deliberately constrained by opponents or other researchers as competitors. Research limitations/implications – For further research, which is beyond this paper, the authors can refer to: analyses of challenges of freedom – in terms of ethics, protection of individual humanrights, political pressures and conflicts of interests; the issues of truth, i.e. the impact of fake news andcreation of alternate facts; and the relation between academic and employment (academic tenure) inpresent-day societies. Owing to lack of space, this paper cannot deal with the danger emerging from powerful organisations or powerful individuals, who are challenging of science. Social implications–If there is no of science then social progress is constrained. If there is no access to right data, decisions will be wrong. Originality/value – So far, a comprehensive cybernetic model was not published, which supports systems thinking about scholars and teachers (inter)acting in research organisations.
Doc 1071 : Artificial Intelligence in Basic and Clinical Neuroscience: Opportunities and Ethical Challenges
Abstract The analysis of large amounts of personal data with artificial neural networks for deep learning is the driving technology behind new artificial intelligence (AI) systems for all areas in science and technology. These AI methods have evolved from applications in computer vision, the automated analysis of images, and now include frameworks and methods for analyzing multimodal datasets that combine data from many different source, including biomedical devices, smartphones and common user behavior in cyberspace. For neuroscience, these widening streams of personal data and machine learning methods provide many opportunities for basic data-driven research as well as for developing new tools for diagnostic, predictive and therapeutic applications for disorders of the nervous system. The increasing automation and autonomy of AI systems, however, also creates substantial ethical challenges for basic research and medical applications. Here, scientific and medical opportunities as well ethical challenges are summarized and discussed.
Doc 1073 : The Autonomous Mind: The Right to Freedom of Thought in the Twenty-First Century.
To lose freedom of thought (FoT) is to lose our dignity, our democracy and our very selves. Accordingly, the right to FoT receives absolute protection under international human rights law. However, this foundational right has been neither significantly developed nor often utilized. The contours of this right urgently need to be defined due to twenty-first century threats to FoT posed by new technologies. As such, this paper draws on law and psychology to consider what the right to FoT should be in the twenty-first century. After discussing contemporary threats to FoT, and recent developments in our understanding of thought that can inform the development of the right, this paper considers three elements of the right; the rights not to reveal one’s thoughts, not to be penalized for one’s thoughts, and not to have one’s thoughts manipulated. The paper then considers, for each element, why it should exist, how the law currently treats it, and challenges that will shape it going forward. The paper concludes that the law should develop the right to FoT with the clear understanding that what this aims to secure is mental autonomy. This process should hence begin by establishing the core mental processes that enable mental autonomy, such as attentional and cognitive agency. The paper argues that the domain of the right to FoT should be extended to include external actions that are arguably constitutive of thought, including internet searches and diaries, hence shielding them with absolute protection. It is stressed that law must protect us from threats to FoT from both states and corporations, with governments needing to act under the positive aspect of the right to ensure societies are structured to facilitate mental autonomy. It is suggested that in order to support mental autonomy, information should be provided in autonomy-supportive contexts and friction introduced into decision making processes to facilitate second-order thought. The need for public debate about how society wishes to balance risk and mental autonomy is highlighted, and the question is raised as to whether the importance attached to thought has changed in our culture. The urgency of defending FoT is re-iterated.
Doc 1076 : Decentralized Autonomous Organizations: Concept, Model, and Applications
Decentralized autonomy is a long-standing research topic in information sciences and social sciences. The self-organization phenomenon in natural ecosystems, the Cyber Movement Organizations (CMOs) on the Internet, and the Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI), and so on, can all be regarded as its early manifestations. In recent years, the rapid development of blockchain technology has spawned the emergence of the so-called Decentralized Autonomous Organization [DAO, sometimes labeled as Decentralized Autonomous Corporation (DAC)], which is a new organization form that the management and operational rules are typically encoded on blockchain in the form of smart contracts, and can autonomously operate without centralized control or third-party intervention. DAO is expected to overturn the traditional hierarchical management model and significantly reduce organizations’ costs on communication, management, and collaboration. However, DAO still faces many challenges, such as security and privacy issue, unclear legal status, and so on. In this article, we strive to present a systematic introduction of DAO, including its concept and characteristics, research framework, typical implementations, challenges, and future trends. Especially, a novel reference model for DAO which employs a five-layer architecture is proposed. This article is aimed at providing helpful guidance and reference for future research efforts.
Doc 1077 : Security Modeling of Autonomous Systems
Autonomous systems will soon be integrating into our lives as home assistants, delivery drones, and driverless cars. The implementation of the level of automation in these systems from being manually controlled to fully autonomous would depend upon the autonomy approach chosen to design these systems. This article reviews the historical evolution of autonomy, its approaches, and the current trends in related fields to build robust autonomous systems. Toward such a goal and with the increased number of cyberattacks, the security of these systems needs special attention from the research community. To gauge the extent to which research has been done in this area, we discuss the cybersecurity of these systems. It is essential to model the system from a security perspective, identify the threats and vulnerabilities, and then model the attacks. A survey in this direction explores the theoretical/analytical system and attack models that have been proposed over the years and identifies the research gap that needs to be addressed by the research community.
Doc 1078 : Communities of practice on WhatsApp: A tool for promoting citizenship among students with visual impairments
Visual impairments (VIs) impose many barriers to people when it comes to information access, and educational processes may offer tools for people to overcome these barriers and, consequently, develop autonomy and an active sense of citizenship. In these processes, information and communication technologies (ICTs) improve accessibility. Our aim was to use ICT, especially social media, in pedagogical activities developed for students with VI (blindness and low vision). Focus group interviews about technology use showed us that these students are heavy users of WhatsApp, an instant messenger app. We then established an online discussion group, as a community of practice, using WhatsApp as a discussion environment. This online group helped Brazilian students with VI develop social skills and discuss health issues they considered important to them.
Doc 1079 : Research and Design of Enrollment and Admission System in Vocational-Technical College
With the reform and in-depth of vocational-technical college admission system,Autonomy Enrollment and Admission is a trend.Admission independent research and development system is also imminent,the use of the Internet and B/S system of vocational recruiting a solution is proposed,involving all aspects of the process of recruiting capabilities,to improve the efficiency of office automation,reduce recruiting costs possible.
Doc 1081 : The Problem of Platform Law: Pluralistic Legal Ordering on Social Media
The internet would seem to be an ideal platform for fostering the development of multiple overlapping communities seeking to be governed by their own norms. The very structure of the internet resists centralized governance, while the opportunities it provides for the “long tail” of expression means even voices with extremely small audiences can find a home. In reality, however, the governance of online speech looks much more monolithic. This is largely a result of private “lawmaking” activity by internet intermediaries. Increasingly, social media companies like Facebook and Twitter are developing what David Kaye, United Nations (“UN”) Special Rapporteur for the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, has called “platform law.” Through a combination of community standards, contract, technological design, and case-specific practice, social media companies are developing “Facebook law” and “Twitter law” displacing the laws of national jurisdictions.
Using the example of content moderation, this paper makes several contributions to the literature. First, it expands upon the idea of “platform law” to consider the broad array of mechanisms that companies use to control user behavior and mediate conflicts. Second, using human rights law as a foundation, the paper makes the case for meaningful technological design choices that enable user autonomy. Users should be able to make explicit choices about who and what they want to hear online. It also frames user choice in terms of the right to hear, not the right to speak, as a way of navigating the tension presented by hate speech and human rights without resorting to platform law that sanitizes speech for everyone.
Doc 1083 : Ethics of AI and Cybersecurity When Sovereignty is at Stake
Abstract Sovereignty and strategic autonomy are felt to be at risk today, being threatened by the forces of rising international tensions, disruptive digital transformations and explosive growth of cybersecurity incidents. The combination of AI and cybersecurity is at the sharp edge of this development and raises many ethical questions and dilemmas. In this commentary, I analyse how we can understand the ethics of AI and cybersecurity in relation to sovereignty and strategic autonomy. The analysis is followed by policy recommendations, some of which may appear to be controversial, such as the strategic use of ethics. I conclude with a reflection on underlying concepts as an invitation for further research. The goal is to inspire policy-makers, academics and business strategists in their work, and to be an input for public debate.
Doc 1084 : Young People’s Response to Six Smartphone Apps for Anxiety and Depression: Focus Group Study
https://doi.org/10.2196/14385 Sandra Garrido Daniel Cheers Katherine M. Boydell Quang Vinh Nguyen Emery Schubert Laura Dunne Tanya Meade
Background Suicide is one of the most frequent causes of death in young people worldwide. Depression lies at the root of this issue, a condition that has a significant negative impact on the lives of those who experience it and on society more generally. However, 80% of affected young people do not obtain professional help for depression and other mental health issues. Therefore, a key challenge is to find innovative and appealing ways to engage young people in learning to manage their mental health. Research suggests that young people prefer to access anonymous Web-based programs rather than get face-to-face help, which has led to the development of numerous smartphone apps. However, the evidence indicates that not all of these apps are effective in engaging the interest of young people who are most in need of help. Objective The study aimed to investigate young people’s response to six currently available smartphone apps for mental health and to identify features that young people like and dislike in such apps. Methods Focus groups were conducted with 23 young people aged 13 to 25 years in which they viewed and used six smartphone apps for mental health. A general inductive approach following a realist paradigm guided data analysis. Results The results revealed that young people value autonomy and the opportunity to personalize experiences with these apps above other things. Finding a balance between simplicity and informativeness is also an important factor. Conclusions App developers need to consider using participant-design frameworks to ensure that smartphone apps are providing what young people want in a mental health app. Solutions to the need for personalization and increasing user engagement are also crucially needed.
Doc 1087 : Entrepreneurship Model of Cybernetic Security Professionals
The formation of a system for the training of cyber security specialists was conducted in accordance with the national strategy and under the influence of economic and political factors in accordance with the social request and cyber security policy of the United States in order to protect civil rights and interests of the business, scientific, technical, military, financial potential and achievements of high technologies of the country, developing a responsible attitude towards national security in the US population. The basic principles of the organization of higher education of the USA are defined: decentralization of state-level education management; independence and complete autonomy of the higher educational establishment; equal functioning of state, private and semi-private higher educational establishments; possibility of free choice of students by disciplines; democracy, equality of opportunity for each person in obtaining higher education.
Doc 1088 : Friend or foe? Chat as a double-edged sword to assist customers
Purpose The development of self-service technologies, while intended to better serve customers by offering them autonomy, has created situations in which individuals may require additional help. The purpose of this paper is to explore perceptions of chat as an assistance channel, to identify its perceived role in a customer service environment. Design/methodology/approach In all, 23 semi-structured interviews held with both chat and non-chat users assessed perceptions of chat in an assistance encounter. A thematic analysis was used. Findings The findings highlight a paradoxical perception of chat in a customer assistance context. On the one hand, customers perceive live chat as mainly beneficial in a customer service context, alleviating embarrassment, perceived threats and potential dissatisfaction linked to assistance requests. On the other hand, the elusive nature of a chat conversation interlocutor (human or artificial) adversely affects how customers interpret assistance from companies. Research limitations/implications This research underscores the perceived threats of assistance encounters and shows the ambivalent role of chat in such a context. It also highlights chat’s specific features that make it a relevant medium for assistance requests. Practical implications This study helps companies better understand customers’ perceptions of assistance requests and chat in that context. Companies can use the findings to develop better ways to address assistance needs and offer transparent and fully personalized human chat to provide an inclusive service. Originality/value This paper highlights the ambivalent role of chat as an assistance channel, easing assistance requests but also entailing a potential negative spillover effect, when negative chat perceptions of an artificial interlocutor have consequences.
Doc 1091 : Platform Practices in the Cultural Industries: Creativity, Labor, and Citizenship
The rise of contemporary platforms—from GAFAM in the West to the “three kingdoms” of the Chinese Internet—is reconfiguring the production, distribution, and monetization of cultural content in staggering and complex ways. Given the nature and extent of these transformations, how can we systematically examine the platformization of cultural production? In this introduction, we propose that a comprehensive understanding of this process is as much institutional (markets, governance, and infrastructures), as it is rooted in everyday cultural practices. It is in this vein that we present fourteen original articles that reveal how platformization involves key shifts in practices of labor, creativity, and citizenship. Diverse in their methodological approaches and topical foci, these contributions allow us to see how platformization is unfolding across cultural, geographic, and sectoral-industrial contexts. Despite their breadth and scope, these articles can be mapped along four thematic clusters: continuity and change; diversity and creativity; labor in an age of algorithmic systems; and power, autonomy, and citizenship.
Doc 1096 : ICT services features to support intrinsic value activities for productive ageing
Intrinsic values associated with ICT services activities in productive ageing. Given the advances made in ICT services that have been widely used, elderlies need to be equipped with the knowledge in using the services. The lack of ICT usage among elderlies is because of the low motivation to use the ICT applications. This in turn could be due to the lack of intrinsic values associated with the use of ICT applications among elderlies. This study explores further the features of ICT services needed to support intrinsic values activities. Brainstorming sessions is conducted in this study where it involved six ICT experts in order to identify ICT services features to support intrinsic value activities. Intrinsic motivation features are significant features in ICT services to support intrinsic value activities for productive ageing. There are five intrinsic motivation features identified in this research, which are autonomy, competence, relatedness, altruism and curiosity. The ICT services to support intrinsic value activities model comprises of the ICT services characteristics that are transactive, community-based with online communication channels, and incorporated with intelligent agents.
Doc 1101 : Artificial Intelligence Vs Emotional Intelligence
In the present age, the development of PC innovation is arriving at an unconceivable stature. Imperatively it involves the lives of individuals so as to draw in and make them feel insane. Bit by bit, Individuals chooses to remain inactive and begin to rely upon the advantages of innovation. Computerized reasoning, one of the developing advancements, in day today life utilized for the creation of hard product, for example, Cell phone, PCs that comprises of simple to utilize applications, for example, Facebook, errand person and email includes different misleadingly canny highlights which lessens the anxiety of the customer hood and causes them interface, convey and associate at an a lot quicker pace. Oh dear, this assistant has gradually driven the clients into the universe of dependence loaded up with a string of mental and mental obliges. People are the unrivaled predominant formation of the nature which can’t be Substituted or imitated. In the contemporary world innovation is in the dismal of its progressions to supplant the humanity. The principal Man-made reasoning humanoid Sophia, made on February 14, 2016 by the Hong Kong based organization Hanson Mechanical autonomy in a turned way could be seen as an up and coming risk to the very presence of humankind. All the invented components are carried to reality with the assistance of the present innovation. Cyberpunk Sci-fi conjectures the advancement of Man-made brainpower to the most extreme level. At one Point it started to overwhelm the people by taking the power and control in its grasp. This Exploration Paper basically examinations the Limit and Intensity of Man-made brainpower over human power and its outcomes.
Doc 1107 : Technologies of Freedom and Social Connectedness
The possibility that mobile communication is able to extend human freedom is an intriguing prospect, and one that certainly seems confirmed by recent events. The possibility also raises fundamental questions about the use and consequences of mobile communication not only at the marco-political level but also at the micro-social interaction level. This paper examines selected topics related to the way in which mobile communication technology is used in microsettings, and that are broadly to the theme of personal freedom and individual responsibility. It begins by assessing the situation in the United States in terms of broad mobile phone adoption patterns. Highlights are then presented of several studies undertaken at Rutgers University’s Center for Mobile Communication Studies; these illuminate how issues of personal autonomy and social control are played out through mobile communication practices. Among the topics included are technology display rates in public places, pretend usages, and utilization by students (and professors) in educational settings. Also discussed are some unexpected consequences of mobile communication adoption for women from India. While these topics are diverse, they are linked thematically around personal actions in social settings and institutionally by their central concern to the Rutgers Center for Mobile Communication Studies. The author concludes by urging continued examination by scholars of the profound questions of human freedom and its advancement that are raised by the enormous and continuing success, as well as sporadic abuse, of mobile communication technology.
Doc 1116 : Consumer Citizen: The Constitution of Consumer Democracy in Sociological Perspective
1 Introduction Currently, we are witnessing a resurgence of academic as well as political interest in the consumer. In view of the obvious problems of governance under conditions of a global market society, the question arises whether there is evidence for an emerging democracy where consumers assume civic responsibility and exert a civilizing influence upon the economic realm. Consumers are traditionally associated with the private sphere whereas are viewed as belonging to the public sphere. The figure of consumer challenges such a clear-cut distinction (Negt/Kluge [1972, 7] already questioned it long ago). Yet, at the same time, the hybrid notion of consumer perpetuates the distinction of public and private. Rather than rendering the distinction obsolete, it points to shifting boundaries and the lines of demarcation between public and private being redrawn as an outcome of continuous social struggles and negotiations. Benjamin Barber (2007, 126, also 294 ff.), who sees a threat to democracy in widespread infantilization spurred by industries, fears a dilution of the concept of citizen by lumping it together with the notion of consumer. (1) The political sphere, he claims, is experiencing a loss of autonomy–an autonomy that emanates from public deliberation and the setting of collectively binding norms, the sovereignty of which must be asserted against the economic domain. For this reason, Barber wishes for self-confident of a democratic polity, whose individual mastery of life involves the ability of maintaining the differentiation of societal domains. Nonetheless, he too must take consumption as a facet of lifeworlds and life practices into account along with the problems it poses for civic involvement. We are at once consumers and and hence have no choice but to somehow reconcile the two sides that make up our personality–be it through strict separation or by other means. The conception of citizen serves to shed light on the forms such reconciliation may take–including the range of historical and empirical manifestations–not more and not less. (2) In this article, I approach the question of whether and how consumers as consumer citizens establish democracy by drawing on various theoretical building blocks from sociology. I will make use of the different dimensions contained in the notion of constitution, starting with the constitution of the social through action, through the politico-legal or institutional conditions constituting the citizen, to the current state of the citizen. Specifically, I will briefly discuss the citizen in five steps: from the angles of general social theory, socialization theory, the theory of modern society, from the view of current social trends, and in the light of considerations from the theory of democracy. The Internet, as a new means of networking, will serve as an empirical research area for exemplifying and specifying the theoretical considerations. 2 Social theory: the citizen as a form of constituting the subject in everyday practice At a first and general level of social theory, the question of how actors constitute the social will be addressed, which, as we all know, has been an object of considerable controversy in sociology. Approaching the issue from a theory of constitution (for instance Giddens 1984) implies that democracy cannot be conceived simply as a self-sustaining institutional order; rather actors, in this case citizens, must constantly produce and reproduce the structures of such an order. This said, we must first of all note that from the perspective of social theory consumption would be gravely misconceived as a passive, heteronomous activity. Rather consumption practices involve elements of active action, just as the domains of work and politics do, which are much more likely to be associated with exerting influence, exercising power, and with change. …
Doc 1117 : Patients’ attitudes toward the use of IoT medical devices: empirical evidence from Romania
Abstract The Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare sector is the collection of medical devices and applications that connect through online computer networks. The purpose of this study is to analyse the acceptance of medical devices that are based on IoT technology and monitor the health of individuals/patients. Most IoT medical initiatives have been focused on remote monitoring, improving patient care through various sensors and data processing those measures, for example, patients’ vital signs. In medical services trust plays a key role in the patients’ decision to adopt IoT technologies in medical industry. For this analysis, the Technology Acceptance Model was adopted in order to explain the way users accept and utilize these new medical devices that are based on IoT technology. The model was also used in order to identify those factors that influence the patients’ decision of accepting this technology and also analyse the way they use it. Cross-sectional data were collected from 96 patients through a survey. Data were then analysed by means of multiple regression analysis. The findings verified the research hypotheses. Thus, different securities challenges could face the adoption of the IoT. In addition, privacy requirements are another major challenge in using these technologies. Risks arise where devices and applications are untested, resulting in issues with interoperability, stability, compatibility and data security. For the elderly and people with disabilities, these IoT provisions are very useful in providing autonomy, a personalized approach and permanent monitoring. The theoretical contributions and practical implications of the study are discusses.
Doc 1121 : Context-Aware Technology Public Discourses and (Un)-informed Use: The Case of Users in a Developing Country
There is a move towards a future in which consumers of technology are untethered from the devices and technology use becomes subliminal. With this increasing device opacity, loss of user control and increasing device autonomy, there are calls for more research on users’ privacy and freedom of choice. There are, however, key figures in the creation of modern technologies who suggest that consumers are informed of the implications of the use of these technologies or, that consumers use the technologies willingly. This paper examines, using Critical Discourse Analysis, two genres of IT-related communication viz. a speech made by the CEO of Facebook, the largest social-networking site and, the privacy policy document of Truecaller, said to be the most-downloaded app in Africa. Furthermore, 25 Sub-Saharan African users were interviewed on their use and understanding of smartphones. The analysis reveals concerns of consumers regarding the absence of choice, a lack of knowledge and information privacy erosion are not unfounded. The results show also that with the speech and policy document alike, there was information that was distorted or omitted. The conclusion was that the discourses surrounding context-awareness, through confusion, misrepresentations, false assurances and illegitimacy, contribute to information imbalances and asymmetry but most importantly, an uninformed consumer.
This Article introduces the ongoing progression of the Internet of Things (IoT) into the Internet of Bodies (IoB)—a network of human bodies whose integrity and functionality rely at least in part on the Internet and related technologies, such as artificial intelligence. IoB devices will evidence the same categories of legacy security flaws that have plagued IoT devices. However, unlike most IoT, IoB technologies will directly, physically harm human bodies—a set of harms courts, legislators, and regulators will deem worthy of legal redress. As such, IoB will herald the arrival of (some forms of) corporate software liability and a new legal and policy battle over the integrity of the human body and mind. Framing this integrity battle in light of current regulatory approaches, this Article offers a set of specific innovation-sensitive proposals to bolster corporate conduct safeguards through regulatory agency action, contract, tort, intellectual property, and secured transactions/bankruptcy.
Yet, the challenges of IoB are not purely legal in nature. The social integration of IoB will also not be seamless. As bits and bodies meld and as human flesh becomes permanently entwined with hardware, software, and algorithms, IoB will test our norms and values as a society. In particular, it will challenge notions of human autonomy and self-governance. Legal scholars have traditionally considered Kantian autonomy as the paradigmatic lens for legal determinations impacting the human body. However, IoB threatens to undermine a fundamental precondition of Kantian autonomy—Kantian heautonomy. Damaged heautonomy renders both Kantian autonomy and deliberative democracy potentially compromised. As such, this Article argues that safeguarding heautonomy should constitute the animating legal principle for governance of IoB bodies. The Article concludes by introducing the companion essay to this Article, The Internet of Latour’s Things. This companion essay inspired by the work of Bruno Latour offers a sliding scale of “technohumanity” as a framework for the legal and policy discussion of what it means to be “human” in an age where bodies are the “things” connected to the Internet.
Doc 1130 : Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Devices Among the Oldest-Old: Loneliness, Anomie, and Autonomy
A good person-environment-fit has positive effects on well-being in old age. As digital technologies are an integral part of older adults’ environments, we predicted that the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) is associated with subjective well-being among the oldest-old. Specifically, we compared different user groups of ICT devices (nonusers, users of nonweb-connected ICT, users of web-connected ICT) and analyzed the relations among ICT use and three domains of subjective well-being (loneliness, anomie, autonomy).We performed a quantitative data analysis using data from the first representative state-wide survey study in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany on quality of life and well-being of the oldest-old (n = 1,698; age range: 80-103; 9% long-term care). Multiple regression analyses were applied.The findings revealed that 25.9% of all individuals aged 80 years and older reported using web-connected ICT, in contrast to 38.5% who do not use ICT at all. Individuals who used web-connected ICT reported lower levels of loneliness and anomie, and higher levels of autonomy. These differences remain significant when controlling for indicators of social inclusion and individual characteristics.This study investigated an underexplored group in terms of ICT use, shedding light on the relationship between ICT use and subjective well-being. The oldest-old generally use ICT in their everyday life but an age-related digital divide still exists. To avoid negative consequences of nonuse digital infrastructures and technology training for older adults need to be established.
Doc 1135 : Escritas contemporâneas: tecnologias e subjetividades
Based on the readings of young writers in Argentina in the decade of 2000, this article analyses the conditions of possibility of contemporary literature in the age of the digital production of reality. Through the concept of post-autonomy, those writings are conceived in their relations with identity and difference politics, and with the new written formulations of the I produced on Internet, in order to reflect on the capacity of social intervention of literature, as oriented towards the mutation of subjectivity.
Doc 1143 : Shaping technologies for older adults with and without dementia: Reflections on ethics and preferences
As a result of several years of European funding, progressive introduction of assistive technologies in our society has provided many researchers and companies with opportunities to develop new information and communication technologies aimed at overcoming the digital divide of those at a greater risk of being left behind, as can be the case with healthy older people and those developing cognitive decline and dementia. Moreover, in recent years, when considering how information and communication technologies have been integrated into older people’s lives, and how technology has influenced these individuals, doubts remain regarding whether technologies really fulfil older users’ needs and wishes and whether technologies developed specifically for older users necessarily protect and consider main ethical values. In this article, we address the relevance of privacy, vulnerability and preservation of autonomy as key factors when involving older individuals as target users for information and communication technology research and development. We provide explanatory examples on ethical issues involved in the particular case of developing different types of information and communication technology for older people (from robotics to serious games), what previously performed research tells us about older adults’ preferences and wishes for information and communication technology and what steps should be taken into consideration in the near future.
Doc 1152 : Non-medical sex selection in the context of human rights protection
Despite the troubling data that points to population imbalance, more precisely, increased number of born males in many countries, the issue of sex selection for non-medical reasons was not addressed adequately from the human rights protection perspective. Sex selection is also complex ethical issue. One of the most common arguments used in favor of non-medical sex selection, is that the ban of sex selection will simply limit reproductive freedom. Many supporters of non-medical sex selection defend the practice by relying on the reason of ‘family balancing’. However, this reason does not seem to be eligible to justify selection. Problem of reproductive tourism is also present, due to the different approaches of the countries in regulating non-medical sex selection. More precisely, people are traveling to countries where respect for individual autonomy plays dominant role. In addition, there is a simple option to send samples for analysis to companies that advertise genetic testing over internet. In the context of human rights protection, only the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine has ban on sex selection for non-medical purposes, however, this ban applies only to specific, less practiced technique of selection. When it comes to other techniques of selection, Article 5 (a) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women might be helpful to some extent. The issue of non-medical sex selection was in the focus of interest of the United Nations, Council of Europe and European Union to some extent, however insufficiently.
Doc 1163 : [How] Can Pluralist Approaches to Computational Cognitive Modeling of Human Needs and Values Save our Democracies?
In our increasingly digital societies, many companies have business models that perceive users’ (or customers’) personal data as a siloed resource, owned and controlled by the data controller rather than the data subjects. Collecting and processing such a massive amount of personal data could have many negative technical, social and economic consequences, including invading people’s privacy and autonomy. As a result, regulations such as the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have tried to take steps towards a better implementation of the right to digital privacy. This paper proposes that such legal acts should be accompanied by the development of complementary technical solutions such as Cognitive Personal Assistant Systems to support people to effectively manage their personal data processing on the Internet. Considering the importance and sensitivity of personal data processing, such assistant systems should not only consider their owner’s needs and values, but also be transparent, accountable and controllable. Pluralist approaches in computational cognitive modelling of human needs and values which are not bound to traditional paradigmatic borders such as cognitivism, connectionism, or enactivism, we argue, can create a balance between practicality and usefulness, on the one hand, and transparency, accountability, and controllability, on the other, while supporting and empowering humans in the digital world. Considering the threat to digital privacy as significant to contemporary democracies, the future implementation of such pluralist models could contribute to power-balance, fairness and inclusion in our societies.
Doc 1167 : Special autonomy policy evaluation to improve community welfare in Papua province Indonesia
Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Special Autonomy policy to improve the community welfare of Papua Province. Design/methodology/approach This study was carried out using a qualitative approach assessing program activities and client satisfaction. It focused on program activity, target and implementation effectively and efficiently, involving the client’s evaluation process. Research data was obtained from the Papua Regional Development Planning Agency and separated into primary and secondary sources. Primary data was obtained through observation, interview and documentation from several informants. The informants were determined based on the role and involvement in the Papua Province Special Autonomy. Secondary data sources were obtained through field studies, scientific journals, previous research, written documents from relevant agencies, internet and electronic and print media. Findings This study exhibits characteristics of Papua Province Special Autonomy, which are identical to an asymmetric decentralization model, although it took 20 years of implementation because of the lack of evaluation and improvement. It disproves Katorobo’s (2004) theory that the said asymmetric decentralization model is more effective than symmetrical decentralization. Material requirement planning (MRP) empowerment or abolition should be considered important because of the lack of positive results. Otsus needs to improve the system and financial management, considering financial distribution for developed regions in the coastal areas and plains rather than mountainous regions. Originality/value This research was conducted because of the phenomenon of Papua Province Special Autonomy, also driven by the problems in the implementation of Special Autonomy Policy for Papua Province that had not borne optimum results. This study aimed to make recommendations for the Special Autonomy policy of the Papua Province to improve community welfare.
Doc 1168 : Revising Growth Theory in the Artificial Age: Putty and Clay Labor
The introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our contemporary society imposes historically unique challenges for humankind. The emerging autonomy of AI holds unique potentials of eternal life of robots, AI and algorithms alongside unprecedented economic superiority, data storage and computational advantages. Yet to this day, it remains unclear what impact AI taking over the workforce will have on economic growth. This paper therefore first establishes what AI is and provides a theoretical background on standard neoclassical and heterodox economics growth theories with particular attention to the Cambridge Capital Controversy’s argument to divide capital components into fluid, hence more flexible (e.g., petty cash, checking account), and more clay, hence more inflexible (e.g., factories and intransferable means of production), components. The contemporary trend of slowbalisation is described, as the slowing down of conventional globalization of goods, services and Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) flows; yet at the same time, we still see human migration and air travel as well as data transfer continuing to rise. These market trends of conventional globalization slowing and rising AI-related industries are proposed as first market disruption in the wake of the large-scale entrance of AI into our contemporary economy. Growth in the artificial age is then proposed to be measured based on two AI entrance proxies of Global Connectivity Index and The State of the Mobile Internet Connectivity 2018 Index, which is found to be highly significantly positively correlated with the total inflow of migrants and FDI inflow – serving as evidence that the still globalizing rising industries in the age of slowbalisation are connected to AI. Both indices are positively correlated with GDP output in cross-sectional studies over the world. In order to clarify if the found effect is a sign of industrialization, time series of worldwide data reveal that internet connectivity around the world is associated with lower economic growth from around 2000 on until 2017. A regression plotting Internet Connectivity and GDP per capita as independent variables to explain the dependent variable GDP growth outlines that the effect for AI is a significant determinant of negative GDP growth prospects for the years from 2000 until 2017. A panel regression plotting GDP per capita and internet connectivity from the year 2000 to explain economic growth consolidates the finding that AI-internet connectivity is a significant determinant of negative growth over time for 161 countries of the world. Internet connectivity is associated with economic growth decline whereas GDP per capita has no significant relation with GDP growth. To cross-validate both findings hold for two different global connectivity measurements. The paper then discusses a theoretical argument of dividing labor components into fluid, hence more flexible (e.g., AI), and more clay, hence more inflexible (e.g., human labor), components. The paper ends on a call for revising growth theories and integrating AI components into growth theory. AI entrance into economic markets is modeled into the standard neoclassical growth theory by creating a novel index for representing growth in the artificial age comprised of GDP per capita and AI entrance measured by the proxy of Internet Access percent per country. Maps reveal the parts of the world that feature high GDP per capita and AI-connectivity. The discussion closes with a future outlook on the law and economics of AI entrance into our contemporary economies and society in order to aid a successful and humane introduction of AI into our world.
Doc 1170 : Is open source software the New Lex Mercatoria
Fabrizio Marrella Christopher S. Yoo
Early Internet scholars proclaimed that the transnational nature of the Internet rendered it inherently unregulable by conventional governments. Instead, the Internet would be governed by customs and practices established by the end user community in a manner reminiscent of the lex mercatoria, which spontaneously emerged during medieval times to resolve international trade disputes independently and autonomously from national law. Subsequent events have revealed these claims to have been overly optimistic, as national governments have evinced both the inclination and the ability to exert influence, if not outright control, over the physical infrastructure, the domain name system, and the content flowing across the network. These failures have done little to lessen the allure of Internet self-governance. In particular, some scholars have suggested that more widespread use of open source software would increase the Internet’s ability to resist governmental control. This Essay explores whether more widespread use of open source software might provide the basis for the type of bottom-up ordering associated with the lex mercatoria. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a system of self-governance based on open source implicates the same questions of spontaneity, universality, and autonomy that surround the lex mercatoria.
Doc 1176 : Individualism as Threat to Patriotism: An Outlook on Students as Social Media User
The aims of this paper is to investigate the perception of patriotism concept among students who also a social media user and how the individualism values can possibly be a threat to patriotic values among them. Data collected using qualitative research methods by implementing convenience sampling methods. A total of six students were involved in the interview session. The findings of the research suggested that the informants agreed the most common concept of patriotism are pride and love towards the country and individualism has connection with freedom of speech, autonomy and uniqueness. The spreading and sharing of global values that fought personal rights more important than the right of the community through the internet and the social media caused the erosion of patriotism in modern society but not necessary give impact to their patriotic values. Freedom to respond, use and commenting in social media including sensitive issues like race and religion give new challenges to the unity of the Malaysian people. Therefore, existence of the patriotism is an important medium in defending a country with its own identity.
Doc 1179 : From the Ground Up: Establishing a Centre for Universal Design in Australia.
The universal design movement arrived in Australia well before the turn of the century. A handful of individuals, often working as lone voices, are doing their best to incorporate the concepts into their everyday work and promote the concepts more widely. As is often the case elsewhere, the term “universal design” is misunderstood and confused with special and separate designs for people with disability rather than inclusion for everyone. Compliance to legislated disability access standards has created further confusion and as a consequence many myths about universal design have emerged. Such myths have held back the implementation and understanding of universal design and inclusive practice. Australian governments at all levels have shown little interest in promoting universal design principles, save for a casual mention of the term in policy documents. This is in spite of changes to disability and ageing policies promoting more autonomy and independence for individuals. When political leadership is absent, leadership often defaults to the community, or to be precise, to a handful of people with a passion for the cause. In 2013 a chance meeting of two unrelated individuals set the wheels in motion to establish a centre for universal design in Australia. This paper charts the development and progress of the organisation through volunteer effort, harnessing community support, maintaining international connections, using social media, and establishing a resource-rich website and newsletter.
Doc 1181 : Automatic Leviathan: Cybernetics and politics in Carl Schmitt’s postwar writings
This article questions the current vogue of Carl Schmitt among political theorists who read him as an antidote to the depoliticizing force of economics and technology in the age of neoliberalism and its algorithmic rationalities. It takes Schmitt’s sparse reflections about cybernetics and game theory as paradigmatic of the theoretical and political problems raised by any theory positing the autonomy of the political. It suggests that this ultimately misunderstands the role of cybernetic representations of political decision-making in shoring up in the 1960s and 1970s the autonomy of the political that Schmitt so vehemently defended.
Doc 1185 : SPECIAL AUTONOMY FUND TO REDUCE POVERTY: DOES IT WORK?
Purpose of the study: The aim of this study is to examine the role of special autonomy funds in poverty reduction in Aceh and to find out how to deal with poverty in Aceh and what obstacles are faced by Aceh Government.
Methodology: This research used a qualitative method with a case study approach to provide a detailed explanation and exploitation. Research data obtained through interviews and data obtained also through local and national online media and the media data were analyzed using Nvivo 12 Plus, specifically by using the NCapture feature, which allows researchers to systematically compile and analyze documents.
Main Findings: This study found that the implementation of poverty reduction programs and policies is still in the form of false participation due to low transparency and accountability and economic dependence on other regions outside Aceh and the small number of medium and large industries in Aceh.
Applications of this study: The findings of this study are useful for exploration by the Aceh Government in order to maximize the role of special autonomy funds in poverty alleviation efforts in Aceh.
Novelty/Originality of this study: Research on the Aceh Special Independence Fund has been widely explained by a number of researchers. However, there is no publication that specifically explains the role of special self-government funds to reduce poverty. Consequently, the use of accountable and transparent special autonomy funds can reduce poverty in Aceh.
Doc 1188 : “Do Not Question Authority”: Examining Team Rules in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Women’s Basketball
While the policies National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletic departments have in place regarding social media and drug abuse have been empirically investigated, research on the full battery of rules implemented by NCAA teams is scant. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the written team rules of 41 NCAA Division I women’s basketball teams to better understand the types of rules that are in place and to hypothesize the effects these rules might have on the development of an autonomy-supportive environment. Using Consensual Qualitative Research, the research team constructed seven domains with multiple categories to represent the data. The domains included the following: (a) program expectations, (b) controlled communication, (c) controlled relationships, (d) controlled appearance/attire, (e) controlled social behavior, (f) recommendations for optimal physical performance, and (g) academic expectation. Based on the results of this study, we conclude that NCAA Division I women’s basketball coaches use team rules as a tool for domination rather than a strategy for developing the autonomy of student-athletes. We offer practical suggestions for coach educators, coach developers, and coaches on best practices when creating team rules to develop an autonomy-supportive environment that strengthens organizational loyalty and improves the experiences of student-athletes.
Doc 1191 : Usability Heuristic Evaluation in AAL Ecosystems
In the past few years there has been a significant growth of the elderly population in both developing and developed countries. This event provided new economic, technical and demographic challenges to current societies in several areas and services. Among them the healthcare services can be highlighted, due to its impact in people daily lives. As a natural response an effort has been made by both the scientific and industrial community to develop alternatives, which could mitigate the current healthcare services bottlenecks and provide means in aiding and improve the end-user life quality. Through a combination of information and communication technologies specialized ecosystems have been developed, however multiple challenges arose, which compromise their adoption and acceptance among the main stakeholders, such as their autonomy, robustness, security, integration, human-computer interactions and usability. As consequence an effort has been made to deal with the technical related bottlenecks, which shifted the development process focus from the end-user to the ecosystems technological impairments. Despite there being user related issues, such as usability, which still remains to be addressed. Therefore this article focuses over the ecosystem’s usability through the analysis of the process used to check the ecosystem’s compliance level with the usability guidelines from Jakob Nielsen and Shneiderman; and the identification of the quantifiable parameters for each principle that could aid in the heuristics evaluation process by maximizing its objectivity improve its overall accuracy.
Keywords: Usability, Ambient assisted living, User interaction, Older people, Heuristics analysis
Doc 1195 : A taxonomy design for mobile applications in the Spanish political communication context
The new mobile ecosystem that now defines the so-called mobile society and the mobile culture is already a key territory for contemporary political communication. Within this culture, mobile applications have become a common ground for the meeting between organisations and citizens interested in participating in political matters through the direct experience that these platforms allow. Despite this development, it is difficult to find a complete and reliable taxonomy of apps in the academic or professional literature that analyses how these relationships impact the field of political communication. This study tries to address this gap, introducing the first systematic taxonomy of political communication apps in Spain based on the development of a self-produced taxonomical model that gathers in detail all the variables required to understand the nature of these applications that are available for any smartphone. This rigorous taxonomy comprises political communication applications available at the main app stores (about 316 found in Play Store and App Store). Specifically, the methodological classification was elaborated based on the following categories: promoter agent, app objective, level of interaction, level of autonomy and predominant tone. A very complete picture was obtained from the empirical analysis, which defines and explains the landscape of political communication applications for mobile devices in Spain.
Doc 1197 : Freedom of Expression, Privacy, and Ethical and Social Responsibility in Democracy in the Digital Age
This article reflects on freedom of expression, privacy, ethical and social responsibility, in the context of social networks, in the context of the experience of democracy in cyberspace. It asks questions about ensuring the protection of privacy, freedom, and autonomy of internet users in the internet environment. It identifies national and international legislation that guarantee the right to privacy and the protection of citizens’ personal data. It reviews the literature on the concept of ethics and social responsibility, in democracy, in the digital age, associating this domain of knowledge with the concept of privacy, freedom, and ethical and social responsibility, in the context of social networks. The article discusses the concepts that guide this theme and that are directly involved with related domains. It is alert to the need for ethical and legal protection of the digital data of internet users, aiming at the autonomous safeguarding of their digital identities.
Doc 1199 : Relationality or Hospitality in Twenty-First Century Research? Big Data, Internet of Things, and the Resilience of Coloniality on Africa
Abstract
African development will remain intractable in a world where Africans are conceived as constituting disorganised data subject to the supposedly organising gaze of knowledgeable Others. African people are increasingly datafied dehumanised and denied self-knowledge, self-mastery, self-organisation and data sovereignty. Arguing for more attention to questions of data sovereignty, this paper notes that the Internet of Things and Big Data threaten the autonomy, privacy, data and national sovereignty of indigenous Africans. It is contended that decolonial scholars should unpack ethical implications of theorising indigenous people in terms of relational theories that assume absence of distinctions between humans and nonhumans. Deemed to be indistinct from nonhumans/animals, Africans would be inserted or implanted with remotely controlled intelligent tracking technological devices that mine data from their brains, bodies, homes, cities and so on.
Key words: relationality, Big Data, Internet of Things, coloniality, research
Before being an exaltation to Luddites (the English workers from the 19th century who actually destroyed textile machinery as a form of protest) or to some sort of technophobic movement, the provocative pun contained in the title of this article carries a methodological proposal, in the field of critical theory of information, to build a diagnosis about the algorithmic filtering of information, which reveals itself to be a structural characteristic of the new regime of information that brings challenges to human emancipation. Our analysis starts from the concept of mediation to problematize the belief, widespread in much of contemporary society, that the use of machine learning and deep learning techniques for algorithmic filtering of big data will provide answers and solutions to all our questions and problems. We will argue that the algorithmic mediation of information on the internet, which is responsible for deciding which information we will have access to and which will remain invisible, is operated according to the economic interests of the companies that control the platforms we visit on the internet, acting as obstacle to the prospects of informational diversity and autonomy that are fundamental in free and democratic societies.
Doc 1209 : The Curated Food System: A Limiting Aspirational Vision of What Constitutes “Good” Food
In an effort to elucidate an aspirational vision for the food system and explore whether the characteristics of such a system inadvertently set unattainable standards for low-wealth rural communities, we applied discourse analysis to the following qualitative datasets: (1) interviews with food experts and advocates, (2) scholarly and grey literature, (3) industry websites, and (4) email exchanges between food advocates. The analysis revealed eight aspirational food system discourses: production, distribution, and infrastructure; healthy, organic, local food; behavioral health and education; sustainability; finance and investment; hunger relief; demand-side preferences; romanticized, community led transformations. Study findings reveal that of eight discourses, only three encompass the experiences of low-wealth rural residents. This aspirational food system may aggravate the lack of autonomy and powerlessness already experienced by low-wealth rural groups, perpetuate a sense of failure by groups who will be unable to reach the aspirational food vision, silence discourses that might question those that play a role in the inequitable distribution of income while sanctioning discourses that focus on personal or community solutions, and leave out other policy-based solutions that address issues located within the food system. Further research might explore how to draw attention to silenced discourses on the needs and preferences of low-wealth rural populations to ensure that the policies and programs promoted by food system experts mitigate poor diets caused by food insecurity. Further research is needed to inform policies and programs to mitigate food insecurity in low-wealth rural populations.
Doc 1212 : The New Digital Wave of Rationalization
The new wave of digitization and the ensuing cybernetic loop lead to the fact that biological, social, and cognitive processes can be understood in terms of information processes and systems, and thus digitally programmed and controlled. Digital control offers society and the individuals in that society a multitude of opportunities, but also brings new social and ethical challenges. Important public values are at stake, closely linked to fundamental and human rights. This paper focuses on the public value of autonomy, and shows that digitization—by analysis and application of data—can have a profound effect on this value in all sorts of aspects in our lives: in our material, biological, and socio-cultural lives. Since the supervision of autonomy is hardly organized, we need to clarify through reflection and joint debate about what kind of control and human qualities we do not want to lose in the digital future.
Doc 1216 : DECENTRALIZATION IN DIGITAL SOCIETIES.A DESIGN PARADOX
Digital societies come with a design paradox: On the one hand, technologies, such as Internet of Things, pervasive and ubiquitous systems, allow a distributed local intelligence in interconnected devices of our everyday life such as smart phones, smart thermostats, self-driving cars, etc. On the other hand, Big Data collection and storage is managed in a highly centralized fashion, resulting in privacy-intrusion, surveillance actions, discriminatory and segregation social phenomena. What is the difference between a distributed and a decentralized system design? How “decentralized” is the processing of our data nowadays? Does centralized design undermine autonomy? Can the level of decentralization in the implemented technologies influence ethical and social dimensions, such as social justice? Can decentralization convey sustainability? Are there parallelisms between the decentralization of digital technology and the decentralization of urban development?
Doc 1217 : Legal Regulation of Robots and Artificial Intelligence in Latin America, the Problem of Human Rights and AI
We are currently experiencing a new revolution, which is related to the Internet, nanotechnology, biotechnology and robotics. Artificial intelligence is based on intelligent algorithms or learning algorithms similar to human intelligence, technologies make it possible for computer systems to acquire independence, self-adaptive reconfiguration. The greater the autonomy of AI, robots, and androids, the less they depend on manufacturers, owners, and users. The fact that the new generation of robots will coexist with humans should be taken into account in legislation, it should adapt and regulate issues of great legal significance, namely: who takes responsibility for the actions or inaction of intelligent robots? What is their legal status? Should they have a special regime of rights and obligations? How to resolve ethical conflicts related to their behavior? The analysis of legislation and doctrine in Latin America has revealed some trends in the use of AI. 1. The use of AI in various spheres of public life causes legal problems in terms of guaranteeing human rights, as evidenced by the analysis of the constitutions of Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. For example, article 8 of the American Convention on Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to have his case heard, with appropriate guarantees and within a reasonable period of time, before a competent, independent and impartial court convened in advance by law in support of any criminal charge brought against him or to determine his rights or obligations of a civil, labour, financial or any other nature.” 2. The similarity of AI and human intelligence raises the question of legal personality of AI, granting AI rights. The civil and commercial code of Argentina departs from the category of “human person” and establishes the term “legal persons”: “all persons to whom the legal system grants the ability to acquire rights are legal persons for the purpose of fulfilling their purpose and obligations”. The line between things and people is becoming more blurred, technology and a more sensitive view of other living beings lead to doubt whether man is the sole subject of law.
Doc 1252 : Can AI artifacts influence human cognition? The effects of artificial autonomy in intelligent personal assistants
Abstract In the era of the Internet of Things (IoT), emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technologies provide various artificial autonomy features that allow intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) to assist users in managing the dynamically expanding applications, devices, and services in their daily lives. However, limited academic research has been done to validate empirically artificial autonomy and its downstream consequences on human behavior. This study investigates the role of artificial autonomy by dividing it into three types of autonomy in terms of task primitives, namely, sensing, thought, and action autonomy. Drawing on mind perception theory, the authors hypothesize that the two fundamental dimensions of humanlike perceptions—competence and warmth—of non-human entities could explain the mechanism between artificial autonomy and IPA usage. Our results reveal that the comparative effects of competence and warmth perception exist when artificial autonomy contributes to users’ continuance usage intention. Theoretically, this study increases our understanding of AI-enabled artificial autonomy in information systems research. These findings also provide insightful suggestions for practitioners regarding AI artifacts design.
Doc 1258 : 5G Networks, (Cyber)Security Harmonisation and the Internal Market: The Limits of Article 114 TFEU
The European electronic communications market is preparing for the large-scale roll-out of 5G broadband networks, which is expected to revolutionise communications in the EU economy and in European societies. The introduction of 5G technology in Europe can build on an existing framework of electronic communications legislation which were adopted in the internal market harmonisation competences regulated in the legal base provided in art.114 TFEU. However, as revealed by the EU’s policy documents, 5G technology, as well as its suppliers, represent considerable internal security risks and pose a threat to Europe’s technological sovereignty and autonomy. The EU reacted to these challenges by securitising and politicising its 5G policy. These developments question whether its implementation can take place in internal market competences, and whether the EU alone possesses sufficient competences to secure implementation.
Doc 1259 : Autonomous cyber capabilities and the international law of sovereignty and intervention
This article explores the intersection of autonomous cyber capabilities and two primary rules of international law—the respect for the sovereignty of other States and the prohibition on coercive intervention into another State’s internal or external affairs. Of all the rules of international law, these are the likeliest to be violated through employment of cyber capabilities, whether autonomous or not. This raises the question of whether a cyber operation that involves autonomous capabilities presents unique issues with respect to the application of the two rules. The article concludes that while there are numerous unsettled issues surrounding their application to cyber operations, the fact that a cyber operation employs autonomous capabilities has little legal bearing on the resolution of those issues. Rather, autonomy simply makes it more difficult, at least at times, to confidently apply the rules because of the uncertainty as to the consequences. Yet, these are dilemmas of fact, not law, and must be understood and acknowledged as such.
Doc 1263 : Always available via WhatsApp: Mapping everyday boundary work practices and privacy negotiations
Messaging apps such as WhatsApp collapse temporal and spatial distances and enable continuous interactions. At the same time, messaging apps blur boundaries by default and contribute to the blending of different relational contexts as well as the collapsing of absence and presence. Whereas existing studies have mainly focused on the blurring of boundaries between work and private life, this study expands beyond the personal/professional binary and considers boundary work in more nuanced relational contexts. In order to provide a better understanding of boundary work within messaging practices, we conducted interviews and focus groups with employees from a variety of Dutch workplaces, and with participants of WhatsApp neighborhood crime prevention groups. Our findings highlight two forms of boundary work strategies. First, respondents purposefully tinker with WhatsApp features to manage the boundaries between absence and presence. Second, they use smartphone and WhatsApp functionalities to carefully construct segmentations between different contexts. The meaning of particular contexts, the materiality of messaging apps, and technical know-how play a crucial role in these boundary-sculpting practices. The importance of our study is in noting how the ongoing contradictions of messaging practices—being always available but always negotiating that availability—affect everyday experiences of freedom, privacy, and autonomy in significant ways.
This essay explores the digital challenge, how to humanize technology, and the need to rethink the digital-human divide. This is imperative in view of superintelligent Al, which may escape human control. The information age poses quandaries regarding the uses and abuses of technology. A major critique concerns the commercial design of digital technologies that engenders compulsive behavior. All technologies affect humans in a reciprocal way. The new digital technologies-from smartphones to the Internet—where humans are tethered to machines, can impair our autonomy, hijack attention, rewire the brain, and diminish concentration, empathy, knowledge, and wisdom. The remedy is to restore deep reading, human interactions, personal conversations, real friendships, and respect for autonomy and privacy, building a nurturing culture of tolerance, coupled with transcendent norms and ideals worthy of a creature created in the image and likeness of God. This aspiration should be at the center of a new interdisciplinary field of inquiry—a phenomenology of communications.
Doc 1273 : Autonomy and Precautions in the Law of Armed Conflict
Already a controversial topic, legal debate and broader discussions concerning the amount of human control required in the employment of autonomous weapons—including autonomous cyber capabilities—continues. These discussions, particularly those taking place among States that are Parties to the 1980 Certain Conventional Weapons Convention, reveal a complete lack of consensus on the requirement of human control and serve to distract from the more important question with respect to autonomy in armed conflict: under what conditions could autonomous weapons “select” and “attack” targets in a manner that complies with the law of armed conflict (LOAC).
This article analyzes the specific LOAC rules on precautions in attack, as codified in Article 57 of Additional Protocol I, and asserts that these rules do not require human judgment in targeting decisions. Rather, these rules prescribe a particular analysis that must be completed by those who plan or decide upon an attack prior to exercising force, including decisions made by autonomous systems without meaningful human control. To the extent that autonomous weapons and weapons systems using autonomous functions can be designed and employed in such a way to comply with all required precautions, they would not violate the LOAC. A key feature of determining the ability of autonomous weapons and weapons systems using autonomous functions to meet these requirements must be a rigorous weapons review process.
Doc 1284 : Disciplining Data Localisation Measure: Approach through ASEAN Agreement on E-Commerce
Digital trade depends on the accessibility of data through the internet, at the same time, several states have also introduced measures to govern the use of and access to data through the Internet. This measure includes data localisation measure. To enhance the digital business environment, ASEAN Member States in 2019 signed the ASEAN Agreement on E-Commerce (AAoE) containing a commitment to e-commerce liberalisation in the region. This research will analyse data localisation measure-related provisions found in AAoE. It addresses the following central question, whether data localisation measure-related provisions in ASEAN Agreement on E-Commerce can achieve balance between e-commerce liberalisation and the protection of societal interest in the ASEAN region. This research concludes that protection of important societal interests is attained by the AAoE. However, the structure of the AAoE in general is not in balance between the liberalisation and protection of important interest as such, but more to leaning towards the preservation of the state’s regulatory autonomy on data flow.
Doc 1285 : The Future of Work in the Era of ‘Digital Capitalism’
In many countries, government agencies, business and employers’ associations, CEOs from big corporations, and even trade union leaders seem to be convinced that a fourth wave of industrial revolution is under way which will reconfigure the global production system and even societies at large. In the Anglo-Saxon context, this wave is often referred to as the ‘internet of things’, while in Germany and other European countries, where the digitalization of production and distribution is at the centre of the debate, this operates under the term ‘Industry 4.0’. These terms not only describe the digitalization of horizontal and vertical value chains of companies, but also formulate a vision of the future that promises new market and export opportunities as well as a new ecologically sustainable way of doing business. It is assumed that a ‘new spirit of capitalism’ will allow for a certain margin of autonomy and non-hierarchical cooperation not only between firms and workers but also with the so-called ‘prosumers’, a term designed to catch the convergence of boundaries between consumers and producers, and referring to the unpaid – and usually unaware – work of the internet user. Some pundits like Paul Mason go so far as to imagine that the fourth industrial revolution might provide not only a technologically inspired route out of fossil fuel dependence, but would more generally free us from capitalist imperatives. Others are more sceptical about the promises of digitalization, either pointing to various technological bottlenecks that stand in the way of a widespread use of digital infrastructure, or stressing the corporate crusade against data governance (just getting started), or questioning whether the digital economy can be placed at the service of ecological sustainability. This essay attempts to subject the digitalization hype, especially how far digitalization can be linked to societal goals in favour of workers, to a critical assessment.
Doc 1286 : Protest, Internet Activism, and Sociopolitical Change in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa has been the scene of a sizeable wave of social and political protests in recent years. These protests have many aspects in common, while at the same time there is a certain historic continuity connecting them to previous protests, with which they also have much in common. What makes them new, however, is a hybrid nature that combines street protest and online action, making them similar to protests occurring in other parts of the world during the same period. Based on a literature review and field work on three countries, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this article addresses some of the main features of what some authors have called the “third wave of African protests.” The study points out how the digital environment is galvanizing a new process of popular opposition and enabling both greater autonomy for actors promoting the protests and greater interaction at the regional level. With the sociopolitical impact in the short and medium term still uncertain, the third wave of African protests is giving birth to a new political and democratic culture in the region as a whole.
Doc 1296 : ‘European Digital Sovereignty’: Successfully Navigating Between the ‘Brussels Effect’ and Europe’s Quest for Strategic Autonomy
This Study discusses extensively the concept of Digital Sovereignty. It presents the opportunities opened by the concept but also the risks and pitfalls. It provides a panorama of the major debates and developments related to digital/cyber issues in Europe. Here is the Executive Summary of the Study:
“The Times They Are A-Changin”. When Jean-Claude Juncker, then President of the European Commission, proclaimed in 2018 that “The Hour of European Sovereignty” had come, half of Europe criticized him, recalls Paul Timmers. Today hardly a day goes by in Europe, without a politician talking about “digital sovereignty”.
From a purely normative point of view, the concept makes little sense. It can only further accentuate the classic confusion surrounding the use of the term “sovereignty”, which is one of the most equivocal terms in legal theory and which has been criticized by a famous scholar for often being nothing more than “a catchword, a substitute for thinking and precision”. Still, from a political point of view, “European digital sovereignty” is an extremely powerful concept, broad and ambiguous enough to encompass very different things and to become a “projection surface for a wide variety of political demands”.
This study analyses in a detailed way the two understandings of the term: sovereignty as regulatory power; and, sovereignty as strategic autonomy and the ability to act in the digital sphere without being restricted to an undesired extent by external dependencies. While doing so, this study presents a panorama of the most recent le-gislative proposals (such as the Data Governance Act) and the most important debates on digital issues currently taking place at the European level: 5G deployment and cybersecurity concerns; international data transfers and foreign governments’ access to data after SchremsII; cloud computing; the digital services tax; competition law; content moderation; artificial intelligence regulation; and so many others.
The first part of this study challenges the sometimes expressed idea that Europe is a somehow “powerless” entity, unable to regulate the digital sphere and big tech companies. Applying Anu Bradford’s concept of “The Brussels Effect”, this study shows that the EU is the most powerful global actor in the field of digital regulation. Far from being normatively irrelevant, Europe has become, through the “Brussels effect”, a “global regulatory hegemon unmatched by its geopolitical rivals”.
This does not of course mean that Europe can or needs to regulate everything. There are several limits to what Europe can and wishes to regulate. These are due to internal and external factors. Internally, regulatory action could be blocked by political disagreements among EU Member States; legal obstacles (starting with the national security exemption); or economic considerations - for instance the fear that overregulating AI could hinder innovation and affect competitiveness. Externally, situations of interdependence could render international cooperation necessary in order to avoid retaliation, to find constructive solutions and to resolve conflicts of laws and jurisdiction. This study presents some of the top priorities in the field of international cooperation and builds upon proposals to create “strategic partnerships” with like-minded stakeholders in order to defend certain democratic values and human rights in cyberspace.
The second part of this study focuses on digital sovereignty as strategic autonomy. The EU quest for strategic autonomy in the digital sphere is based on a series of legitimate concerns, including geopolitical considerations and a series of dependencies, the significance of which has been exacerbated by recent important developments such as the US-China “tech war” or the Covid-19 crisis. These concerns have led to initiatives which open opportunities for Europe. However, they also entail potential pitfalls. The EU and Member States should carefully study the risks and successfully navigate around them or, at least, take decisions in an informed way, after sufficiently weighing the potential negative impact of a specific measure.
Europe should first of all undertake to draw the fine line between restrictions based on legitimate reasons (such as compelling cybersecurity or privacy/data protection considerations) and unjustified protectionist measures. Before engaging in anything resembling the latter, Europe should examine the risks posed by such measures.
Another area where much more study is necessary are the current calls for “data localisation” and the idea that “European data must be stored and processed in Europe”. Greater understanding of the stakes is necessary: what exactly does “data localisation” mean at a technical level? What are the exact reasons behind the calls to implement such policies in Europe? What are the potential adverse effects and the costs for European companies? What would be the consequences in terms of cybersecurity? And what could be the potential impact on human rights? Data localisation measures, initially promoted by countries like Russia, are now adopted by other countries. NGOs have indicated that this is “alarming” for the future of the free, open and global internet. What would be the message sent to other countries if Europe embraces data localisation?
European calls in favor of data localisation are often motivated by genuine and legi-timate concerns, related to data protection, privacy considerations and the fear of foreign snooping into European personal and industrial data. Nevertheless, it is well known that data protection considerations can sometimes be misused as a vehicle to further domestic business interests and protectionism. The question then is how to distinguish between data protection and data protectionism. This paper advances a series of thoughts and a methodology in order to assess if data localisation is, in specific circumstances, an adequate way to deal with data protection risks. It considers that the critical test should be whether restrictions to transnational data flows are proportionate to the risks presented, taking into account the nature of the data and a series of other considerations. As a conclusion, data localisation could not be a ne-cessary, proportionate or adequate response to serve data protection in cases where the likelihood of foreign access to data is very limited and where other, more satisfactory and less disruptive, solutions exist.
In a more general way, this study raises the question of what model Europe wishes to promote. An increasing number of voices in Europe are calling for it to imitate certain Chinese policies. For years, Europe has been criticizing Chinese protectionism as well as the “Chinese model” of the internet, a model based on firewalls, surveillance and control. How could Europe avoid policy inconsistency and contradiction if it enters into a “The Chinese do it, we will do it” approach?
The study concludes that Europe has important and hard choices to make in order to achieve strategic autonomy. The “European digital sovereignty” debate is a useful way to inform policy-makers and citizens and to enable decision-making based not on emotions, but on careful risk-assessment and thorough analysis of the issues involved.
Doc 1297 : Council of Europe convention 108+: A modernised international treaty for the protection of personal data
The Council of Europe has modernized its Convention 108 for the protection of individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data: in 2018 it adopted Convention 108+. The modernised version of Convention 108 seeks to respond to the challenges posed, in terms of human rights, by the use of new information and communication technologies. This article presents a detailed analysis of this new international text. Convention 108+ contains important innovations: it proclaims the importance of protecting the right to informational autonomy and human dignity in the face of technological developments. It consolidates the proportionality requirement for data processing and strengthens the arsenal of rights of the data subjects. It reinforces the responsibility of those in charge of data processing as well as its transparency. It requires notification of security breaches. It strengthens the independence, powers and means of action of the supervisory authorities. It also strengthens the mechanism to ensure its effective implementation by entrusting the Committee set up by the Convention with the task of verifying compliance with the commitments made by Parties.
Doc 1299 : Luring Lolita: The Age of Consent and the Burden of Responsibility for Online Luring
This article argues that sexual exploitation is the underlying harm that online luring offences should address, but that social anxieties about youth online sexuality have obscured this underlying harm. Through analyzing North American Internet safety materials and Canadian luring case law, the author finds that on the one hand risks of luring are generalized and on the other limited only to victims under the age of consent. The result is that very often older youth are made responsible for their own victimization, while younger ones are assumed to be victimized and hence denied avenues to sexual expression. By neglecting to analyze online interactions for the dynamics of exploitation, we do a disservice to older youths who are exploited while denying sexual autonomy to youth under the age of consent.
Doc 1301 : The Role of the Rule of Law in Virtual Communities
There is a severe tendency in cyberlaw theory to delegitimize state intervention in the governance of virtual communities. Much of the existing theory makes one of two fundamental flawed assumptions: that communities will always be best governed without the intervention of the state; or that the territorial state can best encourage the development of communities by creating enforceable property rights and allowing the market to resolve any disputes. These assumptions do not ascribe sufficient weight to the value-laden support that the territorial state always provides to private governance regimes, the inefficiencies that will tend to limit the development utopian communities, and the continued role of the territorial state in limiting autonomy in accordance with communal values. In order to overcome these deterministic assumptions, this article provides a framework based upon the values of the rule of law through which to conceptualise the legitimacy of the private exercise of power in virtual communities. The rule of law provides a constitutional discourse that assists in considering appropriate limits on the exercise of private power. I argue that the private contractual framework that is used to govern relations in virtual communities ought to be informed by the values of the rule of law in order to more appropriately address the governance tensions that permeate these spaces. These values suggest three main limits to the exercise of private power: that governance is limited by community rules and that the scope of autonomy is limited by the substantive values of the territorial state; that private contractual rules should be general, equal, and certain; and that, most importantly, internal norms be predicated upon the consent of participants.
Doc 1302 : Artificial Intelligence: Risks to Privacy and Democracy
Karl Manheim Lyric Kaplan
A “Democracy Index” is published annually by the Economist. For 2017, it reported that half of the world’s countries scored lower than the previous year. This included the United States, which was demoted from “full democracy” to “flawed democracy.” The principal factor was “ero-sion of confidence in government and public institutions.” Interference by Russia and voter manipulation by Cambridge Analytica in the 2016 presi-dential election played a large part in that public disaffection.
Threats of these kinds will continue, fueled by growing deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to manipulate the preconditions and levers of democracy. Equally destructive is AI’s threat to decisional and informa-tional privacy. AI is the engine behind Big Data Analytics and the Internet of Things. While conferring some consumer benefit, their principal function at present is to capture personal information, create detailed behavioral profiles and sell us goods and agendas. Privacy, anonymity and autonomy are the main casualties of AI’s ability to manipulate choices in economic and political decisions.
The way forward requires greater attention to these risks at the nation-al level, and attendant regulation. In its absence, technology giants, all of whom are heavily investing in and profiting from AI, will dominate not only the public discourse, but also the future of our core values and democratic institutions.
Doc 1303 : Evaluasi Tingkat Kematangan e-Government Pada Partisipasi Masyarakat dan Pelayanan Publik Menerapkan Framework Gartner
E-government as part of internet products has become a topic of discussion in internet and mass media discussions and is popular after being linked to the regional autonomy policy of districts / cities in Indonesia. However, there are still many government information systems that are developed and implemented that do not function optimally at both the regional and central government levels. Measuring the level of E-government maturity is needed to determine the extent to which the successful application of E-government is. The purpose of the E-government maturity assessment is to provide basic data, advanced data, and all that is necessary for the development of an E-government strategy. Gartner is one of the models used to measure the maturity level of e-government. Gartner’s model suggests four critical phases of the evolution of e-government, namely: web presence, interaction, transactions, and transformation. The gartner model is used to measure the maturity level in Sukoharjo district. The research methodology used a questionnaire and the calculation used the average score for each dimension. To determine the relationship between dimensions and criteria, the PLS (Partial Least Square) method is used. Research has proven that the maturity level of E-government is 4.06 (predictable process). The dimensions of transformation and usability affect community participation using e-government in Sukoharjo district.
Doc 1305 : A Plural Account of the Transnational Law Merchant
AbstractThe Law Merchant is depicted today as a transnational system based on merchant practice operating outside the fabric of national law. It is conceived as cosmopolitan in nature, universal in application, expertly delivered, and independent of other regulatory systems.This article critiques these qualities attributed to the historical as well as present-day Law Merchant. It disputes that it has evolved ‘spontaneously’ out of merchant practice; that it is uniform in nature; and that it transcends national law. It argues instead that the Law Merchant is often fragmentary in nature and subject to disparate national and transnational influences. It challenges, in particular, unitary conceptions of ‘autonomy’ ascribed to the Law Merchant, presenting a pluralistic conception of Law Merchant ‘autonomy’ instead. It illustrates these arguments in relation to the so-called Cyberspace Law Merchant and to transnational commercial arbitration.
Doc 1306 : The Consent Myth: Improving Choice for Patients of the Future
Consent has enjoyed a prominent position in the American privacy system since at least 1970, though historically, consent emerged from traditional notions of tort and contract. Largely because consent has an almost deferential power as a proxy for consumer choice, organizations increasingly use consent as a de facto standard for demonstrating privacy commitments. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Trade Commission have integrated the concept of consent into health care, research, and general commercial activities. Despite consent’s prominence in U.S. law, this article seeks to understand, more fully, consent’s origins and development, then applies a philosophical-legal lens to clearly identify problems with consent in its current use. Jurgen Habermas’ theory of communicative action as it applies to private and public spheres and Helen Nissenbaum’s model for contextual inquiry provide useful lenses for understanding the impact of consent on human autonomy. This article suggests five resulting problems for human autonomy, the “consent myth,” and four principles for addressing these problems in contemporary health technologies, such as Internet of Health Things (IoHT) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Doc 1307 : Postmodern Free Expression: A Philosophical Rationale for the Digital Age
Three philosophical rationales–search-for-truth, self-governance, and self-fulfillment–have animated discussions of free expression for decades. Each rationale emerged and attained prominence in American jurisprudence in specific political and cultural circumstances. Moreover, each rationale shares a foundational commitment to the classical liberal (modernist) self. But the three traditional rationales are incompatible with our digital age. In particular, the idea of the classical liberal self enjoying maximum liberty in a private sphere does not fit in the postmodern information society. The time for a new rationale has arrived. The same sociocultural conditions that undermine the traditional rationales suggest a self-emergence rationale built on the feminist concept of relational autonomy. This novel rationale constitutionally protects expression that fosters the ongoing creative and dynamic process of self-emergence. As such, the rationale justifies protecting expression concerned with the emergent self’s struggle to define itself and the broader culture. The self-emergence rationale has important ramifications, especially for free-expression issues related to the Internet. The Roberts Court has invoked the traditional rationales in granting expansive first-amendment protections to corporations. Many Internet-related issues involve multinational corporations, such as Google, Verizon, and Facebook. But under the self-emergence rationale, publicly held business corporations should not have free-speech rights for two reasons. First, they have fixed rather than emergent natures. Second, they manipulate and limit the sociocultural space available for the autonomous self-emergence of individuals.
Doc 1308 : Rethinking Reasonable Expectations of Privacy in Online Social Networks
Present U.S. privacy law is predominantly based on the ideals of individual control, autonomy, and liberty from governmental intrusion, despite the fact that its inspiration was an idea grounded on the importance of protecting human dignity and an “inviolate personality.” On the other hand, Europe has predominantly taken the position that privacy protects human dignity and fosters personal relationships. This view also promotes individual autonomy, although it does so in a different fashion and – as this paper suggests – perhaps to a greater extent. Privacy laws based on the right to a private life, such as those generally found in European jurisdictions, more accurately reflect the realities of the digital age and properly protect individual privacy online. In combination, protecting autonomy through principles based on human dignity and recognizing that reasonable expectations can have their place in the context of online communities and digital communication – albeit often mediated and less private than some forms of offline communication – would result in more effective individual safeguards and more satisfactory results. Recent decisions of the European Court of Human Rights have laid the theoretical groundwork required for heightened protection of human dignity in these online environments.
Doc 1311 : Contractual Choice of Law in Contracts of Adhesion and Party Autonomy
Contractual choice of Law in contracts of adhesion is an issue that poses great challenge to the conflict of law theory. The issue is also practically important because the increasing use of form contracts in the traditional paper world, and particularly in the Internet based business transactions. In the US, the enforceability of contracts of adhesion remains unsettled and the choice of law question in the contracts as such is left unanswered. The article analyzes the nature of contracts of adhesion as opposed to the party autonomy principle in contractual choice of law, and argues that contracts of adhesion do not conform to the basic notion of party autonomy. The article suggests that the choice of law clause in contracts of adhesion shall not take effect unless adherents meaningfully agree. The article proposes a second chance approach for contractual choice of law in contracts of adhesion. The approach is intended to set a general rule that a choice of law clause in an adhesive contract shall not be deemed enforceable prior to affirmation of the true assent of adherent.
This essay explores why the United States is relinquishing an important source of power over the Internet, and what this means for both users of the Internet and scholars of global governance. The Internet began as a niche tool of engineers and academics, funded by the Department of Defense. Governance was loosely exercised by an insular group of enthusiasts and experts. By the 1990s, as the Internet grew rapidly, control was asserted more directly by the US government. Significant power was delegated to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a California non-profit. In June 2016, the Obama administration approved ICANN’s proposal for independent management of the critical “naming and numbering” function of the Internet. ICANN — governed by a complex multistakeholder structure that incorporates many non state actors — will directly control what is essentially the address book of the Internet. By delegating more autonomy to ICANN, the US will strengthen multistakeholderism, not just for ICANN, but as a broader principle of global governance. The Internet has been, over the past two decades, a central site of struggle between multistakeholderism and multilateralism. By relinquishing its role as primus inter pares among states, the US seemingly will lose an important source of power over the Internet. And yet even as its power is diminished, the achievement of its preferences will be strengthened. This somewhat paradoxical story has important lessons not only for the exercise of state power over the Internet but also for the evolution of global governance in a time when increasing numbers of nonstate actors across a range of international issues have achieved substantial participatory roles.
Author(s): Samuelson, Pamela | Abstract: Fair use has been invoked as a defense to claims of copyright infringement in a wide array of cases over the past thirty years, as when someone has drawn expression from an earlier work in order to parody it, quoted from an earlier work in preparing a new work on the same subject, published a photograph as part of a news story, made a time-shift copy of television programming, photocopied a document for submission as evidence in a litigation, reverse engineered a computer program to get access to interface information, cached websites to facilitate faster access to them, or provided links to images available on the Internet, just to name a few.The wide array of fair use cases has led many commentators to complain that fair use is unpredictable. This Article argues that fair use law is both more coherent and more predictable than many commentators have perceived once one recognizes that fair use cases tend to fall into common patterns, or what this Article will call policy-relevant clusters. The policies underlie modern fair use law include promoting freedom of speech and of expression, the ongoing progress of authorship, learning, access to information, truth-telling or truth-seeking, competition, technological innovation, and privacy and autonomy interests of users. If one analyzes putative fair uses in light of cases previously decided in the same policy cluster, it is generally possible to predict whether a use is likely to be fair or unfair. Policy-relevant clustering is not a substitute for appropriate consideration of the statutory fair use factors, but provides another dimension to fair use analysis that complements four-factor analysis and sharpens awareness about how the statutory factors, sometimes supplemented by other factors, should be analyzed in particular contexts.Parts I through V mainly provide a positive account of how fair use has been adjudicated in a variety of contexts and suggestions about factors that should be given greater or lesser weight in certain fair use policy clusters. Its articulation of the policy-relevant clusters into which the fair use cases typically fall should not, however, be understood as attempting to limn the outer bounds of fair use or to foreclose the development of new policy-relevant clusters. Part VI offers a more normative account of fair use as an integral and essential part of U.S. copyright law that can, in fact, encompass the wide range of fair uses discussed in the Article. It also recaps the key lessons from this Article’s qualitative assessment of the fair use case law and points to some encouraging trends in recent cases.
The introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our contemporary society imposes historically unique challenges for humankind. The emerging autonomy of AI holds unique potentials of eternal life of robots, AI and algorithms alongside unprecedented economic superiority, data storage and computational advantages. Yet to this day, it remains unclear what impact AI taking over the workforce will have on economic growth. The contemporary trend of slowbalisation is described, as the slowing down of conventional globalization of goods, services and Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) flows; yet at the same time, we still see human migration and air travel as well as data transfer continuing to rise. These market trends of conventional globalization slowing and rising AI-related industries are proposed as first market disruption in the wake of the large-scale entrance of AI into our contemporary economy. Growth in the artificial age is then proposed to be measured based on two AI entrance proxies of Global Connectivity Index and The State of the Mobile Internet Connectivity 2018 Index, which is found to be highly significantly positively correlated with the total inflow of migrants and FDI inflow – serving as evidence that the still globalizing rising industries in the age of slowbalisation are connected to AI. Both indices are positively correlated with GDP output in cross-sectional studies over the world.
Doc 1316 : History Lessons for a General Theory of Law and Technology
Our society thrives on new technology and technological advance. We enjoy the internet, clothes that do not wrinkle or stain, and the wonders of medical biotechnology. A century of innovation has improved our lives in myriad ways. We are healthier, wealthier, and, if not necessarily happier, have a vastly greater variety of options for how to spend our leisure time. The marvels of technological advance are not always riskfree. The risks presented by new technologies can take varying forms: deleterious effects on human health or the environment, concerns about individual autonomy and privacy, or concerns relating to community or moral values. Such risks and perceived risks often create new issues and disputes to which
Table of Contents Introduction I. The Tax Information Flow and Gap A. How the IRS Acquires Taxpayer Information 1. Information Provided by the Taxpayer 2. Information Provided by Third Parties B. The Tax Information Gap 1. Compliance Burden 2. The Tax Compliance Gap Is Substantial II. Surveillance to Close the Information Gap A. The Information Gap Problem B. Information Technology Revolution and the Information Gap C. Predicting a Tax Surveillance System 1. The IRS and the Growing Gush of Data 2. Technological Feasibility 3. Political Feasibility III. Discussing, Debating, and Researching Surveillance and Taxation A. Privacy and Autonomy B. Legal Authority and Limits C. Tax Surveillance and Tax Reform The IRS always been an information intensive enterprise. But it’s the organization of and ultimately the knowledge and intelligence we extract from the information we receive that really matters. It can show us the areas of greatest non-compliance … and thereby, contributes to more efficient and effective compliance programs. –IRS Commissioner Doug Schulman (2011) (1) Every animate and inanimate object on earth will soon be generating data, including our homes, our cars, and, yes, even our bodies. –The Human Face of Big Data (2012) (2) Introduction Although the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has always been an information intensive agency, (3) its information-gathering never been the focus of privacy scholars. Those scholars have instead focused on agencies such as the National Security Administration (NSA). (4) But the IRS’s legal claim to private information is remarkable. It is entitled to collect information about who sleeps how often in your house, (5) your hobbies, (6) your reading preferences, (7) your religious affiliation, (8) your travel plans, (9) your weight and your doctor’s recommendations about it, (10) your spouse or your dependent’s abortion, sterilization, (11) or gender identity disorder, (12) and if you were considering a carnal quid pro quo when you made a gift to your mistress. (13) Yet, privacy scholars have taken no note of the IRS’s extraordinary legal claim to such information. From the reverse angle, despite the information-intensive aspects of tax law, tax scholars have not taken note of the increasing pervasiveness of information technology. (14) Modern technologies are creating minutely detailed records of our existence, (15) increasingly facilitating the persistent, continuous and indiscriminate monitoring of our daily lives. (16) One information privacy scholar described the radical and technological transformation of personal information: The small details that were once captured in dim memories or fading scraps of paper are now preserved forever in the digital minds of computers, vast databases with fertile fields of personal data…. Every day, rivulets of information stream into electronic brains to be sifted, sorted, rearranged, and combined in hundreds of different ways. Technology enables the preservation of the minutia of our everyday comings and goings, of our likes and dislikes, of who we are and what we are…. It is ever more possible to create an electronic collage that covers much of a person’s life–a life captured in records, a digital biography composed in the collective computer networks of the world. (17) A prominent national security advisor predicted that by 2040, all of our daily activities will be known by governmental and corporate pursuing the gush of data from the internet of things. (18) As we move towards such a future, the IRS most likely will be among those entities pursuing this growing gush of data. This Article suggests an agenda for discussion among privacy and tax law scholars: issues we ought to consider, research we ought to pursue, and debates we ought to have. In Part I of this Article, I describe the flow of tax-relevant information from taxpayers and third parties to the IRS. …
Doc 1323 : Author Autonomy and Atomism in Copyright Law
Author(s): Van Houweling, Molly S | Abstract: The power and ubiquity of personal computing and the Internet have enabled individuals - even impecunious amateurs - to create and communicate in ways that were previously possible only for well-funded corporate publishers. These individual creators are increasingly harnessing law - insisting on ownership of their rights and controlling the ways in which those rights are licensed to others. Facebook users are demanding ownership of their online musings. Scholars are archiving their research online and refusing to assign their copyrights to publishers. Independent musicians are streaming their own songs and operating without record companies. Organizations like the Free Software Foundation are encouraging individual authors to manage their copyrights in innovative ways.When the myriad individual authors empowered by today’s ubiquitous digital technology claim, retain, and manage their own copyrights, they exercise a degree of authorial autonomy that befits the Internet Age. But they simultaneously contribute to a troubling phenomenon I call copyright - the proliferation, distribution, and fragmentation of the exclusive rights bestowed by law, and of idiosyncratic permutations of those rights. The information and transaction costs associated with atomism could hamper future generations of technology-fueled creativity and thus undermine the very purpose of copyright: to encourage the creation and dissemination of works of authorship for the ultimate benefit of the public.In this project I aim to place contemporary atomism in historical and doctrinal context by documenting law’s previous encounters with proliferated, distributed, and fragmented ownership. Along the way I examine how law has encouraged and discouraged atomism and managed its consequences. This history demonstrates the enduring relevance of my concerns within policy, highlights countervailing interests, and provides a framework for thinking about how to alleviate the unfortunate consequences of atomism - and how not to.
Doc 1327 : Cyber-security Research Ethics Dialogue & Strategy Workshop
The future of online trust, innovation and self-regulation is threatened by a widening gap between users’ expectations informed by laws and norms, and new capacities for benefits and harms generated by technological advances. As this gap widens so too does ambiguity between asserted rights, interests, and threats. As a result society perceives heightened tensions and risks when engaging the Web. How do we narrow this gap and thereby lower risks of actions online in manner that instills trust, safeguards autonomy, and promotes ingenuity? One part of this solution is to embrace the fundamental principles of ethics to guide our decisions in the midst of information uncertainty. One context where this solution is germinating is cyber security research. These research activities are prerequisite for evidence-based policymaking that impacts us individually and collectively, such as infrastructure security, cyber crime, network neutrality, free market competition, spectrum application and broadband deployment, censorship, technology transfer, and intellectual property rights. Therefore, in the wake of struggles to resolve the aforementioned mounting tensions, ethics has re-emerged as a crucial ordering force. For this reason, ethics underpins the debate among cyber security researchers, oversight entities, industrial organizations, the government and end users about the acceptability of Internet research activities.
Doc 1329 : Social networking: a conceptual analysis of a data controller
This paper will look at the definition of a “data controller” within the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and consider whether the phenomenom of social networking (through Facebook (FB), MySpace and Bebo) has produced unintended consequences in the interpretation and application of the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC to the online environment. The Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC defines a “data controller” broadly to refer to the ‘natural or legal person, public authority, agency or any other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of processing are determined by national or Community laws or regulations, the controller or the specific criteria for his nomination may be designated by national or Community law.’ If the definition of the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (DPD) is applied literally to social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, arguably, not only organisations such as FB and MySpace are regarded as “data controllers” (through Art. 4 of the DPD), but individuals who posted information about others (friends or work colleagues etc.) would also be regarded as “data controllers” and thus have to adhere to the legal rules laid down under the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (ie. Art. 7 of the DPD fair and lawful processing; not excessive etc) unless it could be shown that the exemptions under Art. 9 that processing was intended for journalistic, artistic and literary purposes or that Art. 13 exceptions apply. As identified in an earlier paper, Art. 3.2 DPD (Wong and Savirimuthu, Art. 3(2) All or Nothing: This is the Question? The Application of Art. 3(2) Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC to the Internet) is unlikely to apply whereby processing was carried out for private and domestic purposes. This paper is an attempt to address a definitional difficulty that the legislatures did not anticipate. In attempting to protect the privacy of individuals, it is now possible to argue that it is becoming easier for individuals (and not merely organisations) to be brought 1 Dr Rebecca Wong is Senior Lecturer in Law at Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University with teaching and research interests in Tort, Intellectual property, Data Protection and Cyber law. Her main areas of specialism are in data protection and privacy. She recently guest edited a Special Issue on “Identity, Privacy and New Technologies” in the International Journal of Intellectual Property Management 2008/9. She can be reached at R.Wong@ntu.ac.uk.
The role of intellectual property is changing. IP traditionally is characterized as providing economic incentives to invest in creative production or as a reward for intellectual labor, and accordingly IP laws typically are associated with the needs of corporate creators and celebrity artists. In an era of smartphones and social media, however, IP has become a tool for a diverse range of vulnerable individuals to assert autonomy within unequal and risky digital environments.
This paper examines cases in which IP is not being used to fortify economic incentives or reward labor but instead as a way to manage boundaries around sensitive and intimate social activities. These include lawsuits to combat the nonconsensual dissemination of sexual imagery and lawsuits by families of deceased artists and public figures to shape the cultural memory of the deceased. IP theory has often resisted addressing questions of sexual autonomy, privacy, or family mourning, yet IP is playing an increasingly important role in mediating each. Many scholars have stressed that we no longer need IP laws to spur widespread creative activity in the social media era; nevertheless, the social, emotional, and economic stakes surrounding control over image, sounds, and text arguably have never been greater.
This paper makes two main contributions. First, it shows that IP often provides an effective tool for managing personal and social boundaries and as a result reinforces autonomy, community, and kinship among the diverse group of individuals who become rights holders. Individuals are using the old tools of IP to tackle a new and different set of socioeconomic challenges. Second, as a normative matter, it argues that IP provides some important practical and conceptual advantages over other legal responses to sexual privacy and family mourning. IP delegates context-sensitive boundary-management decisions to individuals, families, and communities—as opposed to more top-down criminal or regulatory solutions—and can be transferred within communities and across generations—as opposed to more individualized tort and contract solutions. Although undeniably a break from traditional theory, IP can be a useful means of legally responding to emergent cultural vulnerabilities.
Doc 1335 : Limit your body area -a COVID-19 mass radicalisation challenging autonomy and basic human rights
Purpose This paper aims to explore articulations of how individuals internalise official demands on handling COVID-19 and the function of social media in this process, and further to discuss this from a human rights’ perspective. Design/methodology/approach A thematic analysis of qualitative data from an international survey on COVID-19 and social media. The analysis was inspired by Berger and Luckmann’s theory of reality as a social construction. Findings Articulations expressed an instant internalisation and externalisation of the officially defined “new normal”. However, negotiations of this “new normal” were articulated, whereby everyday life activities could proceed. Resistance to the “new normal” appeared, as routines and common sense understandings of everyday life were threatened. Health-care professionals were put in a paradoxical situation, living in accordance with the “new normal” outside work and legitimately deviating from it at work. The “new normal” calls for individuals’ “oughtonomy” rather than autonomy. Social media were used to push individual’s re-socialisation into the “new normal”. The latter both promoted and challenged human rights as the individual’s right to self-determination extends beyond the self as it risks threatening other people’s right to life. Originality/value With the means of a theoretically based thematic analysis inspired by Berger and Luckmann, the current study shows how articulations on COVID-19 and social media can both support and challenge human rights and reality as a facticity as dictated by dominant organisations and discourses in society.
Doc 1336 : Power Wheelchair Virtual Reality Simulator with Vestibular Feedback
Autonomy and the ability to maintain social activities can be challenging for people with disabilities experiencing reduced mobility. In the case of disabilities that impact mobility, power wheelchairs can help such people retain or regain autonomy. Nonetheless, driving a power wheelchair is a complex task that requires a combination of cognitive, visual and visuo-spatial abilities. In practice, people need to pass prior ability tests and driving training before being prescribed a power wheelchair by their therapist. Still, conventional training in occupational therapy can be insufficient for some people with severe cognitive and/or visio-spatial functions. As such, these people are often prevented from obtaining a power wheelchair prescription from their therapist due to safety concerns. In this context, driving simulators might be efficient and promising tools to provide alternative, adaptive, flexible, and safe training. In previous work, we proposed a Virtual Reality (VR) driving simula-integrating vestibular feedback to simulate wheelchair motion sensations. The performance and acceptability of a VR simulator rely on satisfying user Quality of Experience (QoE). Therefore, our simulator is designed to give the user a high Sense of Presence (SoP) and low Cyber-sickness. This paper presents a pilot study assessing the impact of the vestibular feedback provided on user QoE. Participants were asked to perform a driving task whilst in the simulator under two conditions: with and without vestibular feedback. User QoE is assessed through subjective questionnaires measuring user SoP and cyber-sickness. The results show that vestibular feedback activation increases SoP and decreases cyber-sickness. This study constitutes a mandatory step before clinical trials and, as such, only enrolled people without disabilities.
Doc 1337 : A freedom of expression perspective on AI in the media – with a special focus on editorial decision making on social media platforms and in the news media
AI-driven tools play an increasingly important role in the media: from smart tools that assist journalists in producing their stories to the fully automated production of news stories (robot journalism), from audience analytics that inform editorial decisions to AI-driven news recommendations. As such, AI-driven tools are more than simple tools. Within newsrooms, AI-driven tools exemplify potentially far-reaching structural changes in internal routines and divisions of responsibility between humans and machines. Within European media markets, the introduction of AI-driven tools brings with it substantial structural shifts and transformations of power. And from the perspective of users and society, AI-driven tools could result in new, smarter and more responsive ways of informing the public, but when applied wrongly, also have potentially a detrimental effect on the public sphere, on pluralism, privacy, autonomy and equal chances to communicate. The right to freedom of expression in Article 10 ECHR is an important basis to inform law and policy makers on possible approaches to regulating AI in the media (including the European Commission’s ambitious plans for regulating AI), but can also more broadly inform our thinking about the potential and threats from AI for the realisation of freedom of expression, and the role of the media in that context. After an introduction to some of the recent developments around AI and algorithms in the news media, we will highlight some of the most pressing freedom of expression implications stemming from AI-driven tools in the news media. We will also show that the protection afforded under Article 10 ECHR comes with specific duties and responsibilities for the news media and reflect on the question of how to deal with AI-driven tools in a way that is compatible with fundamental rights and freedoms. Finally, we will explain that, while the introduction of AI-driven tools can create new opportunities for users to exercise their freedom of expression rights, the application of automated filtering and sorting can also result in new digital inequalities and unequal opportunities of access to information.
Doc 1340 : Is There a Duty to Be a Digital Minimalist?
The harms associated with wireless mobile devices (e.g. smartphones) are well documented. They have been linked to anxiety, depression, diminished attention span, sleep disturbance, and decreased relationship satisfaction. Perhaps what is most worrying from a moral perspective, however, is the effect these devices can have on our autonomy. In this article, we argue that there is an obligation to foster and safeguard autonomy in ourselves, and we suggest that wireless mobile devices pose a serious threat to our capacity to fulfill this obligation. We defend the existence of an imperfect duty to be a ‘digital minimalist’. That is, we have a moral obligation to be intentional about how and to what extent we use these devices. The empirical findings already justify prudential reasons in favor of digital minimalism, but the moral duty is distinct from and independent of prudential considerations.
Doc 1341 : Ethical Issues with Using Internet of Things Devices in Citizen Science Research: A Scoping Review
Digital innovation is ever more present and increasingly integrated into citizen science research. However, smartphones and other connected devices come with specific features and characteristics and, in consequence, raise particular ethical issues. This article addresses this important intersection of citizen science and the Internet of Things by focusing on how such ethical issues are communicated in scholarly literature. To answer this research question, this article presents a scoping review of published scientific studies or case studies of scientific studies that utilize both citizen scientists and Internet of Things devices. Specifically, this scoping review protocol retrieved studies where the authors had included at least a short discussion of the ethical issues encountered during the research process. A full text analysis of relevant articles conducted inductively and deductively identified three main categories of ethical issues being communicated: autonomy and data privacy, data quality, and intellectual property. Based on these categories, this review offers an overview of the legal and social innovation implications raised. This review also provides recommendations for researchers who wish to innovatively integrate citizen scientists and Internet of Things devices into their research based on the strategies researchers took to resolve these ethical issues.
Doc 1345 : The Social Construction of Internet Addiction in China: Youth between Reality and Temporal Autonomy in the Documentary Web Junkie
This article addresses issues surrounding the social construction of internet addiction, focusing on conceptualisations of reality, escape, hope, and time. Drawing on a critical realist account of semiosis, the framing of internet addiction in China is analysed using the documentary film Web Junkie as an empirical pivot and point of departure. A contextual overview of relations, interests, and tensions surrounding youth and the internet in China is provided, and the film Web Junkie is briefly presented. The main body of the article consists of a critical analysis of conceptualisations of “reality” and “escape.” The core tension focused on in the analysis is the struggle over time, necessitating engagement with critical thought on hope and utopia. The analysis concludes that struggles over temporal autonomy underlie conflicting claims about “reality” and “escape” that are central to “internet addiction” and its treatment in China today.
Doc 1348 : Research Design for an Integrated Artificial Intelligence Ethical Framework
Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulatory and other governance mechanisms have only started to emerge and consolidate. Therefore, AI regulation, legislation, frameworks, and guidelines are presently fragmented, isolated, or co-exist in an opaque space between national governments, international bodies, corporations, practitioners, think-tanks, and civil society organisations. This article proposes a research design set up to address this problem by directly collaborating with targeted actors to identify principles for AI that are trustworthy, accountable, safe, fair, non-discriminatory, and which puts human rights and the social good at the centre of its approach. It proposes 21 interlinked substudies, focusing on the ethical judgements, empirical statements, and practical guidelines, which manufacture ethicopolitical visions and AI policies across four domains: seven tech corporations, seven governments, seven civil society actors, together with the analysis of online public debates. The proposed research design uses multiple research techniques: extensive mapping and studies of AI ethics policy documents and 120 interviews of key individuals, as well as assorted analyses of public feedback discussion loops on AI, employing digital methods on online communities specialising in AI debates. It considers novel conceptual interactions communicated across the globe, expands the regulatory, ethics, and technological foresight, both at the individual level (autonomy, identity, dignity, privacy, and data protection) and the societal level (fairness/equality, responsibility, accountability and transparency, surveillance/datafication, democracy and trust, collective humanity and the common good). By producing an innovative, intercontinental, multidisciplinary research design for an Ethical AI Standard, this article offers a concrete plan to search for the Holy Grail of Artificial Intelligence: Its Ethics.
Doc 1354 : The changing role of multilateral forums in regulating armed conflict in the digital age
Abstract This article examines a subset of multilateral forums dealing with security problems posed by digital technologies, such as cyber warfare, cyber crime and lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS). 1 It identifies structural issues that make it difficult for multilateral forums to discuss fast-moving digital issues and respond in time with the required norms and policy measures. Based on this problem analysis, and the recent experience of regulating cyber conflict and LAWS through Groups of Governmental Experts, the article proposes a schema for multilateral governance of digital technologies in armed conflict. The schema includes a heuristic for understanding human–machine interaction in order to operationalize accountability with international humanitarian law principles and international law applicable to armed conflict in the digital age. The article concludes with specific suggestions for advancing work in multilateral forums dealing with cyber weapons and lethal autonomy.
Abstract Calls for a European “third way” in matters of digital technology need to be put into action to achieve an actual change of the status quo. To achieve autonomy in the digital sphere, European alternatives to digital services and products need to be established. However, such efforts must also extend to the level of information technology infrastructure. To that end, decentralized indexing of the internet could significantly help to strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty. Nevertheless, legal challenges need to be overcome to make that vision a reality.
Doc 1361 : Mobile Journalists as Traceable Data Objects: Surveillance Capitalism and Responsible Innovation in Mobile Journalism
This article discusses how Shosana Zuboff’s critical theory of surveillance capitalism may help to understand and underpin responsible practice and innovation in mobile journalism. Zuboff conceptualizes surveillance capitalism as a new economic logic made possible by ICT and its architecture for extracting and trading data products of user behavior and preferences. Surveillance is, through these new technologies, built into the fabric of our economic system and, according to Zuboff, appears as deeply anti-democratic and a threat to human sovereignty, dignity, and autonomy. In Europe, the framework of responsible research and innovation is promoted as an approach and a meta-concept that should inform practice and policy for research and innovation to align with societal values and democratic principles. Within this approach, ICT is framed as a risk technology. As innovation in mobile journalism is inextricably tied to the technologies and infrastructure of smartphones and social media platforms, the apparent question would be how we can envision responsible innovation in this area. Zuboff provides a critical perspective to study how this architecture of surveillance impedes the practice of mobile journalism. While the wide adoption of smartphones as a key tool for both producing and consuming news has great potential for innovation, it can also feed behavioral data into the supply chain of surveillance capitalism. We discuss how potentially harmful implications can be met on an individual and organizational level to contribute to a more responsible adoption of mobile technologies in journalism.
Doc 1371 : Digital sovereignty and strategic autonomy in Europe: From concept to geopolitical reality
There is a growing interest in Europe for the concepts of “digital sovereignty” and “strategic autonomy in cyberspace”. Although their meanings are different, they are closely linked and both refer to the will of European political and economic actors to maintain their autonomy in their strategic decision process. For the European states, it involves acquiring an autonomous capacity of appreciation, decision and action in order to exercise their sovereignty. This article sets out to examine both the geopolitical meaning and challenges of this strategic goal and the industrial conditions of its achievement.
Doc 1372 : Efektifitas Penyelenggaraan Otonomi Daerah Berbasis Elektronik Terhadap Upaya Pencegahan Tindak Pidana Korupsi (Studi Kasus Pemerintah Daerah Kota Dan Kabupaten Bekasi)
One of the government’s breakthroughs in facing the era of the industrial revolution 4.0 towards the implementation of electronic-based regional autonomy is Presidential Regulation No. 95 of 2018 concerning Electronic-Based Government Systems. Technological developments will create (to create), access (to access), manage (to process), and utilize (to utilize) information precisely and accurately. Information is a very valuable commodity in the era of globalization to be mastered in order to increase the competitiveness of an organization in a sustainable manner. This phenomenon is important to study, because this system is expected to be a solution related to the implementation of effective, efficient, transparent and accountable local governments for efforts to prevent corruption by utilizing the application of this technology. This type of legal research used by researchers is empirical sociological legal research. Empirical sociological legal research that includes research on legal identification (unwritten) and research on legal effectiveness. Data collection was carried out by interview, observation and literature study. This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of the implementation of electronic-based regional autonomy on efforts to prevent corruption (a case study of the Bekasi City and Regency Government). The conclusion is that the effectiveness of the implementation of electronic-based autonomy is not optimal, there are still problems that there is no national integrated SPBE governance, SPBE has not been applied to the implementation of government administration and public services as a whole and optimally, the reach of ICT infrastructure to all regions and to all levels of society not optimal, the limited number of ASN employees who have ICT technical competence. based on the substance of the regulations, it is necessary to regulate the authority of the central government and local governments in managing e-government. Meanwhile, the culture of sharing data and information between government agencies is still low; Information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure has not reached all agencies, and information security management is weak in almost all government agencies. Based on the application of an electronic-based government system towards the prevention of corruption, one of which is to combat corruption is preventive efforts in addition to repressive measures
Doc 1376 : Smart City and Smart Tourist Destinations
Digital transformation has been a worldwide reality since the late 1990s. However, the 21st century has promoted its acceleration and scope for its use. Tourism professionals have sought the benefits that digital connections via smartphones bring to the diffusion and negotiation of services and products. However, young people from the internet age seek autonomy in the elaboration of their own travel itineraries, contributing to the emergence of intelligent tourist destinations. Based on the correlation with the principles of smart cities that increasingly become the goal of global managers, this study seeks to demonstrate the potential of the insertion of the tourist segment in this new perspective of social behavior. The results show that the co-creation by the travelers in search of experiences of impact in their lives is here to stay with QR Codes and Apps of cell phones. Information and digital communication technologies bring greater autonomy and creativity to the universe of tourists.
Doc 1383 : The Schrems judgments: a silent revolution for Member States’ procedural autonomy?
The Schrems I and Schrems II judgments (C-362/14 Maximillian Schrems v Data Protection Commissioner EU:C:2015:650 and C-311/18 Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Limited and Maximillian Schrems EU:C:2020:559) are well known for the sweeping implications that the law student’s crusade against the data giant Facebook had on international data transfers and for the ensuing headache that they gave to companies, as well as to legislators and public authorities on both sides of the Atlantic. What has remained slightly unexplored, on the other hand, are the constitutional side effects of the combined operation of the two judgments on the relationship between the right to an effective remedy and Member States’ procedural autonomy. In its first part, therefore, this article will review the unusual procedural path that, on the basis of the first Schrems ruling, brought the second Schrems case from the Irish Data Protection Commissioner to the Court. The second part will examine the consequences of the two judgments on effective judicial protection, in particular on the extent to which those appear to create an obligation for the Member States to provide new remedies where the rights of individuals are infringed by secondary EU law.
Doc 1389 : Expression in the Virtual Public: Social Justice Considerations in Harvesting Youth Online Discussions for Research Purposes
Information posted by youth in online social media contexts is regularly accessed, downloaded, integrated, and analyzed by academic researchers. The practice raises significant social justice considerations for researchers including issues of representation and equitable distribution of risks and benefits. Use of this type of data for research purposes helps to ensure representation in research of the voices of (sometimes marginalized) youth who participate in these online contexts, at times discussing issues that are also under-represented. At the same time, youth whose data are harvested are subject (often without notice or consent) to the risks associated with this research, while receiving little if any direct benefit from the work. These risks include the potential loss of online social community as well as threats to participant rights and wellbeing. This paper explores the tension between the social justice benefit of representation and considerations that would suggest caution, the latter including inequitable distribution of research-related costs and benefits, and the traditional ethics concerns of participant autonomy and privacy in the context of youth participation in online discussions. In the final section, we propose guidelines and considerations for the conduct of online social media research to assist researchers to balance and respect representational and participant rights or wellbeing considerations, especially with youth.
Doc 1391 : Freedom of Thought in the United States: The First Amendment, Marketplaces of Ideas, and the Internet
Abstract Freedom of thought is not directly protected as a right in the United States. Instead, US First Amendment law protects a range of rights that may allow thoughts to be expressed. Freedom of speech has been granted especially robust protection. US courts have extended this protection to a wide range of commercial activities judged to have expressive content. In protecting these rights, US jurisprudence frequently relies on the image of the marketplace of ideas as furthering the search for truth. This commercial image, however, has increasingly detached expressive rights from the understanding of freedom of thought as a critical forum for individual autonomy. Indeed, the commercialisation of US free speech doctrine has drawn criticism for “weaponising” free speech to attack disfavoured economic and regulatory policies and thus potentially affecting freedom of thought adversely. The Internet complicates this picture. This paper argues that the Supreme Court’s expansion of the First Amendment for the benefit of commercial actors lies in the problematic tension with the justification for individual freedom of thought resting in personal self-direction and identity.
Doc 1394 : 1,2,3,4 tell me how to grow more: A position paper on children, design ethics and biowearables
Driven by the rapid pace of technical innovation in biosensing, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and wearable computing, the next generation of smart devices will be worn on-body, eventually becoming implanted. The increasing presence of these new forms of interactive technologies, known as biowearables , in children’s lives poses critical ethical concerns. In this position paper, we take a design ethics perspective to identify and describe four cases of ethical importance associated with biowearables, children, and long-term use. The cases concern potential negative impacts of specific aspects of biowearables on children’s identity formation, the development of autonomy and agency , and what sources of information children turn to for authority about themselves. Drawing on ethical discourse related to emerging technologies and biowearable computing, we present prospective guidance for designers, where it is available. Where guidance is nascent or missing, we propose future research areas that could be addressed. In particular, we propose the importance of teaching children about computer ethics through hands-on critical reflection during design and technology activities. Our results will be of interest to the human–computer interaction community as well as to technology developers, educators, parents and those involved in policy formation around emerging technologies.
Doc 1395 : Can AI artifacts influence human cognition? : The effects of artificial autonomy in intelligent personal assistants
In the era of the Internet of Things (IoT), emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technologies provide various artificial autonomy features that allow intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) to assist users in managing the dynamically expanding applications, devices, and services in their daily lives. However, limited academic research has been done to validate empirically artificial autonomy and its downstream consequences on human behavior. This study investigates the role of artificial autonomy by dividing it into three types of autonomy in terms of task primitives, namely, sensing, thought, and action autonomy. Drawing on mind perception theory, the authors hypothesize that the two fundamental dimensions of humanlike perceptions—competence and warmth—of non-human entities could explain the mechanism between artificial autonomy and IPA usage. Our results reveal that the comparative effects of competence and warmth perception exist when artificial autonomy contributes to users’ continuance usage intention. Theoretically, this study increases our understanding of AI-enabled artificial autonomy in information systems research. These findings also provide insightful suggestions for practitioners regarding AI artifacts design.
Doc 1399 : Smart City: An Approach from the View of Smart Urban Governance
The world’s population is forecasted of having 68% to be urban residents by 2050 while urbanization in the world continues to grow. Along with that phenomenon, there is a global trend towards the creation of smart cities in many countries. Looking at the overview of studies and reports on smart cities, it can be seen that the concept of “smart city” is not clearly defined. Information and communication technology have often been being recognized by the vast majority of agencies, authorities and people when thinking about smart city but the meaning of smart city goes beyond that. Smart city concept should come with the emphasizing on the role of social resources and smart urban governance in the management of urban issues. Therefore, the “smart city” label should refer to the capacity of smart people and smart officials who create smart urban governance solutions for urban problems. The autonomy in smart cities allows its members (whether individuals or the community in general) of the city to participate in governance and management of the city and become active users and that is the picture of e-democracy. E-democracy makes it easier for stakeholders to become more involved in government work and fosters effective governance by using the IT platform of smart city. This approach will be discussed more in this paper.
Doc 1401 : Machine Acting and Contract Law – The Disruptive Factor of Artificial Intelligence for the Freedom Concept of the Private Law
Technologic evolutions of the last two decades, such as the development of the internet, had a strong disruptive effect to the society and the economy. However, because of the flexible concepts of the civil law codifications a disruptive effect in the private law until now did not exist. Especially the legal consequences of the internet were integrated into the private law without bigger categorial or structural changes. This applies equally to most of the cases of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in recent times. With more advanced development of AI-systems, though, it may not be possible anymore to apply the traditional terms of the private law to the use of AI without leaving the constitutional law background of the private law. This article discusses the impact of the use of a future advanced independent AI on the concept of the private autonomy in the contract law. Furthermore, it gives an overview on the new legislative approach of a human centric use of AI in the European Union.
Doc 1403 : Features of cyber security policy formation of the European Union: legal aspects
The article deals with the current legal and organizational principles of the European Union`s cybersecurity, the problems and prospects for the development of the relevant EU mechanism in the context of modern cyber threats. The evolution and qualitative dynamics of the EU cyber policy from the adoption of the first legal acts in the early 2000s to the publication of the second EU Security Strategy draft in December 2020 are analyzed. The study found that the European Union has the potential to achieve strategic autonomy in cyberpolitics. However, it needs a more coherent policy of coordination, further increase of funding and building of institutional capacity of the EU, equalization of member states possibilities. The conclusions state that Europe is interested in the comprehensive development of EU cybersecurity policy. The cross-border nature of cyber threats means that the EU’s resilience in this matter directly affects its security. The current direction of the EU’s capacity building and especially close cooperation with NATO provide a chance to avoid difficult political dilemmas. Official data from the European Union’s Cyber Security Agency show that the number of violations of privacy is growing among the types of cyber attacks. This puts on the agenda the activities of EU structures and Member States the need to develop a system of human rights protection in the field of cybersecurity. One of its basic elements should be updated legislation, in particular, the new EU Cyber Security Strategy. The European Union does not stop there and constantly strives to develop opportunities to counter and prevent cyber threats in order to achieve strategic autonomy of the organization. The EU needs to overcome its excessive bureaucratization and imbalance in the funding of cyber policy management programs and the practical development of cyber attack protection, prevention and repulsion systems. The EU’s place in the future global cybersecurity system will depend on the real strengthening of this second segment of programs.
Doc 1404 : DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE LABOR MARKET
Today, the digital transformation of the world economy has become an objective reality. The steady growth in the availability and, as a result, the prevalence of high-speed Internet, the increasing level of autonomy of production and logistics, and the development of digital infrastructure lead to a complex transformation of both markets and industries in general and consumer groups, manufacturers, and retailers in particular. The result of these processes is a radical transformation of the complex of demanded knowledge, skills, and abilities. However, the labor market is formed under the influence of both economic and social processes, which significantly increases its complexity as an object of analysis. The multidimensional impact of digital transformation on the labor market is ambiguous, and the potential synergistic effect of the impact of particular manifestations of digital transformation processes can be both positive and negative. The consequences of such a transformation can be revolutionary. Thus, the problem of effective assessment of the consequences of labor market transformation under the influence of digitalization is extremely relevant. The purpose of this work is to formalize the mathematical vectors of influence of digitalization factors on the development of the labor market. To achieve this goal, digitalization is presented in the form of quantified factors expressed using specific indicators, and the unemployment rate is used as an indicator of the labor market. The main research tool is the regression analysis. As a result, a regression model is obtained that expresses the dualistic nature of the impact of digitalization on the development of the labor market
Doc 1407 : “Norm Subsidiarity” or “Norm Diffusion”?
Cybercrime has been a contentious issue among security actors, vis-à-vis the extent to which international cooperation may be fostered to respond to the accelerating incidence of cyber-attacks. This paper contrasts between the cyber-governance approaches adopted by two non-Western regional organizations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council, over the past decade. Considering their similar institutional origins, Most Similar Systems Design methodology was employed to assess how ASEAN and GCC have distinctly responded to cybercrime. It considers the dynamics of the digital divide — a divide which is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic — and in which ASEAN and the GCC are challenged to bolster their cyber-capabilities. Findings reveal that GCC increasingly diffuses norms of international cooperation to tackle cybercrime. By contrast, ASEAN embodies cyber norms which regulate behavior along the lines of intra-regional cooperation, wherein norms of international cooperation are rendered subsidiary to norms of regional autonomy.
Doc 1408 : Ethical Artificial Intelligence: An Approach to Evaluating Disembodied Autonomous Systems
Building off our prior work on the practical evaluation of autonomous robotic systems, this chapter discusses how an existing framework can be extended to apply to autonomous cyber systems. It is hoped that such a framework can inform pragmatic discussions of ethical and regulatory norms in a proactive way. Issues raised by autonomous systems in the physical and cyber realms are distinct; however, discussions about the norms and laws governing these two related manifestations of autonomy can and should inform one another. Therefore, this paper emphasizes the factors that distinguish autonomous systems in cyberspace, labeled disembodied autonomous systems, from systems that physically exist in the form of embodied autonomous systems. By highlighting the distinguishing factors of these two forms of autonomy, this paper informs the extension of our assessment tool to software systems, bringing us into the legal and ethical discussions of autonomy in cyberspace.
Doc 1409 : A principlist framework for cybersecurity ethics
The ethical issues raised by cybersecurity practices and technologies are of critical importance. However, there is disagreement about what is the best ethical framework for understanding those issues. In this paper we seek to address this shortcoming through the introduction of a principlist ethical framework for cybersecurity that builds on existing work in adjacent fields of applied ethics, bioethics, and AI ethics. By redeploying the AI4People framework, we develop a domain-relevant specification of five ethical principles in cybersecurity: beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, justice, and explicability. We then illustrate the advantages of this principlist framework by examining the ethical issues raised by four common cybersecurity contexts: penetration testing, distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS), ransomware, and system administration. These case analyses demonstrate the utility of this principlist framework as a basis for understanding cybersecurity ethics and for cultivating the ethical expertise and ethical sensitivity of cybersecurity professionals and other stakeholders.
Doc 1410 : Analysing Cybernetic Governance at Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia: How is Co- Production Linked to the Transformation of Higher Education Institutions via Governance?
This paper attempts to analyse how important the cybernetic governance is to higher education institutions in Malaysia. Cybernetic governance is a structure, process of a system to empower greater decision making, autonomy, leadership, and greater accountability. Thus, cybernetic approach is heavily depending on information, utilise information for decision making, policy making and feedback to respond effectively. The concept also relevant with co-production strategy, whereby public services offered at the institution would focus on making use of resources through community building, collaboration, and resource sharing. In this context, “governance” refers to the role of multi-stakeholders involved in decision making, autonomy, leadership, and accountability. The effectiveness and success of this cybernetic governance depends on the institution community; the board, Vice-Chancellor, university management committee, Deans and Directors involved. The main idea is to analyse cybernetic governance as a model for processing information and a platform for co-production on governance empowerment at higher education institutions in Malaysia. Hence literatures are reviewed to apply the concepts to this research. An expected outcome of this research would be the evidence to improve policy performance in governance arrangements. Therefore, cybernetic governance contribution is the practice of good governance for intelligent institutions.
Doc 1414 : Artificial Intelligence, Social Media, and Suicide Prevention: Principle of Beneficence Besides Respect for Autonomy
The target article by Laacke et al. (2021) focuses on the specific context of identifying people in social media with a high risk of depression by using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. I…
Doc 1420 : The use of digital twins in healthcare: socio-ethical benefits and socio-ethical risks
Anticipating the ethical impact of emerging technologies is an essential part of responsible innovation. One such emergent technology is the digital twin which we define here as a living replica of a physical system (human or non-human). A digital twin combines various emerging technologies such as AI, Internet of Things, big data and robotics, each component bringing its own socio-ethical issues to the resulting artefacts. The question thus arises which of these socio-ethical themes surface in the process and how they are perceived by stakeholders in the field. In this report we present the results of a qualitative study into the socio-ethical benefits and socio-ethical risks of using digital twins in healthcare. Employing insights from ethics of technology and the Quadruple Helix theory of innovation, we conducted desk research of white literature and 23 interviews with representatives from the four helixes: industry, research, policy and civil society. The ethical scan revealed several important areas where the digital twin can produce socio-ethical value (e.g., prevention and treatment of disease, cost reduction, patient autonomy and freedom, equal treatment) but also several important areas of socio-ethical risks (e.g., privacy and property of data, disruption of existing societal structures, inequality and injustice). We conclude with a reflection on the employed analytical tool and suggestions for further research.
Doc 1424 : Usability of Smartbands by the Elderly Population in the Context of Ambient Assisted Living Applications
Nowadays, the Portuguese population is aging at a fast pace. The situation is more severe in the interior regions of the country, where the rural areas have few people and have been constantly losing population; these are mostly elderly who, in some cases, live socially isolated. They are also often deprived of some types of social, health and technological services. One of the current challenges with respect to the elderly is that of improving the quality of life for those who still have some autonomy and live in their own residences so that they may continue living autonomously, while receiving the assistance of some exterior monitoring and supporting services. The Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm demonstrates great potential for creating technological solutions in this area as it aims to seamlessly integrate information technology with the daily lives of people. In this context, it is necessary to develop services that monitor the activity and health of the elderly in real time and alert caregivers or other family members in the case of an unusual event or behaviour. It is crucial that the technological system is able to collect data in a nonintrusive manner and without requiring much interaction with the elderly. Smartband devices are very good candidates for this purpose and, therefore, this work proposes assessing the level of acceptance of the usage of a smartbands by senior users in their daily activities. By using the definition of an architecture and the development of a prototype, it was possible to test the level of acceptance of smartbands by a sample of the elderly population—with surprising results from both the elderly and the caregivers—which constitutes an important contribution to the research field of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL). The evaluation showed that most users did not feel that the smartband was intrusive to their daily tasks and even considered using it in the future, while caregivers considered that the platform was very intuitive.
Doc 1438 : Smart Workplaces for older adults: coping ‘ethically’ with technology pervasiveness
Pervasive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and the Internet of Things, despite their great potential for improved workability and well-being of older workers, entail wide ethical concerns. Aligned with these considerations we emphasize the need to present from the viewpoint of ethics the risks of personalized ICT solutions that aim to remedy health and support the well-being of the ageing population at workplaces. The ethical boundaries of digital technologies are opaque. The main motivation is to cope with the uncertainties of workplaces’ digitization and develop an ethics framework, termed SmartFrameWorK, for personalized health support through ICT tools at workplace environments. SmartFrameWorK is built upon a five-dimensional approach of ethics norms: autonomy, privacy, transparency, trustworthiness and accountability to incite trust in digital workplace technologies. A typology underpins these principles and guides the ethical decision-making process with regard to older worker particular needs, context, data type-related risks and digital tools’ use throughout their lifecycle. Risk analysis of pervasive technology use and multimodal data collection, highlighted the imperative for ethically aware practices for older workers’ activity and behaviour monitoring. The SmartFrameWorK methodology has been applied in a case study to provide evidence that personalized digital services could elicit trust in users through a well-defined framework. Ethics compliance is a dynamic process from participants’ engagement to data management. Defining ethical determinants is pivotal towards building trust and reinforcing better workability and well-being in older workers.
Doc 1442 : Ethical aspects of the Internet of Bodies
This article outlines bioethical issues related to the application of the Internet of Body (IoB) technology in health care so-called medical IoB devices. Manufacturers of medical IoB devices promise to provide significant health benefits, improved treatment outcomes and other benefits, but such IoB also carry serious risks to health and life, including the risks of hacking (cyberhacking), malfunctioning, receiving false positive measurements, breaching privacy, deliberate invasion of privacy. In addition, medical IoB products can directly cause physical harm to the human body. As human flesh is intertwined with hardware, software, and algorithms, the IoB will test our social values and ethics. In particular, IoB will challenge notions of human autonomy and self-government as they threaten to undermine the fundamental precondition of human autonomy. Thus, the protection of human autonomy should become the main ethical principle of the use of medical IoB devices.
Doc 1444 : Governing AI in Electricity Systems: Reflections on the EU Artificial Intelligence Bill
The Proposal for an Artificial Intelligence Act, published by the European Commission in April 2021, marks a major step in the governance of artificial intelligence (AI). This paper examines the significance of this Act for the electricity sector, specifically investigating to what extent the current European Union Bill addresses the societal and governance challenges posed by the use of AI that affects the tasks of system operators. For this we identify various options for the use of AI by system operators, as well as associated risks. AI has the potential to facilitate grid management, flexibility asset management and electricity market activities. Associated risks include lack of transparency, decline of human autonomy, cybersecurity, market dominance, and price manipulation on the electricity market. We determine to what extent the current bill pays attention to these identified risks and how the European Union intends to govern these risks. The proposed AI Act addresses well the issue of transparency and clarifying responsibilities, but pays too little attention to risks related to human autonomy, cybersecurity, market dominance and price manipulation. We make some governance suggestions to address those gaps.
Doc 1450 : Local governments’ use of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Portugal
While the use of social media by local governments has gained relevance in recent years, crises are critical situations that reinforce the need to reach citizens to disclose information, demonstrate the government’s commitment, and increase the citizens’ level of preparedness and awareness of resources. This paper examines the factors that influenced local governments’ e-disclosure during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. To accomplish this objective, we systematically tracked every post published by the official Facebook page of 304 Portuguese municipalities between March 2 and July 5, 2020. The findings show that financial autonomy is the main predictor of e-disclosure, factors varied on the different phases of the pandemic’s first wave, and sociodemographic factors became more prevalent as explanatory factors when the crisis worsened. Our study may help increase the level of preparedness during possible future crises. In particular, establishing communication strategies for prolonged public health crises, making financial resources available for the accomplishment of such strategies, and reducing the digital divide can contribute to more effective disclosure. Future research should explore the dynamics of disclosure during public health crises. This study also highlights the need to incorporate time in research that focuses on the determinants of e-disclosure that could also be tested in normal times.
Doc 1454 : The digital inclusion of older people in Spain: technological support services for seniors as predictor
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x21001173 Ramón Tirado-Morueta Alejandro Rodríguez-Martín Emilio Álvarez-Arregui Miguel Ángel Ortíz-Sobrino José Ignacio Aguaded-Gómez
Abstract While life expectancy increases in developed countries and there is evidence that demonstrates the potential of the internet to optimise or compensate for the losses associated with ageing, there is a high proportion of older people who continue to be disconnected from the digital world. In this scenario, the technological support offered by public institutions has the potential to be an accessible source for the digital literacy of older people. This study, using the model of digital inequality, had the aim of analysing the ability of these institutional supports to determine and predict the digital inclusion of older people. The sample was retired adults (over 54 years) residing in Spain who are users of technological support services in four organisational contexts: nursing homes, senior community centres, University Programs for Seniors and adult education programmes. Through binary logistic regression analysis, we found that the ability of the availability of literacy support to determine and predict access, autonomy, skills and use of the internet for social connectivity depends on the social and organisational context of the technology support service. These findings support empirically the situated nature of technological support for the digital inclusion of older people and provide a useful comparative vision for the design of accessible support services adapted to the needs of its users.
Doc 1466 : To double, quadruple, or keep? Semi-automated service increases micro-investments
• An automated micro-investment service at a retail bank was modified during an RCT. • A weekly option to multiply automatic micro-investments increased them by 20-36%. • An option to make a freely chosen investment generated substantial contributions. • Treatment was similarly effective across most demographic and personality variables. Automated financial services remedy present biased financial behaviour by nudging users towards investing. Although these services increase investments, they deprive users of the experience of making prudent decisions that would satisfy their need for autonomy. Assuming that freedom of choice facilitates autonomy, we hypothesized that the addition of an element of choice to an automated micro-investment service would increase the amounts invested. To test this idea, we randomised 825 volunteer users of a micro-investments service at an Estonian bank to receive different versions of weekly emails offering a choice to double, quadruple, or keep the money they had accrued for investment through the service. We found that the treatment increased the average investment per participant by 20 to 36%. The effectiveness of the treatments was independent of a number of financial, socio-economic, or personality characteristics other than income. We conclude that the addition of elements of choice to automated investment services has a significant potential to increase investments and improve financial well-being.
Doc 1468 : TOWARDS AN INFRASTRUCTURE-BASED SOCIOLOGY OF DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY PRACTICES: THE ‘PILOT CASE’ OF RUSSIA
“Digital sovereignty” is the idea that states should “reaffirm” their authority over the Internet and protect their citizens, institutions, and businesses from the multiple challenges to their nation’s self-determination in the digital sphere. According to this principle, sovereignty depends on more than supranational alliances or international legal instruments, military might or trade: it depends on locally-owned, controlled and operated innovation ecosystems, able to increase states’ technical and economic independence and autonomy. Presently, digital sovereignty is understood primarily as a legal concept and a set of political discourses. As a consequence, it is predominantly analysed by political science, international relations and international law. However, the study of digital sovereignty as a set of infrastructures and socio-material practices has been largely neglected. In this proposal, I argue that the concept of (digital) sovereignty should also be studied via the infrastructure-embedded “situated practices” of various political and economic projects which aim to establish autonomous digital infrastructures in a hyperconnected world. Although this contribution is also a call for a wider and comparative research programme, I will focus here on the “pilot case” of Russia, which is the subject of an ongoing research project. Ultimately, the analysis of infrastructure-embedded digital sovereignty practices in Russia shows how the Russian discourse on Internet sovereignty as a centralized and top-down apparatus paradoxically open up technical and legal opportunities for mundane resistances and the existence of “parallel” Runets, where particular instantiations of informational freedom are still possible.
Doc 1470 : The origins, jurisprudential fallacies and practical limitations of a ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ in the European Union
In the 21st century, an era dominated by internet and ever-expanding digitalization, it is difficult to hide electronic-footprints and information about ourselves from the world. In this regard, the emergence of a ‘new’ right to be forgotten (RTBF) in the EU, which protects the ‘personal data’ of individuals, has received critical acclaim. While tracing the origins, nature and scope of the RTBF in EU, this article shall attempt to best jurisprudentially locate RTBF as both an ‘independent right’ and a facet derived from values like ‘privacy’, ‘autonomy’ and ‘dignity’. Subsequently, the problem of ‘theoretical indeterminacy’ arising from co-existence of RTBF and right to ‘privacy’ shall be addressed. Moving forward, the practical limitations of RTBF and its ‘balancing’ with competing rights/interests shall be delineated. Finally, a comparative analysis of the RTBF in the supra-national EU with the nascent development of RTBF and right to ‘informational privacy’ in India shall be undertaken.
Doc 1478 : The ‘Ethification’ of ICT Governance. Artificial Intelligence and Data Protection in the European Union
Several European Commission’s initiatives have been resorting to ethics in policy discourses as a way to govern and regulate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The proliferation of invocations of ‘ethics’, especially concerning the recent debate on (the regulation of) Artificial Intelligence (AI), can be referred to as the ‘ethification’ phenomenon. This article aims to elucidate the benefits and drawbacks of the ethification of ICT governance, and its effects on the articulations of law, technology and politics in democratic constitutional states. First, the article will provide a mapping to locate where the ethics work is being produced in the EU. Second, the authors will distinguish different types of ethics based on the mapping. Third, the ethification phenomenon will be analyzed through the concepts of boundary and convergence work, where we will both see that it plays the role of ‘normative glue’ between interests of different practices to reach a common goal, but also tracing or obfuscating boundaries to claim autonomy from the law and exclude forms of non-genuine ethics. Fourth, we inquire into the nature of ethics as a practice and the consequences of ethification for the law.
Doc 1480 : Wireless Internet, Multimedia, and Artificial Intelligence: New Applications and Infrastructures
The potential offered by the Internet, combined with the enormous number of connectable devices, offers benefits in many areas of our modern societies, both public and private. The possibility of making heterogeneous devices communicate with each other through the Internet has given rise to a constantly growing scenario, which was unthinkable not long ago. This unstoppable growth takes place thanks to the continuous availability of increasingly sophisticated device features, an ever-increasing bandwidth and reliability of the connections, and the ever-lower consumption of the devices, which grants them long autonomy. This scenario of exponential growth also involves other sectors such as, for example, that of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which offers us increasingly sophisticated approaches that can be synergistically combined with wireless devices and the Internet in order to create powerful applications for everyday life. Precisely for the aforementioned reasons, the community of researchers, year by year, dedicates more time and resources in this direction. It should be observed that this happens in an atypical way concerning the other research fields, and this is because the achieved progress and the developed applications have practical applications in numerous and different domains.
Doc 1482 : Ethical Implications of Biohacking as Activism: Democratized Health Care, Danger, or What?
Biohacking refers to optimizing one’s body through modifying biology. In the 20th century, do-it-yourself (DIY) biology emerged as a type of biohacking involving biotechnology. Current high- healthcare costs promote DIY -biology insulin and EpiPens as ways to challenge norms in healthcare, thus serving as forms of activism. Biohacked insulin is part of the #WeAreNotWaiting movement to support improved treatment of Type 1 diabetes, whereas biohacked EpiPens allow people to make lifesaving autoinjectors at low costs. Social media acts as a catalyst and aids in the spread of insulin and EpiPen biohacking as activism. In 1979, Principles of Biomedical Ethics by Beauchamp and Childress proposed four principles that continue to guide decision-making in clinical medicine: beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice. This paper applies these principles to explore whether the benefits of performing DIY biology outweigh the potential health risks. Examining biohacking with a biomedical ethics frame, as outlined by Beauchamp and Childress, reveals that biohacking acts as a response to current issues but cannot serve as a solution in its current form. However, biohacking can grant patients more power in their relationship with the healthcare system, therefore lessening the dominance of formal institutions. Out of the four principles, autonomy applies most differently when regarding biohacking than traditional medicine. Accordingly, a model of ethics for biohacking, such as of Beauchamp and Childress’ with the autonomy altered to acknowledge the additional implications of biohacking, should be developed in the future.
Doc 1483 : Carissa Véliz’ Privacy is Power: Why and how You should take back control of your data: book review
Often, when I talk with people about my interest in ethical issues that are at play in social media or smart cities, people mention the issue of privacy. Or when we talk about big data and algorithms, they mention the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. In such cases, I often reply that indeed, privacy is important but that I am more interested in other values that are also relevant and potentially at stake, such as justice, autonomy, equality, solidarity or conviviality; and that indeed, regulation is important but that I am more interested in organizing processes of ethical reflection, inquiry and deliberation.
Doc 1486 : Exploring Peoples’ Perception of Autonomy and Reactance in Everyday AI Interactions
Applications using Artificial Intelligence (AI) have become commonplace and embedded in our daily lives. Much of our communication has transitioned from human-human interaction to human-technology or technology-mediated interaction. As technology is handed over control and streamlines choices and decision-making in different contexts, people are increasingly concerned about a potential threat to their autonomy. In this paper, we explore autonomy perception when interacting with AI-based applications in everyday contexts using a design fiction-based survey with 328 participants. We probed if providing users with explanations on “why” an application made certain choices or decisions influenced their perception of autonomy or reactance regarding the interaction with the applications. We also looked at changes in perception when users are aware of AI’s presence in an application. In the social media context, we found that people perceived a greater reactance and lower sense of autonomy perhaps owing to the personal and identity-sensitive nature of the application context. Providing explanations on “why” in the navigation context, contributed to enhancing their autonomy perception, and reducing reactance since it influenced the users’ subsequent actions based on the recommendation. We discuss our findings and the implications it has for the future development of everyday AI applications that respect human autonomy.
Doc 1505 : Sovereignty Fever: The Territorial Turn of Global Cyber Order
This paper argues that the utopia of a borderless and interconnected cyberspace loses its charm and the global cyber order is witnessing a territorial turn. The proliferation of the notion of cyber sovereignty and its variances is a symptom reflecting sovereign states’ attempt to retain autonomy and control gradually eroded with the digitalisation of societies and economies. The sovereignty fever can be attributed to four reasons: political ambition, economic value, security concerns, and human rights. However, sovereignty is not the last word in debates concerning the future of digital society, for even liberal democracies have advanced ideas of technological or digital sovereignty, and data sovereignty, for their own very different purposes.
Doc 1514 : From voiceless to voicing: The communication empowerment of sex-trafficking survivors by using participatory video
This paper examined the impacts of participatory video used in digital training on the empowerment of sex-trafficking survivors in the Philippines. For survivors of online sexual exploitation involved in this study, technology played a critical role in their abuse, making it necessary to understand how technology-supported communication can also play in their recovery and personal development. Drawing upon the thematic analysis of data collected from debriefing, interviews, and participants-generated videos, the findings have shown that the participatory video as a tool to support communication, as a mirror for reflexivity and voicing, and as a mediated space to connect and gain support, affords a communicative platform for survivors to participate, to interact, and to take control of the technology. We argue that the use of Information and Communication Technology for empowerment is subject to the personalized needs, autonomy and participation of the users .
Doc 1517 : An ethical analysis of the 2016 data scandal: Cambridge Analytica and Facebook
This paper analyzes the ethics behind the actions of the 2016 Data Scandal on the example of 2 major sides, Facebook and Cambridge Analytica. Subsequent events such as bankruptcy of Cambridge Analytica and a significant drop in the stock prices of Facebook (a fall of 24%, equivalent to $134 billion.) were an integral part of this research paper to explore the role of the attitudes of the business entities over bankruptcy in these kinds of scandals. Thereby, a comparison technique has been employed to analyze the ethical dimension of the bankruptcy of Cambridge Analytica, and how the attitude of Facebook provided a chance of survival and recovery within this process. The outcome of the research clearly identifies that even in the corporative entities bypassing or violating the ethical standards can be observed. Albeit, there is a strong correlation between the degree of ethical standards and the sustainability of the businesses from the aspect of customers, partners, and the government. The article continued with the analysis of the significance of the immediate implementation of the ethical standards and deterrent defense with a manner of “bona fide” in these types of scandals to handle the crisis. The research concluded with an ethical analysis of data analysis and data mining from the Kantian definition of autonomy, Jurgen Habermas’s definition of privacy in the era of digitalization.
Doc 1528 : Research in Policy Analysis: The Approach Paradigms
This paper is addressed to the study of the process of public policy, its evolutionary aspects and applications. The term policy has come to be used in different ways in public administration and business management orientations. Administrators, for instance use policy in its original sense to mean a course of action formulated by a collective constituency, or a legislative body.On the other hand, the management people, especially, in India use the term ‘policy’ rather mechanistically, (and imprecisely) to mean merely a set of guidelines which may be used to formulate an official course of action. This latter interpretation, often, negates the basic principle that a policy must evolve out of the ‘pol’ (a collective in Greek, equivalent to ‘palli’ in Dravidian) and must continue to be anchored in the collective forms of rationality. Such an anchorage would justify the requirements of legitimacy, sovereignty, autonomy, and hierarchy, in the cybernetics of decision-making.
Doc 1534 : Impact of Industry 4.0 on decision-making in an operational context
The implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies suggests significant impacts on production systems productivity and decision-making process improvements. However, many manufacturers have difficulty determining to what extent these various technologies can reinforce the autonomy of teams and operational systems. This article addresses this issue by proposing a model describing different types of autonomy and the contribution of 4.0 technologies in the various steps of the decision-making processes. The model was confronted with a set of application cases from the literature. It emerges that new technologies’ improvements are significant from a decision-making point of view and may eventually favor implementing new modes of autonomy. Decision-makers can rely on the proposed model to better understand the opportunities linked to the fusion of cybernetic, physical, and social spaces made possible by Industry 4.0.
Doc 1551 : That’s interesting: An examination of interest theory and self‐determination in organisational cybersecurity training
With government and industry experiencing a critical shortage of trained cybersecurity professionals, organisations are spearheading various training programs to cultivate cybersecurity skills. With more people working from home and the existing cybersecurity staff shortages, cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting new and existing vulnerabilities by launching ubiquitous cyberattacks. This study focuses on how to close the gap in cybersecurity skills through interest cultivation and self-determined motivation. Our study shows that situational interest (SI) in cybersecurity along with situational motivational determinants (i.e., perceived learning autonomy and perceived relatedness) engendered self-determined motivation toward cybersecurity training. Consequently, self-determined motivation facilitated actual learning behaviour. Meanwhile, individual interest in cybersecurity created positive moderating effects in the relationships between self-determination and its key antecedents (i.e., perceived relatedness and situational interest). Based on these findings, we provide research implications accordingly.
Doc 1558 : Public Expenditure in Regions: Current State and Problems (Exemplified by Registries of Expenditure Commitments of the Regions in the Russian Far East)
Exemplified by regions of the Russian Far East, the article presents a view on the current state and problems of managing regional public expenditures, including the focus of public expenditure on regional development. The research is based on the data from expenditure commitments registries in 2019. A major share of budget expenditures is “compulsory” (pre-determined) expenditures, which have limited flexibility and cannot be redirected to different purposes. Under these circumstances, the ability of regional governments to vary the direction of budget spending and finance self-initiated expenditure commitments—in other words, to independently manage the composition of expenditures—is kept to a minimum, which implies low autonomy in managing expenditures. Most of the Russian Far Eastern regions’ government expenditures are aimed at supporting the current volume and quality of public services. The share of developmental expenditures is higher in regions having more budget resources (Sakhalin Oblast), and significantly lower in regions of the northern Far East (Magadan Oblast, Kamchatka Krai, and Sakha Republic (Yakutia)), the latter having higher costs of supporting critical infrastructure under severe climate conditions. In the present situation, regional governments cannot be fully considered as key influencers managing the development of their territories, and only fill the role of executors and lobbying actors for acquiring financial support from the federal government. As a result, it is difficult to account for specific territorial circumstances and development potential, and the overall efficiency of government spending is decreased. In the authors’ opinion, the findings may be applicable to most regions in the Russian Federation.
Doc 1560 : Benefits, Satisfaction and Limitations Derived from the Performance of Intergenerational Virtual Activities: Data from a General Population Spanish Survey
The growing social gap between people of different generations has led to a greater interest in the study of intergenerational interactions. Digital technologies have become necessary for people of all ages to perform daily activities, increasingly including older people. The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and virtual tools can provide older people with excellent opportunities to connect with other generations, improving their quality of life and well-being. The aim of this study was to examine the benefits, satisfaction, and limitations of intergenerational interactions generated by the use of virtual tools. The participants are subjects of any age and different social groups residing in Spain and have completed an online survey. The analysis of sociodemographic data of the respondents showed that there is a significant correlation between the use of social networks and all the variables analyzed, except for their level of autonomy. Most participants who participated in intergenerational virtual activities reported the benefits of their social participation, relationships, mood, mental health, and academic education. Moreover, most participants were quite or very satisfied with the person with whom they used the virtual tools, especially if the person was a friend, their partner, sibling, another relative, or colleague. Except for grandparents, people who participated in intergenerational virtual activities and who had no limitations or disabilities were more frequently reported by the participants. In conclusion, intergenerational interactions through the use of virtual tools can contribute to improving the social inclusion and relationships of all people involved.
Doc 1562 : Enhancing the Decision-Making Process through Industry 4.0 Technologies
In order to meet the increasingly complex expectations of customers, many companies must increase efficiency and agility. In this sense, Industry 4.0 technologies offer significant opportunities for improving both operational and decision-making processes. These developments make it possible to consider an increase in the level of operational systems and teams’ autonomy. However, the potential for strengthening the decision-making process by means of these new technologies remains unclear in the current literature. To fill this gap, a Delphi study using the Régnier Abacus technique was conducted with a representative panel of 24 experts. The novelty of this study was to identify and characterize the potential for enhancing the overall decision-making process with the main Industry 4.0 groups of technologies. Our results show that cloud computing appears as a backbone to enhance the entire decision-making process. However, certain technologies, such as IoT and simulation, have a strong potential for only specific steps within the decision-making process. This research also provides a first vision of the manager’s perspectives, expectations, and risks associated with implementing new modes of decision-making and cyber-autonomy supported by Industry 4.0 technologies.
Doc 1564 : The impact of trust in the internet of things for health on user engagement
The Internet of things (IoT) representing the online exchange of data from real devices is a major revolution that is transforming the whole of society. IoT has penetrated in the health field by facilitating healthcare exchanger for users and professionals. This article aims to examine several factors reinforcing user engagement. A theoretical framework was developed and includes the perceived autonomy, the desire for self-development, and the user trust to predict IoT user engagement in the medical context. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was conducted with a sample of 109 French users. The findings highlight the relationship between trust and engagement in the use of the IoT device to improve health behavior. This research is part of a long-term IoT customer/designer relationship based on interaction and trust. It can enable IoT providers, medical professionals, and marketers to optimize patient communication to target potential users more accurately and reduce user abandonment of devices.
Information ethics is a branch of applied ethics that focusses on web applications, information management, and the general use of computers. It is concerned with questions of a just and free distribution of information, with questions of autonomy and power on the internet or a value-oriented design of Information Technology (IT) systems. Information technologies shape many of the essential factors of interaction in a data-driven society. The implementation of values such as privacy, freedom from discrimination or participation in the development of a digital society is therefore a necessary prerequisite for a democratic and sustainable course of action. Digital information technologies make it possible to disseminate information in two ways: via the users, and about the users. Increasingly, information about the behavior and the communication of users can be collected through digital platforms. The vast amount of economically used data and also the exchange of information on social media platforms calls for evaluation, orientation and governance. Only in this way can we ensure that freedom of information is not a privilege, but a shared resource in a lively pluralistic and democratic society.
Doc 1567 : Motivating Users to Manage Privacy Concerns in Cyber-Physical Settings—A Design Science Approach Considering Self-Determination Theory
Connectivity is key to the latest technologies propagating into everyday life. Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications enable users, machines, and technologically enriched objects (‘Things’) to sense, communicate, and interact with their environment. Albeit making human beings’ lives more comfortable, these systems collect huge quantities of data that may affect human privacy and their digital sovereignty. Engaging in control over individuals by digital means, the data and the artefacts that process privacy-relevant data can be addressed by Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and its established instruments. In this paper, we discuss how the theory and its methodological knowledge can be considered for user-centric privacy management. We set the stage for studying motivational factors to improve user engagement in identifying privacy needs and preserving privacy when utilizing or aiming to adapt CPS or IoT applications according to their privacy needs. SDT considers user autonomy, self-perceived competence, and social relatedness relevant for human engagement. Embodying these factors into a Design Science-based CPS development framework could help to motivate users to articulate privacy needs and adopt cyber-physical technologies for personal task accomplishment.
The Putin regime is expanding its power, suppressing opposition and society’s autonomy. The situation is reminiscent of earlier eras. Andrei Sakharov and Alexei Naval’nyi, their reference to law, yesterday’s Chronicle of Current Events, and today’s social media with its documentary power are parallels. It seems that Russia’s historical development is caught in a cycle. Society’s considerable creativity and mobilizing power faces the leadership’s equally remarkable destructive potential. Power triumphs at the expense of society.
Doc 1574 : Democracy and second-order cybernetics: the ascent of participation and creativity
An exceptional chain of events in science, technology, art and planning took place in Latin America in the 1970s. Does this wonder shed light upon our view of the basic roots of cultural, social and political blooming? This paper intends to adduce evidence on second-order cybernetics processes underlying five outstanding cases in real societies and to disclose the links between democracy and unfettering momentum for freedom and creativity. Namely, Oscar Varsavsky, national projects, styles of development, scientific and technological autonomy; Stefano Varese, cultural and political autonomy of indigenous people; Mario Pedrosa, creation of the Museum of Solidarity in Chile; Stafford Beer, Cybersyn project for cybernetics and self-management in Chile; and Humberto Maturana, concepts of autopoiesis, cognition, language and multiverse. The reasoning counts with the author’s direct participation in all cases. The paper sets a similarity worthy of being noticed between Allende’s Unidad Popular in Chile and Pericles’ Golden Age in Greece and outlines why these historic realms albeit far apart have lasting importance and similar historical impetus. Highlights the essential and seminal features of each stream and comes to the conclusion that effective democracy is the necessary condition for participation and creativity. Upsurges in social participation and creativity are neither frequent nor cyclical. Still, such sudden and usually large increase in ingenuity, flair and aim to improve living conditions, although limited in time, remain in our mind as a joy forever. Nowadays, the world witnesses a contrary motion towards sterile art patterns and restrained behaviour. Hence, it becomes even more important to better understand the basic roots of cultural, social and political blooming.
Doc 1575 : An Asian perspective on the governance of cyber civilization
Abstract This paper proposes potential benefits of adopting Asian philosophies in considering the design of “cyber civilization” governance. The West is currently struggling to balance the use of data for commercial purposes with the social good stemming from the protection of personal privacy and dignity. It is also grappling with the idea of machines having autonomous capabilities that human minds alone were supposed to monopolize. East Asia, with its tradition of Confucianism, Buddhism, and animism, has long emphasized the virtue of mutual benevolence as well as conviviality with nature, both of which may be contrasted with the Western emphasis on the autonomy of individuals and the supremacy of humans over nature. We need to revisit such foundational schools of thought in view of such factors as network externalities of data, extremely low marginal cost of digital services, and high level of traceability, all of which are altering the historical prerequisites of the modern market economy. In the face of the emergence of a new civilization, we need to find a guiding philosophy which allows us to develop policies that adequately benefit all people. There are notions such as integrity (fiduciary responsibility) that East and West share and that may be adopted to build broadly acceptable governance principles.
There was a time when military technology reinforced and provided added value and expertise to business and government organisations. There are a number of technologies, specific military applications and solutions such as the Internet, GPS or sunglasses, and methodologies like strategic planning and negotiation systems that were developed in the past within military domains and later evaluated and implemented, which brought increases in speed and added business value. There are now many diverse digital transformation projects being implemented in several business domains – ranging from small and medium businesses like an Italian family restaurant to the global oil and gas companies such as Shell or British Petroleum or even executive branches of the European Union/European Commission. All these organisations use different technologies to optimise processes, innovate faster, collaborate efficiently and deliver more value with less effort. Economic defence – like never before – means national security. For that reason, Cyber Security initiatives associated with digital transformations include a “testing mode” period, along with CyberAutonomy functions that aim to support business critical infrastructures. Different methodologies are in place to optimise for the new data-driven economy and support digital transformation. It is the responsibility of the business to adopt best practices and techniques to reinforce national security and offer effective tool support for effective CyberAutonomy with digital transformation projects.
Doc 1580 : New Weapons and Old Law: Can International Humanitarian Law Treaties Deal Adequately with Modern Technologies?
Military technology is developing incredibly fast. Drones, Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS), and Cyberwarfare instruments have been resorted to by states and non-state actors in warfare. Yet, the developments and emerging challenges have not resulted in formal amendments to the existing regulatory framework of International law. Some believe that the current regime is required to be amended in accordance with developing technologies. Others support the idea that the rules and principles of the existing International Humanitarian Law regime need to be re-evaluated and re-interpreted according to changing conditions on the ground that a formal amendment process does not seem to be a feasible option because of the resistance of the powerful international actors. At this point, formidable questions arise such as; What are the challenges to interpreting existing rules and standards of the IHL regime amidst the increasing developing technologies? What levels of autonomy will be permissible for AWS to ensure compliance with international law principles, i.e., the principle of distinction in warfare? Which technologies or certain weapons can/should be restricted and outlawed? This article aims to come up with satisfying answers to these and further questions.
Doc 1582 : Modeling and executing cyber security exercise scenarios in cyber ranges
The skill shortage in global cybersecurity is a well-known problem; to overcome this issue, cyber ranges have been developed. These ranges provide a platform for conducting cybersecurity exercises; however, conducting such exercises is a complex process because they involve people with different skill sets for the scenario modeling, infrastructure preparation, dry run, execution, and evaluation. This process is very complex and inefficient in terms of time and resources. Moreover, the exercise infrastructure created in current cyber ranges does not reflect the dynamic environment of real-world systems and does not provide adaptability for changing requirements. To tackle these issues, we developed a system that can automate many tasks of the cybersecurity exercise life cycle. We used model-driven approaches to (1) model the roles of the different teams present in the cybersecurity exercises and (2) generate automation artifacts to execute their functions efficiently in an autonomous manner. By executing different team roles such as attackers and defenders, we can add friction in the environment, making it dynamic and realistic. We conducted case studies in the form of operational cybersecurity exercises involving national-level cybersecurity competitions and a university class setting in Norway to evaluate our developed system for its efficiency, adaptability, autonomy, and skill improvement of the exercise participants. In the right conditions, our proposed system could create a complex cybersecurity exercise infrastructure involving 400 nodes with customized vulnerabilities, emulated attackers, defenders, and traffic generators under 40 minutes. It provided a realistic environment for cybersecurity exercises and positively affected the exercise participants’ skill sets.
Doc 1590 : Americans’ Perspectives on Online Media Warning Labels
Americans are pervasively exposed to social media, news, and online content. Some of this content is designed to be deliberately deceptive and manipulative. However, it is interspersed amongst other content from friends and family, advertising, and legitimate news. Filtering content violates key societal values of freedom of expression and inquiry. Taking no action, though, leaves users at the mercy of individuals and groups who seek to use both single articles and complex patterns of content to manipulate how Americans consume, act, work, and even think. Warning labels, which do not block content but instead aid the user in making informed consumption decisions, have been proposed as a potential solution to this dilemma. Ideally, they would respect the autonomy of users to determine what media they consume while combating intentional deception and manipulation through its identification to the user. This paper considers the perception of Americans regarding the use of warning labels to alert users to potentially deceptive content. It presents the results of a population representative national study and analysis of perceptions in terms of key demographics.
Doc 1594 : Assessment of Cybersecurity Risks: Maritime Automated Piloting Process
A modern society is a combination of several critical infrastructures, of which international and national maritime transportation systems are essential parts. Digitalization makes it possible to increase levels of autonomy in maritime systems. It also means fully existing cyberenvironments in maritime processes. In cyberenvironments, it is crucial there is trustable information communication between system elements of the process, alongside the usability, reliability, and integrity of systems data in the operating environment. In order to develop maritime autonomy in Finland the Sea4Value / Fairway (S4VF) research program has been developed. At the first stage of the program, the main goal is to create automated fairway piloting feature in the near future. An automated remote piloting process, “ePilotage,” will be a complex system of systems entity. This paper provides a research approach to investigating the cybersecurity risks at the system levels of process. It emphasizes the importation of comprehensive risk assessment to increase the cybersecurity of fairway operations. The findings of the study are located in cybersecurity risks in critical information flows between the main system blocks of the fairway process. The research question is “How can the cybersecurity risks of automated remote fairway operations be evaluated?” The main findings are related to the probabilities of the risks in all levels of process stakeholders’ responsibilities. Risk assessment methodology, that has been described, is based on attack probabilities against probabilities to defend actions of adversarial in use of communication technologies. Risks assessment factors have been identified and the risk assessment tool have been proposed.
Doc 1595 : An AI ethics ‘David and Goliath’: value conflicts between large tech companies and their employees
Abstract Artificial intelligence ethics requires a united approach from policymakers, AI companies, and individuals, in the development, deployment, and use of these technologies. However, sometimes discussions can become fragmented because of the different levels of governance (Schmitt in AI Ethics 1–12, 2021) or because of different values, stakeholders, and actors involved (Ryan and Stahl in J Inf Commun Ethics Soc 19:61–86, 2021). Recently, these conflicts became very visible, with such examples as the dismissal of AI ethics researcher Dr. Timnit Gebru from Google and the resignation of whistle-blower Frances Haugen from Facebook. Underpinning each debacle was a conflict between the organisation’s economic and business interests and the morals of their employees. This paper will examine tensions between the ethics of AI organisations and the values of their employees, by providing an exploration of the AI ethics literature in this area, and a qualitative analysis of three workshops with AI developers and practitioners. Common ethical and social tensions (such as power asymmetries, mistrust, societal risks, harms, and lack of transparency) will be discussed, along with proposals on how to avoid or reduce these conflicts in practice (e.g., building trust, fair allocation of responsibility, protecting employees’ autonomy, and encouraging ethical training and practice). Altogether, we suggest the following steps to help reduce ethical issues within AI organisations: improved and diverse ethics education and training within businesses; internal and external ethics auditing; the establishment of AI ethics ombudsmen, AI ethics review committees and an AI ethics watchdog; as well as access to trustworthy AI ethics whistle-blower organisations.
Doc 1596 : Analysis of the Requirements of Modernization of China’s Social Governance System
With the development of the Internet, the social governance model is changing from one-way management to two-way interaction, from offline to online-offline integration, and from simple government supervision to paying more attention to social collaborative governance, which requires the construction of a new pattern of grassroots social governance. Improve the institutionalized channels of mass participation in grass-roots social governance. We will improve the urban and rural grass-roots governance system that combines autonomy, rule of law and rule of virtue under the leadership of party organizations, improve the community management and service mechanism, implement grid management and service, give play to the role of mass organizations and social organizations, give play to the self-discipline function of trade associations and chambers of commerce, realize the benign interaction between government governance and social regulation, and residents’ autonomy, and consolidate the foundation of grass-roots social governance. Accelerate the modernization of urban social governance. Promote social governance and service focus to the grassroots level, sink more resources to the grassroots level, and better provide accurate and refined services. Specifically, the requirements for the construction of governance system can be analyzed into four requirements: intelligent governance, participatory governance, municipal governance and media governance.
Doc 1606 : Risk Determination versus Risk Perception: A New Model of Reality for Human–Machine Autonomy
We review the progress in developing a science of interdependence applied to the determinations and perceptions of risk for autonomous human–machine systems based on a case study of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) faulty determination of risk in a drone strike in Afghanistan; the DoD’s assessment was rushed, suppressing alternative risk perceptions. We begin by contrasting the lack of success found in a case study from the commercial sphere (Facebook’s use of machine intelligence to find and categorize “hate speech”). Then, after the DoD case study, we draw a comparison with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) mismanagement of its military nuclear wastes that created health risks to the public, DOE employees, and the environment. The DOE recovered by defending its risk determinations and challenging risk perceptions in public. We apply this process to autonomous human–machine systems. The result from this review is a major discovery about the costly suppression of risk perceptions to best determine actual risks, whether for the military, business, or politics. For autonomous systems, we conclude that the determinations of actual risks need to be limited in scope as much as feasible; and that a process of free and open debate needs to be adopted that challenges the risk perceptions arising in situations facing uncertainty as the best, and possibly the only, path forward to a solution.
Doc 1607 : Launching the Internet of Things: how to ensure a successful debut
Purpose Companies that leverage the Internet-of-things (IoT) will gain significant competitive advantages over the competition; however, few businesses have active IoT initiatives. This paper aims to provide principles to guide executives as they launch or scale-up IoT initiatives. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws upon data from original expert interviews and an extensive study of existing scholarly literature, management publications and white papers from leading strategy and technology firms. Findings Close cooperation among a company’s operations, business strategy and information technology units creates a trifecta of skills, vision and budgeting that can successfully bring major IoT initiatives to fruition. Unfortunately, many companies face a misalignment among these departments. The way to overcome this misalignment is to create a cross-functional team dedicated to IoT initiatives. Leaders should build these teams on the principles of autonomy, rational compensation, equality and diversity. Practical implications This paper provides strategic advice for business leaders as well as four guiding principles with which to execute their IoT strategies. Originality/value Much of the writing about IoT advocates initiatives by teaching about the many business benefits of IoT or provides a use case for a specific type of IoT technology. This paper focuses on removing a major obstacle faced by many business leaders who want to embrace the IoT but find themselves unable to do so.
Doc 1613 : The internet multiple: How internet practices are valued in later life
Internet practices of older adults are multifaceted and go beyond a “use” and “non-use” binary. In this article, we suggest a valuation approach towards Internet practices in later life that explores Internet practices not as “use” or “non-use,” but rather asks which forms of Internet practices are valued in later life, and which ones are de-valued. For this valuography, we draw upon different data sources, including interviews with older adults, to explore the multiple “goods” and “bads” through which Internet use in later life gets valued. The findings suggest two registers of value: autonomy and innovation. Valued Internet practices in later life are therefore done by an autonomous, older individual and include innovative technologies. We conclude that a performative, reflexive, and value-oriented understanding of Internet practices sheds light on the “Internet Multiple,” or the many different shapes the Internet takes in older people’s lives that go beyond a “use” and “non-use” binary.
Doc 1618 : Characteristics of the digital public diplomacy of international organizations. Analytical review of a collective monograph: Digital diplomacy and international organizations. Autonomy, Legitimacy and Con-testation, edited by R. Zaiotti, C. Bjola
The article provides a critical review of the book “Digital diplomacy and international organizations. Autonomy, Legitimacy and Contestation” [Zaiotti, Bjola (ed.) 2020]. The key feature of the book is the approach to the study of digital diplomacy, according to which international governmental and non-governmental organizations, and not only the foreign political departments of states, are considered as the main actors of communication. The authors highlight the features of the Internet communications of international organizations, look for new approaches to the study of online activity, consider the challenges and threats to the legitimacy and autonomy of international organizations in the context of information confrontation. The article also examines a number of controversial topics raised by the authors of the work under review, including the issue of the correctness and validity of the use of the terms disinformation and fake news on an unsubstantiated basis.
The definition of consumerism is multifaceted, extending from the consumption of goods and services (which may be perceived as advantageous to the growth of the economy, both localized and global) to its more negative connotations: the obsessive consumption of goods, exploitation of the people who create them and greed. In a society heavily influenced by consumerism, we find ourselves manipulated by social media and targeted advertising to buy goods or to cultivate a certain lifestyle, raising important ethical questions about responsibility and our autonomy to make decisions. How has the nature of how we create and consume goods evolved and how is this linked to moral responsibility and autonomy? Can it also be argued that there is aesthetic appreciation to be gained from some of the items that we create and consume?
Doc 1623 : The arrangement of medical records in implementation of Telemedicine in Hospitals
Legal research methods are procedures or steps that are considered effective and efficient. Based on the discussion, it is concluded as follows 1)The legal principles of hospital telemedicine include prprinciples of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) utilization, the principle of state and community responsibility, the principle of competence, integrity, and quality, the principle of equality, good faith, independence, and volunteerism as well as legal certainty and the principle of data security and confidentiality as well as standardization, the principle of patient autonomy and freedom to choose technology or technology neutral and the principle of patient interest is prioritized, data protection, IT forensics, best practices, and legal audit standards as well as justice and legal protection principles 2) medical record regulation different countries, namely Indonesia and America. Indonesia does not yet have a law that specifically regulates electronic medical records. Apart from the ITE Law.
Doc 1632 : CYBER AUTONOMY AND IT’S ROLE IN INDIA’S CYBER SECURITY
The globe has entered the era of hybrid wars and to be on the winning side, securing and protecting data remains a high priority for every nation. As hackers continue to explore and exploit, safeguarding systems and networks become even more difcult. Due to the pervasive deployment of cyber-physical systems and IOT devices, the need to defend the number and complexity of the systems increases rapidly. This is where cyberautonomy comes to our rescue. Cyberautonomy can help a system to identify attacks, patch vulnerabilities and if required, counterattack without the help of an IT specialist. Taking a cue from above, this paper aims to suggest multiple prospects cyberautonomy can bring to India’s cyber security framework and its potential consequences, as digital India remains the aim of every Indian.
This issue of M/C Journal reclaims the language of “freedom”.
The selected articles demonstrate that today freedom is frequently overruled in the name of a permanent state of emergency. Present-day politics shows countless instances in which information, knowledge and culture are not seen as an inalienable right but are rather oppressed and distorted. Freedom is the freedom to say “no”, to withdraw your collaboration, to refuse friendly cooperation! To be “free” means to be able to enact your identity without having to capitulate to the ruling forces that dictate which discourses are and are not permissible in the public sphere(s).
Citizens worldwide are armchair passengers on the nightly TV news train; they dream of their lives as being “free”. After all, to be free is a guaranteed human right, enshrined by the United Nations. Are freedom, independence and autonomy merely illusions, or are sociable media succeeding in empowering citizens for a participatory democracy as Yochai Benkler argues? If information “wants to be free”, the battle between intellectual “property” and creativity must be resolved. Technology does not make freedom inevitable: the on-the-ground-realities of network and hardware access make what seems to be “open” and “free”, closed and expensive for most people on this planet.
The feature article for this issue of M/C Journal is a statement on the state of free speech in a free country: in “Depiction of Muslims in Selected Australian Media: Free Speech or Taking Sides”, Dr Nahid Kabir examines the publication of 12 cartoons depicting images of the Prophet Mohammad in 2005. In exploring the response of two Australian newspapers to the Danish controversy, the article considers whether the debate in the name of “free speech” has ended in a “form of attack” on Australian Muslims.
In “Freedom, Hate, Fronts”, Patrick Lynn Rivers reflects on the use of the Internet by the predominantly Afrikaner “Vryheidsfront Plus” political party to construct whiteness in post-apartheid South Africa. The creation of a politics centred on racial “cyborgs” points to the facilitation of freedom of an “oppressed minority”, continuing the Afrikaners’ historical struggle for self-determination and independence. Problematising this approach, Rivers concludes that, like freedom, whiteness after apartheid is far from defined.
Authors Amita Nijhawan and Sukhmani Khorana both address Deepa Mehta’s highly-acclaimed film trilogy Fire, Earth, and Water. As a female Hindu director, Mehta engages controversial issues for Indian society: the life of widows who are forced into prostitution, for example. As observed, the trilogy has been subject to critiques of too much freedom from inside the country, counterbalanced by those outside the country condemning the Indian body-politic for its lack of freedom. In exploring post-colonial discourses in India’s construction of nation and gender, Nijhawan and Khorana present complementary accounts of the director’s struggle to resist government censorship. Hegemonic power is played out in the definition of freedom in relation to contested questions of self-representation in Indian society.
Freedom of use and the notion of “property talk” are discussed by Australian lawyer and academic Steve Collins, commenting on the revival of values from Blackstonian copyright, in which ownership is seen to preclude the rights of others. Collins observes that talk of “property” risks making transformative works an elitist form of creativity, available only to those with the financial resources necessary to meet the demands for license fees. The notion of “property” thus challenges the freedom to create and to transform. Collins notes that this is no longer a philosophical question, but a practical one, as he entreats courts to move beyond the propertarian paradigm.
A further angle on the issue of freedom is put forward by Nadine Henley in “Free to be Obese?” Here, Henley tackles the boundaries of state governance in controlling the bodies of its citizens: Is it ethical for a government to enforce the health of its citizens, or should obesity, for example, be a rightful choice?
Two emotive Freedom Poems by Kathryn Waddell Takara conclude this issue. The editors have selected “Angela Davis” and “Mumia Abu Jamal: Knight for Justice” from the larger body of Takara’s work, Root Tapping, as representing the desire to celebrate freedom. The expectation of Angela Davis’ arrival and the transcendent revenge for the imprisonment of political activist Mumia Abu Jamal speak of the power of radical opposition in the face of oppression.
The cover image of this issue, “Free” by John Fairley (“Bostich”), has been derived from the photo-sharing Flickr.com, which supports the Creative Commons licensing scheme.
Acknowledgments:
The editors thank all contributors and reviewers involved in this issue for their continuing dialogue and critical reflection on the notion of “freedom”. We wish to kindly acknowledge the adept assistance of copy editors Laura Marshall and Donna Paichl, and the continuing guidance of M/C General Editor Dr Axel Bruns.
Citation reference for this article
MLA Style
Scholz, Trebor, and Rachel Cobcroft. “Free.” M/C Journal 9.4 (2006). echo date(‘d M. Y’); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0609/0-editorial.php>. APA Style
Scholz, T., and R. Cobcroft. (Sep. 2006) “Free,” M/C Journal, 9(4). Retrieved echo date(‘d M. Y’); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0609/0-editorial.php>.
Doc 1639 : RELIGIOSITY IN CRIMINAL LAW: ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE
The fundamental premises of Islamic law are that Allah has revealed His will for human-kind in the Holy Quran and the inspired example of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him), and that society’s law must conform to Allah’s revealed will. The scope of Islamic law is broader than the common law or civil law. In addition to core legal doctrines covering the family, wrongs, procedure, and commercial transactions, Islamic law also includes detailed rules regulating religious ritual and social etiquette. In Islam, religiosity is not asceticism in monasteries nor is it chattering from the pulpits. Instead, it is behaving in a manner that is requested from the Creator under all circumstances, places and times, in belief, statement and actions. Historically, law and religion have never been completely separated. They have never been so independent as to achieve complete autonomy from each other. Religion has essentially been embodied in legal systems, even in those that have aspired to privatize religion. Based on this fact, this paper discusses such fact i.e religiosity on specific theme of Islamic law that is criminal law which means the body of law dealing with wrongs that are punishable in Islamic law with the object of deterrence.
Doc 1642 : Efficient Management and Security of Data by Data Base Management System (DBMS)
Digital India is an initiative of the Government of India, under which government departments have to connect with the people of the country. The purpose of this scheme is to ensure that the government services can be accessible electronically to the public without use of paper. The purpose of this scheme is to connect the rural areas through High Speed Internet. A two-way platform will be built in this scheme where both (service providers and consumers) will be benefited. This will be an inter-ministerial initiative where all the ministries and departments will bring their services to the public such as health, education and judicial service, etc. The Public Private Partnership (PPP) model will be adopted as a choice. This scheme is one of the top priority projects of the Central Government. While there are many significant drawbacks like legal framework, lack of privacy, lack of data security rules, civilian autonomy abuses, and lack of parliamentary surveillance for Indian e-surveillance and Indian cyber insecurity. All these shortcomings will be removed before implementing Digital India.
Doc 1646 : Model Penguatan Kapasitas Pemerintah Desa dalam Menjalankan Fungsi Pemerintahan Berbasis Electronic Government (E-Government) menuju Pembangunan Desa Berdaya Saing
One aspect that needs to be studied more deeply about the village administration in the era of village autonomy is the ability of the human resources in the management of village government in accordance village governance objectives and the demands of, “Undang – undang no 06 Tahun 2014 about the village. The capacity of the village government deemed not qualified to run the authority possessed by law the village. Weak capacity of rural government impact on law implementation failure that led to the poor rural village development. This study examines these issues. This study used qualitative research methods. The unit of analysis of this research that the village government Landungsari Dau District of Malang, East Java. This study was conducted over three years (2016, 2017, 2018). The findings of the research during the last four months in the first year of the study is Landungsari village administration showed a good performance in governance at the village of village autonomy era (the era of the Village Law. The village government is able to carry out rural development planning, village administrative governance, and the financial management of the village properly. Nevertheless, the village government also faces serious problems is the lack of human resource capacity of the village administration, village very less quantity, and village officials do not understand the duties of each. To address these issues, the village government seeks to organize village governance based on information technology (e-government), but the effort has not worked well because the village government does not have a human resources professional in the field of information technology and the village government does not have enough budget to develop the e-government program. Therefore, the research team conducting FGD on the development of e-government program. FGD village government resulted in an agreement in cooperation with governmental science labs and e-government program APBDes budgeted in fiscal year 2017. Step next phase is the research team conducting FGD Phase II to design e-government as a means of governance villages effective and efficient, to disseminate the e-government, and publishes scientific articles on the model of governance based rural e-government in the Journal of Politics and Government Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta. Our advice as a researcher is a village government should make regulations governing Internet-based mechanism of public services (e-government). The regulation is to encourage villagers Landungsari to get used to using services based on the Internet, the district government of Malang should provide support to the village government to make innovations in governance, and the central government should support the village government to strengthen rural government institutions such as the addition of the village
Doc 1647 : Improving the Internet using Signed Methodologies
Numerous steganographers would concur that, had it not been for IPv6, the sending of Boolean rationale may never have happened. In our exploration, we discredit the comprehension of writeahead logging, which epitomizes the natural standards of apply autonomy. We test how A* search can be connected to the examination obviously product.
Doc 1651 : Integrating the business networks and internet of things perspectives: A system of systems (SoS) approach for industrial markets
In industrial business-to-business (B2B) markets, physical entities (such as products, machines, materials, or other objects) are increasingly connected among each other. This Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is quickly developing thanks to advances in fields such as information systems, factory digitalization, data sciences, robotics. Thus, industrial markets appear both as business networks - encompassing connections between individual or organizational actors – and networks of connected things. The purpose of this research is to provide an integrative perspective that encompasses both types of networks. It seeks to contribute to the literature on industrial B2B markets in two ways. First, it proposes the system of systems (SoS) theory - which emphasizes diversity and autonomy of systems - as an integrative perspective. Second, it argues that this integrated perspective contributes to a new view on how resources are produced, combined, and used, and, therefore, on business network models. We discuss the implications for one of the most established models, the IMP Group’s A-R-A model. • Traditional representations of business networks may not be adapted in IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) contexts. • In IIoT actors are not only humans or organizations. • In IIoT technologies are not necessarily resources. • A system of systems approach of business networks is introduced. • Impacts on new connections between actors, and value creation are discussed.
Doc 1660 : Bionic construction of the human body in the light of the slippery slope argument
Composite tissue transplantation has gained a new dimension in line with advanced technological developments. In extremity losses, the traditionally implemented procedure is to enable the extremity to regain its functionality through replantation instead of transplantation. On the other hand, innovative studies are also carried out to support and strengthen the human body and improve the problematic body functions for increasing patients’ quality of life. Studies on developing biomechatronic systems, which are related to biology, neurology, biophysics, mechanics, biomedical and tissue engineering, electronics, and computer sciences, are in progress, which indicates that a transformation has occurred in the approaches to composite tissue transplantation. This study aims to generate ideas about determining a conventional limit in the interventions towards the human body against the technological and scientific developments and to perform a value analysis on such interventions. This study was designed within the framework of the methodology of medical ethics and in the light of the slippery slope argument. The process of transformation from the medical procedures that aim to protect patients’ bodily integrity to the innovative practices that provide an opportunity to bionically turn healthy human bodies into the half machine and half-human is investigated in the light of the slippery slope argument. This study indicated that the value-related problems regarding this issue are related to the principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. The limit to be determined for the practices that aim to protect the patients’ bodily integrity and increase their quality of life and that are not life-saving depends on the distinction between an ill body and a healthy body. A meticulous clinical perspective and legislative regulations that prevent the instrumentalization of humans are required so as not to roll down to undesirable places on a slope. Advanced technological developments are implemented in medicine, protecting human dignity should be adopted as a fundamental value.
Doc 1668 : Enhancing human agency through redress in Artificial Intelligence Systems
Recently, scholars across disciplines raised ethical, legal and social concerns about the notion of human intervention, control, and oversight over Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. This observation becomes particularly important in the age of ubiquitous computing and the increasing adoption of AI in everyday communication infrastructures. We apply Nicholas Garnham’s conceptual perspective on mediation to users who are challenged both individually and societally when interacting with AI-enabled systems. One way to increase user agency are mechanisms to contest faulty or flawed AI systems and their decisions, as well as to request redress. Currently, however, users structurally lack such mechanisms, which increases risks for vulnerable communities, for instance patients interacting with AI healthcare chatbots. To empower users in AI-mediated communication processes, this article introduces the concept of active human agency. We link our concept to contestability and redress mechanism examples and explain why these are necessary to strengthen active human agency. We argue that AI policy should introduce rights for users to swiftly contest or rectify an AI-enabled decision. This right would empower individual autonomy and strengthen fundamental rights in the digital age. We conclude by identifying routes for future theoretical and empirical research on active human agency in times of ubiquitous AI.
Doc 1669 : Strategic Minerals: Global Challenges Post-COVID-19
• COVID-19 has disrupted global production and supply chains. • Some minerals deemed “strategic” are subject to supply-related risks. • Categories of “strategic” minerals are crucial to different countries. • Several countries are outlining post-COVID-19 strategies to ensure sufficient supplies of critical minerals. In 2020, many countries endorsed lockdown measures, closed their borders, and practiced social distancing in a bid to contain COVID-19. These moves, however, disrupted global production and supply chains; no economic sector remained fully intact. The pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of supply chains in a globalized world, perhaps none more so than those linked to the distribution of essential raw materials. Minerals are considered raw materials, the extraction of which has important implications for a country’s sovereignty and economic autonomy. They are found in abundance in consumer goods such as smartphones, cell phone batteries, computer monitors, cards, and other electrical and electronic products whose useful life has ended. In response to the health and economic problems arising from the current crisis, several countries have moved ahead and outlined post-COVID-19 strategies for the supply of critical metals, over the medium and long term, to reduce their dependence on other states for these commodities. This paper reflects critically on the positioning of the world’s large economies, in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, on strategic minerals.
Doc 1671 : Human Autonomy in the Era of Augmented Reality—A Roadmap for Future Work
Augmented reality (AR) has found application in online games, social media, interior design, and other services since the success of the smartphone game Pokémon Go in 2016. With recent news on the metaverse and the AR cloud, the contexts in which the technology is used become more and more ubiquitous. This is problematic, since AR requires various different sensors gathering real-time, context-specific personal information about the users, causing more severe and new privacy threats compared to other technologies. These threats can have adverse consequences on information self-determination and the freedom of choice and, thus, need to be investigated as long as AR is still shapeable. This communication paper takes on a bird’s eye perspective and considers the ethical concept of autonomy as the core principle to derive recommendations and measures to ensure autonomy. These principles are supposed to guide future work on AR suggested in this article, which is strongly needed in order to end up with privacy-friendly AR technologies in the future.
Doc 1676 : Modern Forms of Surveillance and Control
In todays advanced society, there is rising concern for data privacy and the diminution thereof on the internet. I argue from the position that for one to enjoy privacy, one must be able to effectively exercise autonomous action. I offer in this paper a survey of the many ways in which persons autonomy is severely limited due to a variety of privacy invasions that come not only through the use of modern technological apparatuses, but as well simply by existing in an advanced technological society. I conclude that regarding the majority of persons whose privacy is violated, such a violations are actually initiated and upheld by the users of modern technology themselves, and that ultimately, most disruptions of privacy that occur are self-levied.
This article examines the rural portrait in the Acehnese society amidst the racist raciality of technology, where the increasing number of digitalisations in the village, the values of rural areas seem to be experiencing a decline or change unlike before. A smartphone or a mobile device that has been created as complex as possible to be multi-functional, can function as a mobile phone, as access to news, online games and so on. So that young people in the village, even even ua people are neglected because of it, so as to result in a rural identity gradually experiencing degradation or decline. The research method used is by means of observation, directly observing phenomena in the field and also combining them with data collected from various literature related to rural sociology. The results of these findings show, in fact there is something that needs to be taken care of behind the entry of digitalization of rural communities in Aceh, even though the rationality of this technology cannot be bent, it can be conditioned by maintaining tradition, village autonomy and village values amidst the impact of digitalization.
Doc 1685 : IoT as a high degree of autonomy system
Abstract The article describes the need for IoT technology in the study of biologists, for the influence of genomes and microclimate on the degree of yield, for a possible increase in the quality and productivity of products. There is a description of questions regarding environmental problems. It also discusses the issues related to the use of the latest IoT technology in agriculture, shows the main role of the Internet of Things in agriculture, which is to control all important information thanks to the equipment equipped with the latest advanced technologies. And also analyzed the possibilities of introducing IoT technology in the agricultural industry, thanks to which you can easily track the necessary data, such as moisture, soil quality, air temperature, and also shows the possibilities that arise due to the use of remote sensors
Doc 1706 : Is purity a distinct and homogeneous domain in moral psychology?
“No” is our answer to the question in our title. In moral psychology, a purity violation (defined as an immoral act committed against one’s own body or soul) was theorized to be a homogeneous moral domain qualitatively distinct from other moral domains. In contrast, we hypothesized heterogeneity rather than homogeneity, overlapping rather than distinct domains, and quantitative rather than qualitative differences from other hypothesized domains (specifically, autonomy, which is harm to others). Purity has been said to consist of norms violations of which elicit disgust and taint the soul. Here we empirically examined homogeneity: whether violations of body (e.g., eating putrid food) belong in the same moral domain as violations of the soul unrelated to bodily health (e.g., selling one’s soul, desecrating sacred books). We examined distinctness: whether reactions to purity violations differ in predicted ways from those to violations of autonomy. In four studies (the last preregistered), American Internet users (in Studies 2 and 4, classified as politically conservative or liberal; Ns = 80, 96, 1,312, 376) were given stories about violations based on prior studies. Nonhealth purity violations were rated as relatively more disgusting, but less gross (the lay term for the reaction to putrid things) and more likely to taint the soul than were health-related ones. Surprisingly, both health and nonhealth purity violations were typically judged as only slightly immoral if at all. Autonomy violations were rated as more disgusting and tainting of the soul than were purity violations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Doc 1711 : The ethical dilemma of mobile phone data monitoring during COVID-19: The case for South Korea and the United States
Governments across the world have integrated a variety of advanced technologies to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. In particular, the use of surveillance programs that leverage data and tools from mobile phones have become important components of public health strategies to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 across the globe. Currently, big technology companies around the world are helping governments evaluate the effectiveness of their social distancing protocols by examining and analyzing movements of millions of mobile phone users in order to determine how the virus is spreading across the various geographic locations, and the effectiveness of the various social distancing methods that have been implemented. The collection and use of individual mobile phone data as a public health surveillance tool presents tensions between several ethical priorities. Such a dilemma resides in the tensions between public health ethics goals and clinical ethics goals. While public health ethics pursues goals that seek to ensure the good of the community, such goals are often achieved at the expense of clinical ethics goals which emphasize individual autonomy and civil liberty. In using persons’ mobile phone data as a tool to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, we must address the tensions associated with weighing the needs of “the many” with ensuring the rights of the individual.
Doc 1713 : ANTI-CORRUPTION DIGITAL SOLUTIONS: THE UKRAINIAN EXPERIENCE AND THE PECULIARITIES OF THEIR IMPLEMENTATION IN A STATE OF WAR
The purpose of the article is to highlight the innovative experience of implementation of digital transformation in Ukraine on the example of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (hereinafter - NAPC). The content of the publication is due to the specifics of the subject of research and reflects an interdisciplinary approach to the disclosure of the topic. The article is a comprehensive study of the problems of digital transformation (digitalization) in terms of quantitative and qualitative changes in public administration and management. By the example of the organization of management in the NAPC, attention is focused on the directions of digital transformation and the components of the processes of digitalization of the subject of public administration are highlighted. It is noted that for the effective fight against corruption it is necessary not only to adopt high-quality anti-corruption legislation and create strong anti-corruption bodies, but also to develop/apply digital tools. NAPC became one of the first state agencies, which appointed an official for digital development, digital transformation and digitalization and is the leader in Ukraine in the implementation of anti-corruption digital solutions. It is argued that digitalization in public and governmental activities forms a qualitative characteristic of the system of public administration with the use of modern technologies, and digitalization of the National Agency is the key to the development of its institutional autonomy as a service organization. It is established that since the beginning of the war the NAPC has completely reformatted its work in the direction of providing interdepartmental communication of specialized bodies in joint projects. This is due to the high level of new digital skills and knowledge acquired in the pre-war period and the presence of a powerful team of analysts involved in collecting and processing the data needed to form proposals to the sanctions lists. The digital competence of the NAPC is implemented in the process of identifying individuals involved in the aggression against Ukraine. Thanks to the Task-force portal, assets of sanctioned persons are identified for their seizure in order to restore Ukraine. The War and Sanctions portal provides information on sanctioned individuals and data on the assets of individuals involved in Russia’s military aggression. The list of domestic collateral officials is formed through the maintenance of the Register of State Assignees. The implementation of the international IT tool RuAssets increases the efficiency of work to identify hidden Russian and Belarusian assets. It is noted and substantiated that the digitalization of NAPC covers both the automation of internal management processes and the introduction of modern information and communication technologies in the fight against corruption (in a peaceful period of development of the country) and the fierce struggle of the Ukrainian people against full-scale Russian aggression. The scientific novelty of the article is due to the fact that for the first time the various aspects of the implementation of digital solutions in the framework of digital transformation are reflected on the example of a state body. The practical significance of the article is associated with the possibility of further use of its materials in the educational process, conducting interdisciplinary research into the problems of digital state development and anti-corruption digital solutions and the formation of proposals for the use of innovative IT-technologies in the activities of public administrations.
Educators define three factors of interaction or as they refer to the 3 C’s in education: Children (children), Community (communication), and Computer (computers) [1]. Information and Communication Technologies are an integral tool of the educational process for modern educational systems, helping the learning process to turn from passive to active, pushing each student to learn independence and autonomy. In recent years, the sciences of education have turned their attention and have already recognized the importance of games and even digital games as a learning tool, emphasizing the benefits for students with or without educational needs.
Doc 1722 : Legal Path of Rural Revitalization for Decision-Making Risk Prevention of Internet of Things Algorithm
The implementation of the rural revitalization strategy is an important strategic plan to solve the social “three rural” problems on the new road of building a socialist modernized country in an all-round way. It is also the current society to promote the comprehensive rule of law and to create and improve a modern rural social governance system under the leadership of the party committee, the government is responsible, the society is coordinated, and the country is governed by law. However, due to the wide distribution of rural areas and the large population base of farmers, there are many risks in the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. In the comprehensive use of economic, administrative, and legal means, legal means has become the key. For this reason, this article conducted in-depth research on the legal path of rural revitalization under the risk prevention of Internet of Things algorithm decision-making. The research results showed that the risk prevention of Internet of Things algorithm decision-making was introduced into the research on the legal path of rural revitalization, and a sound rural governance system that combined autonomy, rule of law, and morality is an important part of the revitalization of seven villages. It can improve the 2.67% effectiveness of risk prevention in decision-making and can also play a key role in ruling the country according to law, showing the correct direction of agricultural legal system construction and at the same time high-level rural construction and development under the framework of the rule of law. It will vigorously promote the comprehensive modernization of agriculture, the comprehensive progress of rural areas, and the revitalization and development of rural areas.
Doc 1739 : 15 Apps Every Principal Should Have: Whether Fostering Collaboration, Easing Communication or Tracking Common Core, These Mission-Critical Applications Keep Today’s Principals Connected with Their Colleagues, Students and Parents
There may be hundreds of thousands of apps in the various app stores, but only a minuscule percentage of those are actually useful, and an even smaller percentage are relevant to the job duties of the mobile-minded principal. To help separate the wheat from the chaff, THE Journal asked five tech-savvy principals in five different states to reveal their favorite work-related apps. And just to be clear: Candy Crush doesn’t count, even if it does relieve stress after a tough day. Augmenting (and Staying Connected With) Reality Scott D. Godshalk, principal at 400-student Tohickon Valley Elementary School in Quakertown, PA, indulges his taste for the cutting edge with a free augmented reality app called Aurasma from HP Autonomy. Aurasma’s commercial applications include holding a smartphone over a movie trailer, for example, then watching that picture come to life through the phone with full video. This is all about taking a picture, and then creating an aura for that picture, and it’s pretty wild actually, said Godshalk. was trying to come up with a way to create a virtual tour of the building. have new students coming in frequently, and I thought it would be interesting, because we have a lot of iPads here at With the help of the Aurasma app, students and parents can take a guided tour of the school. At different points in the school, Godshalk said, ’They hold their device, point it at the certain picture, and that picture kind of comes to life on their screen, and there is a teacher describing, in a video–what happens in the physical education classes, for example. call it a trigger image. As your device recognizes that trigger image, it triggers the video that’s associated with it. As people walk through the school, they can learn more about individuals in our programs through this app. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While it’s not nearly as exotic, Godshalk said the app he uses the most is Google Drive. Located at the top of his tablet and smartphone displays, the familiar app drives what I do all day long, he said. I say it’s a basic app, I mean it is a shared document. deal a lot with online forms and documents. Having everybody with access to these documents has increased our efficiency. In the realm of classroom management, Godshalk seeks to help his teachers with the high-tech equivalent of a gold star for students. The free app ClassDojo is essentially a behavior management tool. Teachers set up this app, and it’s a mechanism to give feedback to students, he explained. They bring this up on their computers through the website, but it’s also accessible through iPads and iPhones. When a teacher sees a student doing something that is appropriate, they touch that student’s icon on the iPad, which communicates with the website with an audible sound that is positive. Kids get that feedback up on the screen. started using this in the cafeteria, the bane of every principal’s existence, continued Godshalk, who is now in his 10th year as Tohickon Valley’s principal. We had each class in the cafeteria set up with their own little icon, and as they were demonstrating the appropriate behaviors, lunch aides were using iPads and giving points to classes, and they would see and hear the positive signal. Preparing for CCSS With Interactive Conversations Kara M. Butler, principal at 1,400-student Cupertino Middle School in Sunnyvale, CA, keeps her staff on the Common Core track with Common Core Look-fors (CCL4), which is $2.99 on iTunes. The app allows Butler to go into classrooms and make notes about activities connected to the standards. Butler, now in her ninth year as Cupertino’s principal, said, can even videotape and record things that are happening in the class for posterity, then provide feedback for teachers. All of that goes into a file for me to accumulate information as to what I’m seeing in my classrooms. …