Clarity,surprises, and further questions in the Article 29 Working Party draft guidance on automated decision-making and profiling

The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party's recent draft guidance on automated decision-making and profiling seeks to clarify European data protection (DP) law's little-used right to prevent automated decision-making, as well as the provisions around profiling more broadly, in the run-up to the General Data Protection Regulation. In this paper, we analyse these new guidelines in the context of recent scholarly debates and technological concerns. They foray into the less-trodden areas of bias and non-discrimination, the significance of advertising, the nature of “solely” automated decisions, impacts upon groups and the inference of special categories of data—at times, appearing more to be making or extending rules than to be interpreting them. At the same time, they provide only partial clarity – and perhaps even some extra confusion – around both the much discussed “right to an explanation” and the apparent prohibition on significant automated decisions concerning children. The Working Party appears to feel less mandated to adjudicate in these conflicts between the recitals and the enacting articles than to explore altogether new avenues. Nevertheless, the directions they choose to explore are particularly important ones for the future governance of machine learning and artificial intelligence in Europe and beyond.     

International and Modern Ideals in Irish Female Medical Missionary Activity, 1937–1962

ABSTRACT

The Medical Missionaries of Mary are an Irish Catholic missionary congregation founded in 1937 by Marie Martin. From the outset the congregation embodied a new sense of optimism that was reflected in its aspirations of modernity and internationalism. This paper explores the development of the Medical Missionaries of Mary as an international missionary network. It argues that whilst in its vision and foundation the congregation projected its work as international and modern, the reality was more complex. The missionaries practised their own distinct brand of maternity medicine that incorporated Irish medical thought, Catholic social teachings, and the demands of the local women. This paper will consider how this unique blend of maternity medicine was projected from Ireland and refashioned within the context of the mission.     

Enhancing learning in development partnerships

Through an analysis of practical examples and key literature, this article considers what will enhance learning in and between NGOs and other development partners. The authors explore how the types and qualities of relationship currently evolving in the development sector affect learning, drawing predominantly on experiences of relationships between Northern and Southern NGOs. The article identifies those aspects of relationships that foster learning and those that inhibit it, and offers recommendations to strengthen learning. The authors highlight the relevance of, the challenges posed by, and the potential of partnership work, as well as the impact of accountability demands, procedures, and processes on organisational relationships and on learning.